by Mark Saleski To call this group of songs “The Lost Sessions” is to put a slightly misleading spin on things. We all know the story, the one of the huge volume of music that Bruce wrote post-Born To Run with some songs ending up on Darkness On The EdgeRead More

This world of digital sound can be quite tricky. The original line about CDs was that they would provide “perfect sound forever.” Yeah, sure. In their haste to get product to market, the early mastering jobs produced less than stellar results. In the intervening years, we’ve learned a lot aboutRead More

A coworker kept insisted that I have to see Old School, that it was just the funniest movie in ages. The day it came out he rushed out to buy it, watched it immediately, and has been quoting lines from the movie ever since. I should know by now, havingRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Here’s the setup: a successful real estate tycoon suddenly decides to revisit his original passion, music, and pulls in three of Canada’s most prestigious jazz musicians and a top-notch producer to make his first record, one full of done-to-death standards. And you’re thinking, this is probablyRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Bands led by horn players tend to work well if there’s a lot of rapport between the horn players. That’s not an issue for The Britton Brothers Band, whose trumpet player (John) and saxophonist (Ben) have the same parents. For this debut, these young cats builtRead More

Jason Stein’s ‘Three Kinds of Happiness’ makes all kinds of sweet noise.

by S. Victor Aaron Fred Fried comes from the George Van Eps school of guitarists, having been taught by the late guitar great himself. That’s readily apparent from his harmonically intricate style that leads with full chordal lines while simultaneously playing the enhancing bass lines. In other words, Fred FriedRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Like another longtime legend Barry Harris, guitar great Kenny Burrell cuts a live disc that proves he’s still got what it takes to live up to his immense reputation. Recorded over a week-long engagement at one of NYC’s hottest jazz spot’s, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, BurrellRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Avishai Cohen, the trumpet player, was last seen nearly two years ago in conjunction with his 2008 release Flood, a sparsely configured work where he sought to push against the outer boundaries of jazz using just his trumpet accompanied by only piano and percussion. This year’sRead More

by Mark Saleski Springsteen fans have been waiting years for the 30th anniversary release of Darkness On The Edge Of Town. Waiting, and waiting, and… And then the anniversary passed, with rumours and speculation fueled by smokes signals emanating from Camp Springsteen about how the set was “nearly complete.” OfRead More