Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter was a man of sweeping appetites, for songs, for drink and for life. This made his music rugged and true, but also got him into his share of big trouble. Very big. Ledbetter, born on Jan. 29, 1885 on the Jeter Plantation near Mooringsport, La., wouldRead More

It’s ritual groove music time again. The Swiss pianist and bandleader Nik Bärtsch has broken musical ground with his Ronin outfit, pioneering jazz that’s melodically sparse and rhythmically robust. Not dance music but very funky, not piano bar jazz but very soothing, Bärtsch and his crew create paradoxes that resolveRead More

With each layer of studio gimmickry that falls away, we hear more distinctly the way John Lennon was coming to terms with middle age.

by Mark Saleski I remember exactly where I was when I found out. I was hanging out in a friend’s first floor dorm room in Aroostook Hall at the University of Maine. The only things I can remember about him are that his name was Fred and he was fromRead More

by S. Victor Aaron When we last visited a George Benson recording, it was about his remake of the still fresh-out-the-oven Abbey Road. Fast forward seven years later, to 1976: Benson had just ended his long and artistically successful stint with CTI Records, having been enticed back to the majorsRead More

photo by Todd Roeth by Mark Saleski I have proclaimed, on more than one occasion, that the world needs more sincerity. Just think of what it would do for politics: the black hole of sincerity. OK, it would destroy it! Never mind. Seriously, it has always bothered me when wordsRead More

by S. Victor Aaron OK, I relent. I was forced by the overwhelming evidence to do it. I had to create a new tag “Houston TX” because even though we’ve long had a “Texas” tag, the richness and diversity of good music originating from the Space City was more thanRead More

by Pico A couple of months ago, Robert Branch self-released an appealing little guitar fusion record that you just might to pay attention to if guitar fusion is your thing. But first, a short introduction to the man behind the album. Robert Branch grew up in Ft. Worth TX, butRead More

by Tom Johnson Every year it seems, some movie I see stands out immediately upon seeing it. Most memorably, Magnolia did it, American Movie did it, High Fidelity did it, Punch Drunk Love did it, and today, American Splendor did it. American Splendor is the real-life story of comic bookRead More

by S. Victor Aaron When I lived in a college dormitory, a guy down the hall from me turned me on to this ECM record Silent Feet by Eberhard Weber. The two long tracks and the one even longer track were entrancing to me, like going on this audial odyssey.Read More