Alyssa Graham’s “High Time,” this melancholy remake, transforms a familiar Grateful Dead song from 1970 into a scorching tale of hope replaced by regret. You May Also Like: ‘Burning Questions’ Found Graham Parker Still Angry, If No Longer Young

Tony Bennett, 85 this year and still singing with great dimension and style, is set to release of Tony Bennett: Duets II, Sept. 20 on RPM/Columbia Records. Here’s an early preview of a key track You May Also Like: Jazz Reedist Daniel Bennett on How Musicians Can Thrive In (andRead More

You’re forgiven for forgetting that Chris Connor, one of the premier cool-jazz vocalists, took a quick detour into popular music in the mid-1960s. You May Also Like: Eliane Elias Confidently Expanded Her Main Influences on ‘Bossa Nova Stories’ Gentle Giant – ‘Free Hand [Steven Wilson Mix]’ (1975; 2021 reissue) GentleRead More

For a moment, all you hear is James Westfall, playing a plaintive shape on the piano. Then jazz singer Sasha Masakowski slips in behind him, performing in another tongue – sounding like a passing thought that brings you all the way out of a daydream. You May Also Like: FutureRead More

by Mark Saleski There are a handful of female voices out there that’ll cause me to stop, listen, and be amazed: Bjork, Diamanda Galas, Rickie Lee Jones, The Roches. Those women rule the landscape with oddball cadences, insane textures, and emotional tones ranging from delicate sensuality to raw violence. ButRead More

by Mark Saleski Call me easily amused, by I’m a sucker for a girl who accompanies herself at the piano by whackin’ a chair with a drumstick. That was how Regina Spektor sang the sassy “Poor Little Rich Boy.” One hand for piano chords, the other for abusing a woodenRead More

by Mark Saleski I can’t exactly remember either the song or the awards show I saw her perform it on. It had to be either Roy Orbison’s “Crying” or maybe “Constant Craving You May Also Like: Jonny Lang – Signs (2017) Canadian Brass – ‘Canadiana’ (2022)

by Derrick Lord This is an act the Rat Pack — Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. — had down to a T and it really shows. A fun slice of musical history. You May Also Like: No related posts.

The deeply talented Laura Ellis gets going quickly on Femme Fatale, as if in midsentence, on the knowing and lightly ribald “I’ve Been Kissed Before.” As she sings a lyric about moving past previous relationships into new adventures, a brightly swinging horn section featuring Terry Harrington and Bob O’Donnell hitRead More

by Mark Saleski As record stores vanish, as more and more people get their music digitally, as the physical medium is phased out, well … honestly, I don’t know what the heck is going on out there. You May Also Like: Ella Fitzgerald, “Perdido” (1949): Appreciations Top 20 Versions ofRead More