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Vinyl

Jon Lundbom and Big Five Chord – Quavers! Quavers! Quavers! Quavers! (2011)

Yet another product from Moppa Elliot’s Hot Cup Records, which already says a lot about a record that shares the same label as Bryan And The Haggards, Puttin’ On The Ritz, and Mostly Other People Do The Killing. But we were already saying things — nice things — about Lundbom’sRead More

Vinyl

The Friday Morning Listen: Peter Scherr – Son of August (2010)

by Mark Saleski Jazz fans have always been sort of coy with the word ‘fusion.’ We like to make jokes about it, even applying a nickname of sorts — The F-Word — because we’d hate to admit that we’re ever serious about the genre. Yeah, fusion seems to get theRead More

Vinyl

Various Artists – Disney Jazz Volume 1: Everybody Wants To Be A Cat (2011)

  by S. Victor Aaron For a lot of us, our first exposure to jazz was those Charlie Brown TV specials featuring the piano trio music of Vince Guaraldi. Then again, some Disney films like 101 Dalmations, Lady And The Tramp and especially The Aristocats contained jazz or jazz-y tunes.Read More

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Something Else! Featured Artist: Talking Heads

The Talking Heads seemed to do what so few manage – start a career almost fully formed, then gradually grow without giving up their signature style. They emerged weird, polished that weirdness, and let the world catch up. You May Also Like: Ever Wonder How David Byrne Fit Inside ThatRead More

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Mort Weiss – Raising The Bar (2010)

Imagine a musician who was totally immersed in his craft. Imagine that person setting down his instrument for 45 years. All of those decades away (and I’m sure Mort is tired of hearing about this story), all of that bad living. A reasonable person might think that attempts at aRead More

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One Track Mind: Cowboy Junkies, "Wrong Piano" (2011)

by Nick DeRiso First off, this doesn’t start off with any piano, but also not the churchy wistfulness of the Cowboy Junkies’ 1987 breakthrough The Trinity Session. Instead, there is a gnarled electric guitar from Michael Timmins, a mashed-down organ and an updated worldliness in Margo Timmons’ familiar alto. They’reRead More

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Brad Mehldau – ‘Largo’ (2002)

Simplicity is a key to why ‘Largo’ is such a stunning album from an already well-established artist of Brad Mehldau’s stature.

Vinyl

The Flaming Lips – At War With The Mystics (2006)

  by Mark Saleski Just what in hell is going on here?! That was my reaction back when I had my first crack at records like King Crimson‘s In The Court Of The Crimson King, Pink Floyd‘s Ummagumma, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s Tarkus. Art rock. Art … Rock. I’veRead More

Vinyl

Joe Morello (1928-2011): An Appreciation

by S. Victor Aaron Even early on, from the time I first began to explore jazz, I sensed there was something different about the Dave Brebeck Quartet’s drummer, Joe Morello. When I began to spin my Dad’s scratchy old Brubeck records, I’ll never forget hearing weird time signatures for the firstRead More

Vinyl

The Dead Kenny Gs – Operation Long Leash (2011)

Photo by Dino Perrucci by S. Victor Aaron This isn’t the type of site that covers Kenny G records, but it’s not because we’re G haters. It’s just that there’s music out there we prefer to write about. Maybe 99.8 or 99.9% of the music out there falls in thatRead More