Cannonball Adderley’s ‘Somethin’ Else’ is the lesser-known, but very worthy, companion piece to ‘Kind of Blue’ that every jazz fan should have.

by Nick DeRiso The year was 1959. The occasion was a “Battle of the Blues” at the Blue Flame Club in Chicago. Young harmonica player Junior Wells — who got his start as Little Walter Jacobs’ replacement in Muddy Waters’ band back in ’52 — probably didn’t imagine he wouldRead More

Bob Margolin makes fine use of delay-time rhythm, a mean slide scream, and the duo and trio ideas that were so successful for his old boss, Muddy Waters.

Several years ago, Capitol Records released a terrific 3-CD box set called “Crazy Diamond,” by Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett. Included are “The Madcap Laughs” and “Barrett” — Syd’s only solo albums after getting the boot from Floyd. Also featured is a third disc of unreleased material and rarities, calledRead More

Ray Brown is one of those underrated guys who kept on producing important work well past his so-called prime, because he remained such an in-the-pocket guy. You can’t go wrong with the old Jazz at the Philharmonic stuff, of course. But I also typically recommend his late-period work on Telarc,Read More

They haven’t taken more than a week off since Nixon’s first term. They’ve withstood disco, fathering a rafter-shaking, swing-blues style that saw its own too-fey-by-half revival. (Did you ever notice that all those bands a few years back had names with the word Daddy in them?) So it is thatRead More

by Nick DeRiso Almost certainly written by Paul McCartney in an attempt to mirror some of the heavier, more intellectually raw pieces that John Lennon had begun to craft. Lennon was not outwardly impressed — famously sniffing that it was “the best song Paul ever wrote” — but there areRead More

The late Louisiana blues legend Gatemouth Brown could be a grouchy man. How grouchy? Let’s find out.

by Nick DeRiso They were the Chanteuse, the Wild Hair (in more ways than one) and the Songstress. And now Fleetwood Mac has had a hit album in every decade since the 1970s. You May Also Like: Lindsey Buckingham wants Fleetwood Mac to be like the Eagles: ‘They always seemRead More

by Nick DeRiso Spring time. That means sudden storms, stingingly bright flowers — and birds. Or, for me, Bird. Here are a few recommended Charlie Parker sides to while away the sunshine and showers … “The Legendary Dial Masters, Vols. 1 & 2,” from 1996 on Jazz Classics For beginningRead More