by Tom Johnson I am convinced that Wainwright is this generation’s finest melodist. I can’t think of a single young artist who so beautifully crafts vocals in such a way that it simply doesn’t matter what he’s singing about: You just want to hear the melody he’s singing. And thereRead More

by Derrick Lord It has long been the first trap any musician must jump once they hit it big. A successful record means a lot of people hear your music and from that point on you have a decision to make You May Also Like: Greg ‘Stackhouse’ Prevost – UniversalRead More

by Mark Saleski You wouldn’t suppose that most musicians would look favorably upon being compared to an old pile of rocks. How about an old, organized pile of rocks? You May Also Like: Paul Bley, Gary Peacock + Paul Motian – ‘When Will The Blues Leave’ (1999, rel. 2019) BillRead More

by Tom Johnson My dad introduced me to Robert Cray long ago and, even into a new century, little had changed with Cray: He was still putting out dependable, if unspectacular, albums of his smooth brand of blues — a sound that fills in that overlooked category of music thatRead More

by Tom Johnson Bassist Tony Levin has made an incredible career for himself backing some of the finest musicians in the world, but his most notable contributions have been with Peter Gabriel and the ’80s and ’90s incarnations of King Crimson. He left, then returned around this time when TreyRead More

by Tom Johnson Aimee Mann, the former ‘Til Tuesday frontwoman, turned in yet another amazing performance, this time in the form of a concept album centered on boxing as a metaphor for relationships. Or something like that. It doesn’t really matter; what matters was that Mann’s songcraft is once againRead More

by Mark Saleski The music starts playing and every little bit of you pays attention. This is a musical connection. You May Also Like: Wadada Leo Smith – Najwa (2017) Wadada Leo Smith and Orange Wave Electric – ‘Fire Illuminations’ (2023) Deerhoof, feat. Wadada Leo Smith – ‘To Be SurroundedRead More

by Tom Johnson Bill Frisell has become one of the most easily recognizable guitarists in jazz, and it’s not without an effort to incorporate himself into as many styles as one person could in a lifetime. Few guitarists in any genre could pull off the feat of having played inRead More

This week, Boston’s Berklee College of Music hosted the Rethink Music Convention. The official conference subtitle was “Creativity, Commerce, and Policy in the 21st Century.” An NPR segment on the conference featured a terrific quote You May Also Like: Matthew Shipp, Mat Maneri – ‘Conference of the Mat/ts’ (2018) RodRead More

by Mark Saleski Over the years I have spent many pen scrawls, pencil swipes, and keystrokes trying to describe what it is about ‘out’ music that moves me so much. Sometimes it’s pretty easy You May Also Like: Matthew Shipp – Zero (2018) Matthew Shipp – ‘The Intrinsic Nature ofRead More