Bill Champlin, who co-founded the Bay Area’s Sons of Champlin, is perhaps best known for a nearly three-decade tenure in Chicago.

by Mark Saleski Wow, sometimes you just stumble onto a little gold. Jae Sinnett’s kit work manages to channel bits of my favorite drummers (Jeff Watts, Tony Williams) while retaining his own thing. It’s very inspiring to be witness to a player who can muster great power when necessary andRead More

To get you ready for the Concord Music Group’s deluxe June 14 reissue of Paul McCartney’s 1970 solo debut McCartney as well as 1980’s McCartney II, here’s a new remastered audio stream of “Coming Up” You May Also Like: Paul McCartney, “Check My Machine” (1980): One Track Mind

Last year, the outlaw chamber music cooperative Anti-Social Music did something that was out of the ordinary for a democratic cooperative and presented songs only by of its thirteen members, Pat Muchmore. But there has never been anything ordinary about ASM to begin with. In one sense, you can callRead More

by Mark Saleski Some people really have the wrong idea about jazz. They think that most of it falls into two very broad categories: traditional, where guys in suits play an introductory theme before taking turns soloing over the developed chord changes; and avant-garde, also known as “cats-on-piano” jazz, whereRead More

by Mark Saleski Sax, piano, bass and drums — staples in the jazz world. Sometimes, that combination can be bland. If the players don’t add a little spice to the proceedings, you quickly realize that you’ve been here before. (“What? Intro-head-solos-head again?!”) Thankfully, Dave Glasser knows how to apply theRead More

by Mark Saleski Ever stumble into one of those snotty Internet arguments tugging back & forth about the capabilities of musicians? Specifically, the old “Is it possible for player X (an expert in genre A) to cross over to the land of genre B?” “Well, of course he can.” “He’sRead More

By Tom Johnson Corinne Bailey Rae is one of those unexpected interests for me, a pop-chanteuse making the kind of music I typically wouldn’t really find much interest in. But, for some reason, I fell for her simple, emotive voice. My only problem with her eponymous debut album was thatRead More

“Endless Journey,” a thrilling little space-rock number by ANT-BEE, begins appropriately enough: With a countdown and then a rocket launch. The unmistakable tone of Peter Banks’ guitar floats by next You May Also Like: Flash [Featuring Yes Co-Founder Peter Banks] – ‘In the USA Live 1972-73’ (2022) Robbie Dupree, Chicago,Read More

By Mark Saleski Subtitled “Works for Jazz Orchestra,” this album showcases the arranging talents of Earl MacDonald as well as a stellar cast of cohorts. I have to be honest here and say that big-ish bands are not usually my thing. That is, unless they’re doing something “odd” (see: CarlaRead More