Neal Francis is making the most of his second chance to make a first impression, creating quality soul music earnestly by hand.

Released 50 years ago this week, the Temptations’ ‘Puzzle People’ is a blast of hard-edged soul, blistering funk fumes and acid-baked artiness.

Preston Frazier’s mid-year new music survey includes Best of 2019 candidates Bernard Fowler, Grupo Fantasma and Oz Noy, among others.

Bernie Chiaravalle joined Preston Frazier to discuss collaborating with Michael McDonald, early inspirations and his next solo release.

Fernando Perdomo, Alexis Evans, and a new prog supergroup are part of this occasional look at music that’s been in my car lately.

There is nothing usual, easy listening or ordinary about Arema Arega’s ‘The Red Soundtracks.’ It is completely different.

David Sanborn opened his new album 35 years ago with a sublime slice of sultry, mid-tempo funk co-written by the late, lamented Hiram Bullock.

Released 10 years ago, Walter “Wolfman” Washington’s ‘Doin the Funky Thing’ embraced blues modernity, while keeping one scuffed-up toe in the past.

Long past the hit-making phenomena of the ‘Silk Degrees’ years, Boz Scaggs is still providing some very good reasons to keep listening to him with his third return-to-my-roots record in a row, ‘Out of the Blues.’

If the name Chubby Tavares rings a bell, that’s because he is a member of the internationally acclaimed singing group Tavares.