by S. Victor Aaron World class drummer Manu Katché continues to pursue a second musical career as a bandleader with his third ECM release (and fourth overall) on Third Round. His second ECM Playground was warmly greeted here when it first appeared three years ago, and his label debut wasRead More

by S. Victor Aaron One of the newer jazz labels that’s been on a roll lately is Marc Free’s outfit, Posi-Tone Records. Started up in 1994, Posi-Tone is a rare independent label that’s done a remarkable job in balancing its roster with top shelf veterans and some of the moreRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Throughout all of the history of jazz, trumpet players were always in the vanguard: Armstrong, Gillespie, Davis, Bowie, I could go on. The common theme with the two fresh offerings go beyond the fact that they are led or co-led by trumpeters; these are releases thatRead More

by S. Victor Aaron We introduced the master trumpeter Weiss on this space as the leader of the talent laden New Jazz Composer’s Octet and he’s shepherded this project through five releases. The NJCO represents just a slice of the long and varied career of this Queens, NY native. HavingRead More

Things could be looking up for Grace Potter & The Nocturnals. by Pico It’s been a whole three months since we last discussed a batch of sparkling new releases that are targeted for wider audiences. That’s such a long span that a few of the half dozen records yakked aboutRead More

A young Israeli just beginning to make his imprint on New York’s competitive jazz scene, guitarist and composer Nadav Remez is a grad of both Berklee and the New England Conservatory of Music. With the help of Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records, he issued his first album, a powerful calling cardRead More

Even decades later, ‘Africa/Brass’ still casts John Coltrane – and this is saying something – in a new, insistently inventive light.

by S. Victor Aaron “Finding your own voice” is such an overused phrase these days. That especially holds true in the music business, where such rote advice is handed out like doubloons at a Mardi Gras parade. The young, alto tenor saxophone specialist Sarah Manning has heard those words herself,Read More

photo: Jimmy Katz by S. Victor Aaron If you has happened to follow this site long enough, you know the drill: The Stryker/Slagle Band puts out a new record, I listen to said new record, then I write about how great it is. Keeper, the newest by the Stryker/Slagle BandRead More

photo: Kyle Ober by Pico It’s catch up time again. In what is becoming a frequent tradition for me on Something Else, I’m taking a batch of CD’s and doing pocket reviews on them, in order to get you all caught up on what’s been getting the spins lately. WhereasRead More