[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nd2Le9SHeU&w=500&h=305] An evening of improvised music becomes a thrilling journey into the imaginations of multi-instrumentalist David Cain and Grammy-awarding winning drummer Paul Wertico. You May Also Like: Wertico Cain and Gray – ‘Windows of Time’ (2021) Wertico Cain and Gray – ‘Without Compromise’ (2019)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77yuAl2Zc_c&w=420&h=315] Last year we told you about this funky, compact combo from the San Francisco Bay area by the name of Flowtilla, and their last album Waves and Particles showed how you can wring a lot of funk from such a little band. You May Also Like: Flowtilla –Read More

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhNXoeogHDo&w=500&h=305] Brilliantly off-kilter, completely unquantifiable, Xenat-Ra is, at any given moment, the best prog/free jazz/hip hop/metal band you’ve never heard of. You May Also Like: Projekt Gemineye – ‘Man of Science … Man of Dreams’ (2018) Tim Berne’s Science Friction – ‘Science Friction +size’ (2020) Walter Becker, “Medical ScienceRead More

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB7aWTFGcuI&w=420&h=315] Vancouver native and saxophonist Michael Blake came back to this Canadian city after residing in NYC for a quarter century, and brought home a wealth of ideas with him. You May Also Like: Ryan Blotnick – Kush (2016)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvpoiiBW9bc&w=500&h=305] We’ve each already had our say, individually. Said our piece. Then came time to meet over the remnants of the egg nog and hammer out a consensus — before we go over the disc-al cliff into 2013. You May Also Like: No related posts.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6TEcqDkTS0&w=500&h=305] This list is necessarily all over the map. Heck, in a lot of respects, there’s no map at all. You’ll find it in tatters down on the passenger-side floorboard. Delving into unsigned bands is like that. You May Also Like: David Sancious: The Albums That Shaped My CareerRead More

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuNlDW35VH4&w=500&h=305] The Second Mechanism is, for all intents and purposes, the tale of a band reborn. The band is Diagonal, a UK progressive rock outfit. The rebirth came about as the result of some major line-up shuffling You May Also Like: No related posts.

When compiling my lists of best jazz records, broken up into 3 distinct areas of jazz, I used three criteria for inclusion on one of these lists: 1. Is it good enough? (duh) 2. Is it jazz? (duh) -and- 3. Have I already reviewed it in some form or another?Read More

<<< Part Three, Whack Jazz In the final piece of these exhaustive, four-part salutes to the top releases of 2012, the fusion jazz records are surveyed. You May Also Like: Alphonse Mouzon (1948-2016): Tribute to an Endlessly Versatile Fusion Legend Jimmy Haslip, jazz bassist: The Albums That Shaped My Career

In one way or another, each of these recordings confounded and delighted me. Pushed me to new vistas, either in the way I approached the artist, their own original work, or the tunes they covered. Made me think, and feel differently. You May Also Like: Robert Cray – Robert CrayRead More