Posts by Joe Adler

Imagine going to a music school and studying with musicians who later would go on to form bands like The Slip and the Benevento/Russo Duo. What a crazy time it must have been for Marc Friedman, Andrew Barr and Marco Benevento when they attended classes together before they went on to form their revered bands. Their bond still holds strong, as was evidenced at their show to close out

Mecca Bodega is a group that sharpened its skills in this competitive and creative environment by plowing its way to the surface and spreading their music outside the subway stations of the city. On their sixth studio album, Skin, this large group of percussionists blend complex rhythmic statements with a fiery energy that evokes images of everything from busy city streets to expansive wide open country sides

Formed in the New York City jazz scene in 1991, Medeski, Martin and Wood have precisely climbed up the rungs to become one of the most respected improv-based jazz groups of the modern day. Glide caught up with drummer Billy Martin to discuss MMW: past, present and future.

By expressing her personal emotions in a very powerful and profound way, Kaki King

Nathan Moore may very well be one of the finest singer/songwriters of our generation. With songs that are so pure and honest, you can follow his pains and his joys note for note and word for word. Stepping away from his regular band, ThaMuseMeant, Nathan teamed up with the members The Slip to rejuvenate Surprise Me Mr. Davis, a band that grew out of a Boston blizzard a couple years ago.

At Orchestra Baobab

Tarantula adventured through a set of music making nods to classical as well as dark metal music, gypsy, and strange circus like music. However, this night of Tarantula did unfortunately have one missing element that was obvious – Jamie Reeder was missing. If they made mention of her absence, I did not hear it. Jamie

Philadelphia’s own Brothers Past are taking a big step forward with their new album, This Feeling’s Called Goodbye. Shedding the jam band clich

After having heard a lot of positive hype surrounding Brothers Past, it surprises me that it took this long to finally see what it was all about. Let me start by saying, that the Philadelphia band lives up to and, at times, completely exceeds the hype. The future holds a place for this band and I will be pleased to see them graciously accept it one day.

In the past year, The Disco Biscuits’ bassist Marc Brownstein founded his own voter registration group, HeadCount, had his first baby, and watched drummer Sammy Altman announce he is leaving the band after New Years. With all that going on, we skipped the usual interview fact sheet to discuss life behind the bass on a more candid level.

Synchronicity is something that, as I have found, follows the Grateful Dead’s music around pretty closely. There is something just plain magical about their songs. This was exemplified to me, yet again, when I was initiated into the world of the Dark Star Orchestra at Higher Ground.

This rare acoustic night showcased the heart of Medeski, Martin and Wood and how sometimes, all the bells and whistles, be they very cerebral to the MMW sound, should be silenced to simply breath in what music is all about in its natural and unaffected voice.