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Half Notes: Otis Spann – Last Call (1970)

This remarkable lost classic was not released until 2000 — because the tapes were thought to have been destroyed … until they were found in a warehouse in 1999. Done just three weeks before Otis Spann’s death from liver cancer, Muddy Waters‘ most sympathetic pianist is featured primarily with hisRead More

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Black Country Communion – ‘Black Country Communion 2’ (2011)

Black Country Communion may not invented any new formulas but they are executing the old ones closer to perfection than anyone else.

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Peter Brotzmann/ Mats Gustafsson/ Paal Nilssen-Love – The Fat Is Gone (2007)

by Mark Saleski I have to purchase my Peter Brötzmann only very occasionally because it takes a while to get over the blatant intensity. Recorded at the Molde International Jazz Festival, this is really what European improvised jazz is all about. Well, maybe not all, but certainly a side ofRead More

Steely Dan Sunday, "The Boston Rag" (1973)

Steely Dan Sunday, “The Boston Rag” (1973)

There aren’t a whole lot of lyrics to this Steely Dan song, but I’ve never been quite able to decipher them. No one else seems to be too sure what they mean, either.

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Half Notes: Paul Motian/ Joe Lovano/ Bill Frisell – Time And Time Again (2007)

by Tom Johnson This trio is basically Bill Frisell’s home away from home, it seems. If he’s not putting out his own solo album, it seems like you can almost count on something from this trio sooner or later, where he indulges his more straight-ahead jazz tendencies. The joy inRead More

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Mike McGuire – Beyond the Ark (2011)

Americana singer-songwriter Mike McGuire travels a land of heavy weather, echoing church bells, sad tales and long memories. But he never lets go of the one thing that binds us together: Faith, in ourselves, in our future paths, in our country. It’s something that adds a sustaining power to BeyondRead More

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One Track Mind: James Cotton and Billy Branch, "Rocket 88" (2011)

Like an aging boxer making an heroic late-round stand, James “Superharp” Cotton brilliantly tangles on a timeless favorite from his 1960s tenure with Vanguard, giving fellow harp master Billy Branch all he can handle. You May Also Like: Jaimie Branch – Fly or Die (2017) Anteloper [Jaimie Branch + JasonRead More

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Steve Earle – Jerusalem (2002)

I know what I like, but you won’t find me setting any rules. This is as close to a “philosophy of music” as you’re going to get out of me. That idea has been the driving force behind most of the stuff I write about, especially when there’s “musical evangelism”Read More

Vinyl

Half Notes: Nilson Matta and Roni Ben-Hur – Mojave (2011)

Israeli-born guitarist Roni Ben-Hur and Brazlian-born bassist Nilson Matta head a date with percussionist Café (another Brazilian) and American drummer Victor Lewis in tow, called Mojave. While the title might conjure up images of the American Southwest, pay closer attention to the native country of both the bass player andRead More

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One Track Mind: Tedeschi Trucks Band, "Midnight in Harlem" (2011)

“Midnight in Harlem” is the sweet-swaying centerpiece of an all-you-can-eat buffet of deep-fried delights called Revelator. You May Also Like: Susan Tedeschi’s Varied ‘Back to the River’ Set the Stage for Greatness Derek Trucks Band’s ‘Already Free’ Gave Us a Fine-Tuned, Intimate Farewell