by Mark Saleski Firstly, credit must be tossed in the direction of my former guitar teacher. Jerry Adams turned me on to piles of great jazz (and loaned me actual LPs). Jerry’s favorite guitarist was Jim Hall. I’m not sure I’d use the word “obsessive,” though Jerry did relate aRead More

by Mark Saleski Superfluous. Meaningless. Pointless. Redundent. Obligatory. No, I haven’t been playing with my thesaurus. These are just some of the words that are often used to describe live recordings. You May Also Like: Classic Rock Songs Sung by the Other Guy: Gimme Five How Tesla’s ‘Real to Reel’Read More

Given the fact that Pat Martino had played with some of the biggest B3 players in the business (including Jack McDuff and the great Jimmy Smith), it probably surprised no one that Martino’s first solo release You May Also Like: Pat Martino + Jim Ridl, “The Phineas Trane” from NexusRead More

“The marble index of a mind for ever voyaging through strange seas of thought, alone,” wrote Wordsworth in “The Prelude.” It was from this poem that German über model-turned-singer Nico took the inspiration You May Also Like: The Rugbys – Hot Cargo (1969): Forgotten Series Bill Deal and the RhondelsRead More

In a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame career dating back to the early 1950s, the Isley Brothers stayed on the move — transforming themselves from gospel shouters to doo-woppers to early rock ‘n’ rollers to nasty funksters to lover-man balladeers. You May Also Like: How the Isley Brothers MadeRead More

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

by Something Else Reviews Composer/producer Ryan Truesdell on Wednesday launched the Gil Evans Centennial Project at GilEvansProject.com. There’s news: Truesdell, the first person outside of the Evans family to have full access to his musical archives, has uncovered a series of rare compositions, from before and after Evans’ celebrated collaborationsRead More

Was thinking about the aptly titled Buffalo Springfield Again, and this brilliant grungy mess, after hearing news that the band would reform for a tour later in the year. Recorded in 1967 for the second of what would be a brief three-album tenure for Buffalo Springfield, Neil Young’s “Mr. Soul”Read More

George Shearing, the sightless bebop-influenced pianist best known for the 1952 jazz standard “Lullaby of Birdland,” died today of congestive heart failure at age 91. Here’s a look back at a favorite Shearing release, done alongside singer Nancy Wilson … by Nick DeRiso One of the smartest things Nancy WilsonRead More

by Nick DeRiso “Like Sonny,” reportedly based on an element of a Sonny Rollins solo — perhaps during “My Old Flame,” from Kenny Dorham’s 1957 Jazz Contrasts record? — illustrates the remarkable attention to detail that still makes John Coltrane’s music not just interesting but important. He wasn’t a stylist,Read More