by Pico In the past, I’ve gotten these year-end lists out about two weeks before the end of the year. This time, a crush of projects in the fall set me back and I’m still sorting through a stack of records. Since it wouldn’t be fair to declare the winnersRead More

by Pico Maybe you’ve noticed the trend and maybe you haven’t, but there sure seems to be a whole lot more of the fairer sex among up-and-coming jazz players. I’ve found myself covering a lot more jazz records by female artists lately, and it hasn’t been by design; there areRead More

If whack jazz isn’t exactly your cup of tea, this fifth and final installment of “The Best of 2008” might suit you better. It’s all about the blues, here. I took a fairly broad view of what is called “the blues.” Some of these records may not have a singleRead More

This is Part Four overall, but the last part of the “Best of Jazz” trilogy. While the last section focused on fusion, here’s where we’re gettin’ wiggy with it because this section is devoted to whack jazz. Looking back, I’m disappointed in myself that I didn’t cover that many newRead More

photo: Rueters (R.I.P. Esbjörn) by Pico With the best releases of the more mainstream type of jazz examined, it’s time to take a look at jazz hybrids, or fusion. In years past,”fusion” usually meant just jazz-rock fusion. Increasingly, even jazz-rock music has become more fragmented, as we’ve seen an explosionRead More

by Pico Yesterday was a look back at what I thought were the best mainstream music releases of 2008. Now it’s time for the installment of this year’s “Best Of” series that’s my main bread and butter: straight ahead jazz. More records of that sort were covered in this spaceRead More

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?

With all the All Star albums of 2007 out of the way, there’s just one more piece of year-end business to take care of: my favorite song of the year. Like the top CD of the year, this one didn’t require much agonizing. It’s a song that puts me inRead More

by Pico Either it’s been a strong year music-wise, or I’ve simply been listening to more new releases than I usually do. It’s probably a combination of both but regardless, there was a lot of good chaff left on the floor by the time I finalized my All-Stars Starters andRead More

When it came time to decide which CD’s to include in my starters and alternates lists for 2007, there was a lot of agonizing over many of the choices. But my top choice came early and easily. In fact, it was all but determined by the end of May, afterRead More