If “Past, Present and Future” from drummer/composer Aaron Comess, a founding member of the Grammy-nominated, 10-million album-selling Spin Doctors, sounds like two people talking at once, that’s kind of the point. You May Also Like: Zig Zag Power Trio, Aaron Comess, Sofia Trio + Others: Five for the Road MarkRead More

We’ve heard this all before, right? Not exactly: The New Orleans-based Pat Casey opens the second of two interpretations of Herbie Hancock tunes with a gurgling bass before Rex Gregory and Ashlin Parker join in with on sax and trumpet, respectively, to restate the swinging, salacious, but by now unfortunatelyRead More

by Derrick Lord It has long been the first trap any musician must jump once they hit it big. A successful record means a lot of people hear your music and from that point on you have a decision to make You May Also Like: Greg ‘Stackhouse’ Prevost – UniversalRead More

A few years ago when I sat down and took a stab at identifying some up and coming women in a world of instrumental jazz still dominated by men, one of those ten names that came to mind was avant garde saxophonist Matana Roberts. After moving to NYC from herRead More

His name is linked forever with the town, and the sound, of Memphis. But Booker T. Jones’ influence moves beyond Beale, into hip hop and today’s rhythm-and-blues — something that’s underscored on The Road from Memphis You May Also Like: No related posts.

Ahmad Jamal originally recorded this concert at The Spotlite Club, in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 6, 1958. Featured is the same terrific trio that had that Top 40 hit with “Poinciana” — Jamal, bassist Israel Crosby and drummer Vernel Fournier. That signature song, which charted for 108 weeks (then unprecedentedRead More

by Mark Saleski You wouldn’t suppose that most musicians would look favorably upon being compared to an old pile of rocks. How about an old, organized pile of rocks? You May Also Like: Paul Bley, Gary Peacock + Paul Motian – ‘When Will The Blues Leave’ (1999, rel. 2019) BillRead More

The Toronto-derived drummer, composer and bandleader Harris Eisenstadt was described by The New York Times jazz critic Nate Chinen as taking a “fixer’s approach to music making, looking for ways to fit the pieces together,” and while I agree with the praise he and others have heaped on Eisenstadt, IRead More

“Blue Tip” is tensile and itchy then soaring and romantic — the closest this new record, the Cars’ first in 24 years, gets to approximating its own career-making mixture of Ric Ocasek’s weirdo aloofness and Benjamin Orr’s sun-drenched pop warmth. Orr, of course, passed in 2000 after a bout withRead More

Up until the year 2003, I had successfully avoided Kurt Elling. This wasn’t all that hard to do considering that male jazz vocals never really resonated with me. I do own a Coltrane/Hartman record, and of course some Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. Still, only a handful of albums? ItRead More