<<< 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

Most bands tend to constrict themselves by setting up parameters or sticking to a formula within which they operate, in order to create a sort of trademark sound. You May Also Like: Medeski Martin & Wood with Alarm Will Sound – ‘Omnisphere’ (2018) ‘Tragic Magic: The Life of Traffic’s ChrisRead More

Medeski, Martin & Wood has cast such a long shadow over the whole acid jazz movement for so long that the MMW can no longer be considered merely a band, it’s a franchise. You May Also Like: Medeski Martin & Wood with Alarm Will Sound – ‘Omnisphere’ (2018)

Fusion jazz is a music form where there’s been very little out there truly fresh and new for a long while. Spectrum Road changes that.

Legendary Cream bassist Jack Bruce is part of a new supergroup, this one featuring Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid. Check them out here! You May Also Like: Jack DeJohnette, Larry Grenadier, John Medeski, John Scofield – Hudson (2017) Tomeka Reid Quartet – ‘3+3’ (2024)

The surface comparisons were nearly impossible to ignore and, I have to admit, I immediately associated the Bad Plus to Medeski Martin and Wood. You May Also Like: No related posts.

Last fall MMW kicked off the first part of their Radiolarians trilogy with Radiolarians I. Earlier this month, Part 2 came out. As with Part 1, Radiolarians II has many of the threesome’s astonishing range, sharp musicianship and unpredictability on display; it’s atypical nature makes it a typical MMW album,Read More

by Pico So what do these three albums getting the spotlight on this Quickies have in common? For one, they all fall on the jazz side of things (no surprise there). For another, these are all April releases. Oops, it’s already May, isn’t it? It’s still not too late toRead More

Irma Thomas, whose Louisiana legend of a voice has darkened into a more expressive place, is taking a similar career tack. The new “Simply Grand,” in fact, finds Thomas moving deeper into the emotional underpinnings of her best work at a time when safer environs would probably be more profitable.Read More

by S. Victor Aaron It’s no throwaway phrase to say Shemekia Copeland was raised on the blues; her Dad Johnny Copeland established a proud tradition of quality blues as a singer, songwriter and guitarist and put out a slew of notable records in the 80’s and 90’s until his deathRead More