by Mark Saleski I’m not one to quote Wikipedia, but this time around it makes perfect sense: “Smooth jazz is a sub-genre of jazz which is heavily influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles (separately, or, in any combination).” This is an interesting definition because it highlights theRead More

One of the more contentious issues in Ozzy Osbourne’s career may have finally been laid to rest with the release of a pair of reissues on Sony Legacy — Diary of a Madman and Blizzard of Ozz. You May Also Like: Why You Should Count ‘No Rest for the Wicked’Read More

Too often, it was like Jon Anderson didn’t want to make a solo record that sounded too much like Yes. As interesting as these sideroads no doubt were, they gave few clues to how his own voice fit into the wider topography of the band. You May Also Like: JonRead More

by Mark Saleski I already owned 1991’s Great Big Boy, and it’s a fine one. The album was allowed to go out of print for the usual reasons (which I won’t waste our time on), only to reappear in a likeably presented two-fer in 2007 with Peculiaroso from 1994, whichRead More

by Tom Johnson I really admire trumpeter Dave Douglas. Not only is he world-renowned as one of jazz’s best, he has taken the high and difficult road by setting out to create his own little sanctuary for musicians, a label in Greenleaf Music where they get treated fairly and whereRead More

by Mark Saleski Normally, I’m not a particularly skeptical person. But when I see things in album credits like “hair,” “makeup,” and “dresses,” it’s tough to not tighten up a little. The good news is that Leonhart and Escoffery can bring it. She has a voice that manages to seemRead More

Three of the larger figures in the downtown New York avant jazz scene – Jim Black, Nels Cline and Tim Berne – join forces.

Walter Becker once called himself as a “B+” guitarist. He’s certainly underrated there but as a bassist, I’d rate him even higher. Nonetheless, Becker had a history of making way for another bassist to play on a Steely Dan tune if he thought if that person was the better manRead More

Over the course of the striking, stripped-down Medicine, former Detroit autoworker Solomon King returns to that moment when the blues moved inexorably away from the uplift that defined gospel music, and ultimately toward rock ‘n’ roll and then hip hop. You May Also Like: How B.B. King Left Us WithRead More

by Tom Johnson It was going to be hard for Bird to top his previous album, Andrew Bird And The Mysterious Production Of Eggs, a gorgeous, moody stunner. Equally balanced between upbeat rock numbers and quieter strings-backed pieces, Eggs had something for everyone, with smart, subtly-humorous lyrics strewn throughout toRead More