Trombone Shorty’s sudden emergence on the national music scene from the streets of Treme is one of the big music stories of 2010. by S. Victor Aaron Sometimes when listening to music, neither jazz nor mainstream is right for the moment. Blues or something folky or rootsy is usually calledRead More

Larry and Tak’s new record is taking Japan by storm; can it do the same in the U.S.? The five new albums below were chosen for a Quickies together mainly because they’re fusion-type records. Beyond that, they are also by artists who I’ve followed for a while or used toRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Birthday parties are almost always such fun events and nowadays, they all get captured on video. When someone marks their eightieth birthday, that’s a real cause for celebration. And when the birthday boy celebrates it by ripping it up making some great music, that’s just icingRead More

Like Christian Scott’s prior two albums, ‘Yesterday You Said Tomorrow’ is a jazz record that’s direct, deep and lives in the present.

by Pico A new John Ellis CD drops today, which is an occasion to shout an hallelujah or two. And that’s not just because Ellis serves his jazz with heaping spoonfuls of gospel, either. A couple of years ago, one of the of brightest, ascending sax stars today decided toRead More

In an interlocking story with a few shimmering asides, John Dufresne writes about everyday love in his book “Johnny Too Bad” with riveting color and emotion. Actually, a character named John writes about them, or tries to. Still, there are brilliant shards of light running through these pieces, which fitRead More

by Pico & Nick DeRiso Over at Something Else Reviews, we’re in a celebratory mood tonight as our team has finally made the Big Show. So for now, only one kind of music will do for us… You May Also Like: No related posts.

by Pico Very early in this site’s existence, I wanted to introduce the “Acid (Jazz) Redux” series and the choice for the inaugural album had to be one that represented the genre very well. That’s why Flyin’ The Koop by New Orleans funk-jazz outfit Galactic drummer Stanton Moore got theRead More

by Pico Since the New Orleans Saints is the Official™ NFL Team of Something Else, we were most bummed about the end of the team’s incredible winning streak last Saturday in the ‘Dome at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys. But we still remain hopeful that our boys in theRead More

Both the most French of American musicians, and the other way around, Cajun rock star Zachary Richard makes roots music that couldn’t go by any other name. It is about his heritage, and his people’s, in Louisiana and in Canada and back all the way to France. In fact, hisRead More