This plays like Vince Guaraldi for a new generation, as Harry Connick Jr. performs an all-original, Christmas-themed set that recalls the spirit of the season without falling into the cliches that often follow better known Yuletide classics. You May Also Like: The Jerry Granelli Trio – ‘Plays Vince Guaraldi &Read More

Frank Sinatra would have been 97 last Monday. His mystery still lingers with me, as does the memory of a concert — one of Sinatra’s last — when he recaptured all of that complexity. You May Also Like: Frank Sinatra’s ‘Lite-Up Time’ Shows Were the Last of Their Kind

Anyone expecting the cosmic prog-rock journeys of Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman’s work as members of Yes must have been a little disappointed.

Whereas Geri Allen’s solo piano debut for Motema, 2010’s Flying Toward the Sound, focused on musical inspirations Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner and Cecil Taylor, the follow up travels in more personal circles. You May Also Like: John Blum Quartet feat. Marshall Allen – ‘Deep Space’ (2024)

2011 brought its share of comebacks (Gregg Allman, the Meters’ Zigaboo Modeliste, the Time) Stax-related joys (both Booker T. Jones and Steve Cropper issued solo sides) and out-of-nowhere delights (Big Head Todd does the blues?). But how did they rank on my list? Read on, as I count down myRead More

The music of Raoul Bjorkenheim, Bill Laswell and Morgan Agren is just as interesting for what it does as what it doesn’t do

Jai “Jaimoe” Johanson, a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band, has constructed an interesting side project when his main group is on hiatus: A jazz-rock collective called Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band. You May Also Like: Dickey Betts’ Star Rose as the Allman Brothers Band Grieved

John Baumgardner’s Fruitcake with Nuts, which joins a teetering stack of Christmas-themed recordings, nevertheless finds a way to stand out in the crowd. Some of that is due to the pianist’s choice of material, which doesn’t always hew to conventions. You May Also Like: John Surman – Invisible Threads (2018)

Tony Bennett’s warm, inviting delivery would seem perfectly suited to seasonal music — and it is. You May Also Like: Jazz Reedist Daniel Bennett on How Musicians Can Thrive In (and After) the Pandemic Age [Part 1 of 2] Daniel Bennett Group – ‘New York Nerve’ (2020)

I came back to this song again, as the anniversary of the Band bassist’s death on Dec. 10, 1999, loomed this week. You May Also Like: No related posts.