Since his early days of hangin’ with Mr. Cougar, James McMurtry remains the same guy he was back then, but with some subtle differences.

“Quickies” are mini-record reviews of new or upcoming releases, or “new to me.”

If you’ve dismissed the Stylistics’ “People Make the World Go Round” because it might be a played of a soft-rock oldies station, take a closer listen.

Joe Pass’ ‘Six String Santa’ is delightful, whether you’re paying close attention or only looking for background music to induce a swinging yuletide mood.

After a quarter of a century away as he delved into lightweight urban contemporary, soundtracks and side gigs, I’m becoming a Stanley Clarke fan again.

by S. Victor Aaron The thing that amazes me when exploring Brazilian music is that while there are usually a lot characteristics you can find in most music out of that country, overall the music is much more diverse than the Brazilians get credit for here in America. That reallyRead More

S. Victor Aaron Evidently, the word “constellation” in your CD title means you’re gonna stretch people’s ears. But while Roseman does it with trippy reggae-jazz, Eisenbeil gets it done with good old fashioned free (read: whack) jazz. Eisenbell is clearly influenced by that godfather of free form guitar, Derek Bailey,Read More

by S. Victor Aaron I remember trombone player Josh Roseman from his notable appearance on my favorite Charlie Hunter album. He had a certain sass in his sound that stood out and made me think he wasn’t content with being a run-of-the-mill bone player. But that thought never got muchRead More

by S. Victor Aaron A lot of hay has been made of Porcupine Tree’s 2007 release Fear Of A Blank Planet, and yes, I’ve joined in the fray. It’s a solid effort from a band that hadn’t stumbled much to begin with. But PT’s leader Steven Wilson is just tooRead More

Once again, Robert Cray shows that he is reverent to the old masters – but yet wholly his own man.