It’s perhaps unsurprising that nobody recognizes Benmont Tench, for too long the faceless soul of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers. After all, singers and guitar players are typically the focal points. You May Also Like: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ gritty Mojo was more than just the blues Mudcrutch’s belated self-titled debutRead More

This is part two of Sammy Stein’s comprehensive look into the genesis of the rangy improvisational genre of music that eventually became known as free jazz. [Click here for Part 1.] You May Also Like: ‘All That’s Jazz,’ by Sammy Stein (2017): Books Paul Jolly, free jazz musician, club ownerRead More

This would have been the most variedly accessible, hit-worthy album of Gov’t Mule’s career — even if they hadn’t invited along a raft of famous folks to join them for a second-disc sing-along. You May Also Like: Gov’t Mule + John Scofield – Sco-Mule (2015) As Gov’t Mule reached aRead More

Kind Of Blue has long been touted as the best jazz album ever made, and I remain on that big bandwagon. But what’s the second best? You May Also Like: Wayne Shorter (1933-2023): An Appreciation Denny Zeitlin – Early Wayne (2016)

“I’m the only one who does what I do,” says Robert Randolph matter-of-factly, and anyone even only casually familiar with his music know he’s right. You May Also Like: Robert Randolph & the Family Band – Got Soul (2017) Marcus Randolph and My Peeples Peeple – Transplant (2017) The WordRead More

Robert Randolph and his Family Band are poised to follow up on that T-Bone Burnett-produced affair We Walk This Road (2010) with Lickety Split, a group of a dozen new recordings including nine new originals. You May Also Like: Robert Randolph & the Family Band – Got Soul (2017) MarcusRead More

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

‘Without a Net’ is like revisiting of Wayne Shorter’s tenure with Art Blakey, and the strange new worlds he’d explore with Miles Davis, but in a brand-new context.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpyUQ6iDcbA&w=500&h=305] Growing up in New Orleans, Aaron Neville loved doo-wop music, so an album focused on this 1950s-era music makes sense. What perhaps doesn’t is that this new Blue Note release finds him collaborating with Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. You May Also Like: Keith Richards on theRead More

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsNLlhogny0&w=500&h=305] I expected Joe Lovano, after an association dating back to 1981, to offer tribute to Paul Motian — the legend who died just two months before the saxist began Cross Culture. Instead, Lovano begins with a sun-drenched burst of joy. You May Also Like: Marcin Wasilewski Trio feat.Read More