Alternately volcanic, fragile, and threatening, but always jagged, Black Host is as inscrutable an ensemble as there is, consisting of five well-established figures of advanced jazz. You May Also Like: Brandon Seabrook, with Cooper-Moore + Gerald Cleaver – ‘Exultations’ (2020) Brandon Seabrook, Cooper-Moore + Gerald Cleaver – ‘In the Swarm’Read More

If you read enough writing about Springsteen, sooner or later you’ll discover that every song he’s ever done has been thought of as his “worst” by somebody. You May Also Like: Reevaluating Bruce Springsteen’s ‘The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle’

In making ‘Magnetic’ such a collaborative, free-flowing effort, Terence Blanchard has fashioned one of his most layered studio efforts ever.

While much has rightly been made of the Moody Blues’ prog-defining successes around the turn of the 1970s, a newly released concert performance contextualizes later hits like this one — which in its own way broke new ground. You May Also Like: The Moody Blues – ‘Sur la mer’ (1988):Read More

Few CDs scream summer to me the way most of the albums Dragon released in the 1980s do. I’d argue that no other band captured the overall atmosphere and spirit of summer in musical form the way Dragon did. You May Also Like: Dragon – ‘O Zambezi’ (1978): Antipodean AprilRead More

Brad Wilk, who was plucked out of Rage Against the Machine by producer Rick Rubin, has come to think of his time playing drums on the forthcoming Black Sabbath reunion project in almost mythical terms. You May Also Like: Why Black Sabbath Went Out on a High Note With ’13’Read More

If there’s any question as to how off-the-cuff, how gloriously in the moment, this ultra-rare one-off concert collaboration in fact was, one need only hear the lead tune — a fizzy, improv-filled take on “Lullaby of Birdland.” You May Also Like: Jazz Reedist Daniel Bennett on How Musicians Can ThriveRead More

Mike Love, a founding member of the Beach Boys and the only one to have appeared in all of its many incarnations over the decades, tends to take the long view on their legacy. You May Also Like: No related posts.

<<< BACKWARD (“Reelin’ In The Years [Live]”) ||| ONWARD (“Book Of Liars [Live]”) >>> *** STEELY DAN SUNDAY INDEX *** The first of three Aja songs on Alive In America finally appears five tracks in, the brilliant yet fun party tune that caps that classic album, “Josie.” You May AlsoRead More

Sellout crowds. Onstage marriage proposals. Grasshopper infestations. Paul McCartney’s latest world tour has been eventful, finding him presiding over a successful marriage proposal and fending off insects pelting him as he performs “Hey Jude.” You May Also Like: ‘Wings Over America’ Remains a Pinnacle for Paul McCartney, Warts and AllRead More