Here’s a case of “old school meets new school.” Saxophonist Rob Dixon, who we earlier introduced as a key player in Derrick Gardner’s Jazz Prophets, is another Indianapolis-based jazz talent who’s been getting notice since the mid-nineties as an up and comer for both his playing and composing. Hammond B3Read More

From the God Of Hellfire to an Angel Of Love? That’s the one-hit wonder from 1968 who brought us that singularly psychedelic, bombastic classic “Fire.” Brown had been mostly out of the public focus since then, but one of rock’s most flashy and colorful characters never faded. Nah, he wasRead More

For this installment of Quickies, the inaugural releases of a new label dedicated to presenting the music of talented up and coming jazz musicians are highlighted. These musicians are all members of an artist collective, the Brooklyn Jazz Underground, and this spring saw the launching of the collective’s Brooklyn JazzRead More

by S. Victor Aaron With the tragic, unexpected death of Sean Costello, the blues world lost a guy I and others thought was the Next Big Thing in that idiom. The good news is that there are still others out there working hard to put their own stamp on theRead More

by Pico One in a while, you come across a musician who so effectively cobbles together a wide range of styles so effortlessly you swear you’ve heard it somewhere before…but you can’t quite put a finger on it. New York City born and bred troubadour K.J. Denhert is one ofRead More

by Pico Ken Burns’ epic PBS documentary on jazz spent nearly all its time on the history up to 1960 and little afterwards. The implication was that jazz stopped becoming revolutionary and more evolutionary after Ornette Coleman ushered in the “new thing” at the beginning of the sixties. Thus, thereRead More

by Pico The title A Ride To The Other Side isn’t intended to mean anything deep, but nevertheless the music is a thrill ride to the side of that soulful funky acoustic jazz of the sixties. Trumpet player Derrick Gardner is firmly behind the wheel driving that bus. Derrick Gardner,Read More

I’m a little biased when it comes to Steely Dan. But my biases can’t shield me from the realization that this is a mediocre Walter Becker song.

by Pico When Julian Lennon unfurled his debut Valotte back in 1984 about four years following his father’s untimely death, it gave John Lennon fans hope that the offspring could pick up where his Dad left off. We know now that the expectations were unrealistic and try as he mightRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Let’s get this out of the way first: “Do The Hate Laugh Shimmy” is a title that the artist took from an e.e.cummings poem. Don’t ask me what it means (even the artist is not entirely sure), but it’s sounds stylin’ all the same. The stylin’Read More