Bill Champlin has a face to match his voice — rugged and sharp-edged, a great gravelly visage.

Photo: Kevin Westenberg By Pico A year ago I broke with my unusual protocol and included a “non-new” album in a Quickies piece. These Streets by Paolo Nutini had already been out for a couple of years by that time, but the debut album by this exceptionally talented teenaged singer-songwriterRead More

by Pico Duck Baker has made his name over several decades as a virtuosic acoustic guitarist, one who prefers to play it solo. That might make him sound like another Leo Kottke, but there’s much more to Baker that makes him a compelling and interesting musician. Baker obviously craves applyingRead More

by Nick DeRiso From the South, but not really, Diana Jones sings with an unforgettable, old-time lonesomeness — like a late-arriving featured act at an old Carter Family jubilee. She then expands on the familiar bluegrass vocabulary with a character-driven, literary touch, nowhere to better effect than on the newRead More

by S. Victor Aaron It’s been the season for fusion superstar comebacks lately. Last year the classic lineup of Return To Forever got back together and toured, culminating into the 2-CD live souvenir Returns. Later in the year, Corea hooked up with fellow Miles sideman John McLaughlin to headline aRead More

by Pico Last week, another Strickland made his debut. Enoch Jamal Strickland, better known as “E.J.” Strickland, has made his name as a drummer for notables that include Freddie Hubbard,

by S. Victor Aaron Hybrids are all the rage these days; you see Toyota Priuses and Honda Insights filling up our roadways as recent gas price hikes has engendered a greater focus on fuel efficiency. There’s was recently another cool new hybrid unveiled, but this isn’t a hybrid of gasRead More

by Pico Can Old School sound fresh? It did when Wynton Marsalis first burst onto the jazz scene at a time when tradition was largely ignored or widely diluted. After a seventeen year stint in The Count Basie Orchestra, a sideman stint in Marcus Roberts’ combo and recording dates withRead More

by Pico I’ve often wondered what a record made by a couple of guys who’ve made a distinguished living scoring films, TV shows, even CD ROM education games would sound like. Actually, I haven’t, but with yesterday’s release of Dave Siebels with Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, I’ve got myRead More

‘Mama Rosa,’ named after Brian Blade’s grandmother, is a thematic album built around family, faith and early life events, as well as people he’s come to love along the way.