From the first honking strains of Roger Lewis’ sax on “The Treme Song,” amidst a howling group of happy singers led by David Montana and Fred Johnson Jr., the intentions of Treme Traditions are clear: Party. This album is like a street parade crammed inside of a shiny disc, courtesyRead More

by Mark Saleski Hard rock records (or, records that rock hard) that I have loved all have one thing in common: they cause an almost inexplicable joy inside of me. You May Also Like: Why Todd Rundgren’s ‘Back to the Bars’ Remains So Powerful New York United – ‘New YorkRead More

Annie Dressner’s voice has a twilight poignancy, this majestic loneliness, and nowhere on her forthcoming release Strangers Who Knew Each Others Names is that more true than on its title track. You May Also Like: No related posts.

With nearly 1,800 posts under our belt, we at SER have covered a whole lot of different styles, players and instruments, but based on a cursory search, I haven’t found a single piece where a harpist is the featured musician. We now have that covered: meet Iro Haarla. You MayRead More

Putting together a luxe coffee-table book honoring the city of his birth clearly got Irvin Mayfield in a nostalgic mood. You May Also Like: The Blind Boys of Alabama’s Down in New Orleans added a new musical wrinkle New Orleans at 300: In Search of Jazz

Royal Crescent Mob, a punk-funk quartet from Columbus, Ohio, seemed at the peak of the powers with this, its most cohesive, mature record. So, that was, of course, the end of that. You May Also Like: Royal Southern Brotherhood – The Royal Gospel (2016)

by Mark Saleski Much like those pointless negative reviews where the writer (read: attacker) has never liked the band in question, I sometimes wonder if maybe it’s just not right to go on about my favorite artists. Let’s face it, I own just about every recording Pat Metheny has everRead More

Mathias Eick’s warm, pure trumpet tone sounding almost like a brassier counterpart to fellow Norwegian Jan Garbarek makes Eick a perfect addition to the Scandinavian squadron of the ECM army. You May Also Like: Jakob Bro, with Arve Henriksen + Jorge Rossy – ‘Uma Elmo’ (2021) Jan Garbarek Surged OutRead More

by Tom Johnson Sarah McLachlan’s angelic voice is reason enough to check out this new album. It’s certainly not to hear anything particularly new: Afterglow was just more of what Sarah does so well. The most powerful segments of the album arrived early on, with the more up-tempo material providingRead More

It used to be that when we used the term “punk jazz,” we were referring to Jaco Pastorius. Let’s face it, the man was a jazz bass revolutionary. You May Also Like: Three-Layer Cake [Brandon Seabrook, Mike Pride + Mike Watt] – ‘Stove Top’ (2021) Brandon Seabrook, Cooper-Moore + GeraldRead More