When Christy Murphy’s off-kilter sensibility and spare folk-rock jangle mesh, as on the YouTube hit “Single Girl’s Love Song,” her album Feeling Good Looking Good is a merry little distraction. You May Also Like: Leviathan Drummer Gary ‘Roscoe’ Murphy: Something Else! Interview Glenn Frey’s music gave us a peaceful, easyRead More

Karl Grambo and the Roadhouse Redeemers have a rollicking, greasy good time on Bedrooms, Bars and Bibles. The only complaint is that the party, which clocks in at just eight songs, ends so quickly. Grambo opens with “I Was There,” featuring this grinding, grumpy riff and a gravelly, insistent voiceRead More

Drew Paralic is that most unusual of things, a jazz pianist and composer who has released an album of originals played by others. Having taken up the instrument too late, he says, to approach the mastery of deeply appreciated influences like Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk, Paralic instead decided toRead More

by Nick DeRiso Neo-soul singer Victor Nelson, in an aptly titled new disc, doesn’t try to hide his emotions on Transparent. In fact, across 10 songs (nine of them self-penned), the vocalist opens up completely. That raw, tender-hearted emotion finds a home in comfy musical surroundings, as Victor references manyRead More

Photo from After Midnight’s gigsalad.com web page by Nick DeRiso Clarinetist Roger Campbell has turned an enduring passion for swing legend Benny Goodman into a sizzling six-piece jazz project called After Midnight. It’s perhaps no surprise, then, that a new live effort finds him slithering his way through “Memories ofRead More

Photo from Gary Sellers’ website by Nick DeRiso Blues guitarist Gary Sellers has a depth of passion, and a delicate touch at melding styles, that belies his youth. Whatever grade he’s in, though, Sellers has done his homework. Listening to his new recording Soul Apparatus, you hear Gregg Allman inRead More

Photo from www.Jonathan-Parker.com by S. Victor Aaron Many up and coming jazz artists we’ve covered here typically come from just about every corner of the U.S.A., attend a prestigious music school and, perhaps after some intermediate stop at a regional jazz hub, eventually end up in the intensely competitive butRead More

photo: Bruno Schlumberger by S. Victor Aaron Peter Hum is, in a few ways, like me. We’re a couple of middle-aged guys who both love jazz, love to write about jazz and critique jazz records, and post our reviews on the internet. I’ve been an admirer of Hum’s jazz blogRead More

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Photo from Shawn Bell’s Facebook fan page by S. Victor Aaron The young trombonist Shawn Bell didn’t attend one of those big name prestigious music schools in the Northeast, nor is a player in the hustle and bustle of New York City’s intense jazz scene, but just listen to hisRead More