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

by Tom Johnson There’s something really worrisome when you hear that any highly regarded artist is doing the soundtrack for a kid’s movie. It conjures images of Sting and Phil Collins destroying their careers and what little credibility they had left. But, you know, Paul Westerberg. I mean, come on.Read More

Better known for helping shape the Blue Note Records hard bop sound as a producer in the 1960s, pianist Duke Pearson also led his own big band before succumbing to the ravages of multiple sclerosis at age 47. You May Also Like: Glenn Zaleski – Fellowship (2017) Nick Finzer’s ThoughtfulRead More

Tim Kuhl’s website greets visitors with a set of simple sentences describing who he is: “Drummer+Composer,” followed by “Bandleader, Sideman, Collaborator, Noise Maker, Rocker.” Tim is succinct and up-front about describing himself, but the term that’s most telling — aside from the obvious “drummer+composer” part — is “Noise Maker YouRead More

The summer of 1977 was spent buzzing around in my friend Billy’s parent’s blue Chevy Nova. There were girls and waves of haze and a pile of 8-tracks in a puffy vinyl box on the passenger side floor. You May Also Like: Reevaluating Bruce Springsteen’s ‘The Wild, the Innocent andRead More

Jeff Golub, a longtime sideman with Rod Stewart and Billy Squier, has compiled the expected all-star amalgam in this tribute to the blues stylings of The Three Kings — Albert, B.B. and Freddie. You May Also Like: No related posts.

A country love song delivered almost without any detectable irony is what follows “My Old School” on Countdown To Ecstasy. The charm of Countdown is it being full of styles and devices Becker and Fagen never visited again You May Also Like: Steely Dan, “Bodhisattva” from ‘Northeast Corridor’ (2021): SteelyRead More