Every so often, someone comes along like a breath of fresh air. With ‘Reflection of Another Self,’ Milena Casado becomes the next one.

This creative burst mostly came with help from jazz luminaries, but ‘The Omnichord Real Book’ still sounds like the singular Meshell Ndegeocello.

S. Victor Aaron picks the best of 2014’s non-jazz albums, including Lucinda Williams, Me’Shell Ndegéocello, Drive-By Truckers and others.

Ruthie Foster sets the stage for ‘Promise of a Brand New Day’ with a light-filled paean to the healing powers of song.

Here are the seven best albums outside of realm of jazz so far in 2014. So says me.

Ndegéocello has a complete command of music in its many forms – and the creativity to forge something different.

What a year. Several metric tons of great music passed through my ears but somehow I managed to remember almost none of it. Too busy. Too worried. Too distracted. Being so caught up in my own thoughts caused most of sound to bounce right off. You May Also Like: NoRead More

This is a drummer’s record but not a record about drum solos. Musically, however, it’s about a lot of other things, like rhumba, West African, reggae, Moroccan, Afro-Cuban, funk-fusion and, finally jazz. You May Also Like: Daniel Carter, William Parker, Matthew Shipp – Seraphic Light, Live at Tufts University (2018)Read More

On this special edition of Something Else Reviews’ One Track Mind, we hand the reins over to ubiquitous sideman Kenny Aronoff You May Also Like: Supersonic Blues Machine – West of Flushing, South of Frisco (2016) John Fogerty, LPT, Alan Parsons Project + Others: Five for the Road

Though she doesn’t make radio hits anymore, Me’Shell Ndegéocello just gets more interesting as her focus gets ever sharper. You May Also Like: Meshell Ndegeocello – ‘The Omnichord Real Book’ (2023) Thrift Store Halo – ‘Enemies With Benefits’ EP (2022) The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, “Fire” (1968): One TrackRead More