One of the more distinctive and convincing points made by Ted Gioia in his definitive chronicle of jazz, The History of Jazz (1997, rev. 2011, Oxford University Press) is about the under-credited impact pianist Lennie Tristano made You May Also Like: Jason Stein Quartet – Lucille! (2017) Jason Stein’s LocksmithRead More

I do remember all those wild Funkadelic, Parliament and Rick James records being advertised in Creem magazeen back in the day. Never bought any at the time. Years later I got a copy of Funkadelic’s One Nation Under A Groove and realized that I’d made a terrible mistake. All thoseRead More

Formed in 1963, the Pretty Things from Kent, England were one of the leading lights of the British beat boom. Possessing a natural instinct and awareness for the greasy, grubby style of music they elected to pursue, the band made peers such as the Rolling Stones, the Animals, and theRead More

Ah, the masterful end of Born To Run‘s side one. To a lot of younger Bruce fans (you know, the ones who enjoy “Waitin’ On A Sunny Day” guilt-free) the idea of “side one” and “side two” don’t mean a whole lot. You May Also Like: Reevaluating Bruce Springsteen’s ‘TheRead More

Steely Dan is famously known for performing rock with a heaping dose of jazz elements, but those songs would rarely swing, as jazz does. Here’s a notable exception. You May Also Like: No related posts.

A lesser talent than Israeli guitarist-composer Yotam might have gotten lost in this project. You May Also Like: Victor Assis Brasil – Toca Antonio Carlos Jobim (1970, 2017 reissue) Claudio Roditi’s Gorgeous ‘Brazilliance x4’ Deftly Balanced His Many Influences

Don’t even bother: it doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a weird band name they use because it sounds funny. And that, in itself, should tell you something about this band: They’re French and they have this kind of sense of humor. Add in the fact that guitarist Christophe Godin playsRead More

As an aside within my review of Steve Raegele’s mind blowing debut album Last Century I went into the bands Raegele had participated in and noted “I can’t say I’ve heard of these names previously You May Also Like: Thom Yorke – Spitting Feathers (2006): On Second Thought John SurmanRead More

Early on, Mick Jagger told an interviewer: “We were blues purists who liked ever-so-commercial things but never did them onstage because we were so horrible and so aware of being blues purists, you know what I mean?” You May Also Like: No related posts.

In Boston OK, lemme get this part out of the way: I was really, really excited to see the name “Gillian Welch” on the FleetBoston Pavilion marquee. You May Also Like: How Norah Jones Examined a Deep Hurt on ‘… Little Broken Hearts’ Norah Jones – ‘Pick Me Up OffRead More