Once again, Robert Cray shows that he is reverent to the old masters – but yet wholly his own man.

by Pico John Scofield hates to sit still. He rarely goes more than two or three years playing a certain variety of jazz before he abruptly switches gears. His restlessness is part of the reason why he is one of the most highly respected six-string wielding jazz musicians of thisRead More

Later this month, elite jazz guitarist John Scofield will be releasing a new CD, This Meets That, which includes Scofield’s long time friend and sometimes bass player Steve Swallow. I’ll be covering that CD real soon, but listening to this fresh new offering from Scofield harks back to his daysRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Singer/songwriter Machan’s resume reads like Sheryl Crow’s before 1994: an in-demand backup singer for heavies like Sting, Pink Floyd, George Benson, Gov’t Mule, Pat Benatar and Hiroshima. And now, like Crow did back in ’93, she seems to be making an earnest attempt at a soloRead More

You had to wonder how much better “Louisiana 1926” would have been with someone who could really sing it. Enter Aaron Neville.

NICK DERISO: Used to be, liking the Alabama-born Sullivans was akin to being part of some secret society. Nobody knew ’em. But the ones who did, well, they flat-out loved ’em. Then, somewhere along the way, Jerry and Tammy Sullivan went from being little-known gospel greats to gosh-dog superstars. We’reRead More

by S. Victor Aaron They look and sound like they’ve been around forever, but the Subdudes have “only” existed for 20 years (counting the roughly eight-year hiatus from 1996-2004), mainly flying under the radar. They come out of that musically rich town of New Orleans, but have rarely been mentionedRead More

NICK DERISO: Sequencing an album by the New Orleans-based Irish folkie Beth Patterson must be like trying to make sense of a series of radio stations. The first track on her debut solo CD was a classic reel, one of those familiar yet still luminous moments with the swirling rhythmsRead More

By Pico The fertile music grounds of Austin, Texas has brought the world such uniquely talented guitar big shots like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Johnson. But the list doesn’t stop there; among many other specialists of the six string from that locale is a dude who stands out aRead More

Funny that most people finish their thoughts on outlaw country with Willie and Waylon. Because if you’re talking outlaw — real outlaw; as in your basic leather-wearing, bad-attitude-having, stringy-hair-hanging, tat-sporting, law-breaking (did I mention, bad-attitude-having?), six-gun-waving, hog-riding, too-country-for-country-radio singing outlaw — David Allan Coe is your prototype. He’s the kindRead More