The sky’s the limit for Aaron Parks and he’s already several miles off the ground.

Used to be that whenever the term “Scandinavian jazz” would come up, one could summarize it by pointing to the sterile, pristine folk-jazz popularized by Jan Garbarek and the ECM label from the seventies on. In recent times, it’s come to mean such a variety of styles and tendencies thatRead More

The title of this Chicago song, named after a Greek character who eternally pushes a rock up hill only to have it roll back down, is sadly ironic.

NICK DERISO: Finding an impressive record by Lionel Hampton, known for both his harmonic and rhythmic sophistication, is easy. Finding one that delights as much as its intrigues anymore, however, is rare. His legacy, now more than ever, is secure: Born in Louisville, Ky., in 1908, Hamp would record hundredsRead More

NICK DERISO: Cephas and Wiggins, America’s best remaining champions of the easterly Piedmont blues tradition, somehow never really made it. I mean, Robert Cray-type made it. Stevie Ray-type made it. A shame. Self-taught harp player Phil Wiggins, from Washington D.C., met John Cephas as the 1960s blues revival was inRead More

My, how time flies. It didn’t seem so long ago when Wynton Marsalis spotted this young trumpet talent at a Dallas high school in the mid-eighties. Since then, Roy Hargrove has recorded fourteen albums as a leader, and another co-led with Herbie Hancock and Michael Brecker. For these efforts, he’sRead More

 In 1966, attorney Bernard Stollman founded the ESP-Disk label in New York City. Less than three years later, with orders dried up from established record labels bootlegging their better-selling records, the label was driven out of business. This is a familiar story followed in some variation by thousands of start-upRead More

Last year we touched on a solid release by Steve Allee, Colours, where the seasoned Indianapolis-based pianist found delight in turning from crossover jazz to honest-to-goodness straight trio jazz. Allee must have really enjoyed making that record, because here we are less than a year later discussing another new SteveRead More

Extended improv sections of songs oftentimes turn into what Umphrey’s McGee calls a “Jimmy Stewart.” So what exactly is a “Jimmy Stewart?”

Ten years ago, Hanson caused a stir in the pop world by delivering catchy tunes that were self-performed and largely self-penned, by siblings who were still just kids. Today, the blues has its own version of Hanson, and the name of this family affair is The Homemade Jamz Blues Band.Read More