PRISM August 10th, 2012 from Ulli Gruber on Vimeo. At this milestone of Dave Holland’s career — the forty year anniversary of his debut, seminal free jazz album Conference Of The Birds — his prolific catalog as a leader since has included jazz of nearly every stripe You May AlsoRead More

There might not be a more accurate title for a Mike Stern album than the one coming out next week. You May Also Like: Mike Stern – Trip (2017) Mike Stern and Jeff Lorber Fusion – ‘Eleven’ (2019)

Recently, we’ve said goodbye to some jazz greats. So, how about switching gears to focus on the best beginnings?

by Mark Saleski Many artists, when asked to pick a favorite from their own discography, will lean toward their most recent release. Sure, I can see that. You work on new material, it’s fresh and exiting, and right there in the front of your mind. I’ve wondered what Pat Metheny’sRead More

There is a sensuous, lush quietude to this recording, which notes on the front that it was “inspired by water.” Ritter’s playing — trickling and ruminative one moment, bubbly and adventurous the next — certainly echoes the theme. You May Also Like: Why I Avoided Herbie Hancock’s Triumphant ‘River: TheRead More

During the first year or so of my post-college life, I developed a habit of visiting my local record shop every Saturday afternoon (it goes without saying that I already had this habit, maybe not so firmly attached to a particular day). It was an unassuming little store hiding inRead More

Photo: Raj Naik by Pico Millions of people know him as an affable, guitar-wielding long-time bandleader of the most popular late night show in television history. Now that Kevin Eubanks has left his eighteen year stint as Jay Leno’s  musician sidekick on The Tonight Show, it’s time to become acquaintedRead 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

A couple of years ago, I posed the question: is the Dave Holland Quintet the best jazz group working today? Today, the Dave Holland Quintet has been supplanted by the Dave Holland Sextet, and with last week’s unfurling of the Sextet’s first record Pass It On, we get to assessRead More

Miles Davis’ ‘Tribute to Jack Johnson’ is less than perfect in many respects, but the imperfections are such that they only add to the intrigue.