It’s less than one week to Christmas, ladies and gents. Still trying to figure out what to give your loved one or boss that perfect music gift?

by Pico We’re getting to the end of the year and it feels as though there’s still too many 2008 CD’s to sift through and evaluate. I’m not ready for 2009 yet! Before launching into the ol’ year-end “best of 2008” lists, let’s quickly run through a couple of freshRead More

by Pico The topic of this review is yet another ESP-Disk release, and I’ve often wondered if ESP is an acronym for “not for the faint of heart” in Esperanto. I’m a lot more certain of this, though: Barnacled is a perfect fit for the label, which seems to relishRead More

photo by Pavel Korbut by S. Victor Aaron The Cuban influence on jazz has been resilient from the late forties on. From Desi Arnez and Mongo Santamaria to Paquito D’Rivera and Arturo Sandoval, the heritage remains as strong as ever, as evidenced by the left-field success of Ry Cooder’s BuenaRead More

by Nick DeRiso “Come Together,” a concert first envisioned as a benefit to raise anti-violence awareness through the work of John Lennon, was scheduled to be held on Oct. 2, 2001, at New York City’s famed Radio City Music Hall. Then came Sept. 11. This rangy event, featuring recorded snippetsRead More

by Pico Brad Leali (alto saxophone) and Claus Raible (piano) formed this quartet about three years ago and while they’re not all that well known, they certainly know their jazz roots well. These guys understand that jazz has always been a blues-based music form, but modern twists have all butRead More

by Pico Now with Thanksgiving and and that bloody shopping ritual called Black Friday behind us, the Christian season of Advent has begun. For the Catholic faith at least, it starts this Sunday, and lasts until Christmas Eve. This observation of the impending birth of Christ (and his second coming)Read More

NICK DERISO: “Whatever happened,” Van Morrison, erstwhile pop singer, old-soul blues gypsy, entertainer-slash-provocateur, sings here, “to the way it’s supposed to happen? And whatever happened to me?” Much, in fact, has happened. Morrison, it’s worth noting, could have settled in as a fixture on pop music’s hit-machine dead end afterRead More

by Nick Deriso Hall and Oates are, of course, the poster boys for what happens when hair gel meets R&B. Funny thing is, they were originally anything but polished. Hall had reportedly been in an early Philly band with Thom Bell, later a central figure in that city’s R&B legacy.Read More

“Nothing Too Much Just Out Of Sight,” from Paul McCartney’s collaborations as the Fireman, screams – literally – for attention.