Marc Ribot’s Map of a Blue City is uneven, unsettling, intriguing, and surprisingly warm but not easily accessible to most. It comes off, probably just as he intended, as a
On May 25, 2025, the recently anointed NEA Jazz Master Marshall Allen turns 101. It’s been a fantastic year for the iconic leader of the Sun Ra Arkestra. He delivered
Neither the photography on the front and back jacket nor the title of Chris Cheek’s Keepers of the Eastern Door directly bespeak a jazz album, but are certainly intriguing. First,
The semi-annual Exit Zero Jazz Festival, its twenty-fourth edition, was held May 16-18, 2025 in the nation’s oldest ocean resort, Cape May, NJ, featuring many of the top performers in jazz, emerging stars
Both Keb’ Mo’ and Taj Mahal have been playing their music for over half a century. Taj is approaching seven decades. We throw the term ‘legend’ rather casually these days, but these two have
Two female, redheaded raspy blues vocalists from Texas come to mind. One is practically immortal, Janis Joplin. Yet another Texan has been ripping bluesy guitar licks and belting out the
Dywayne Thomas Jr., aka MonoNeon, marches to his beat and can take any direction. I’ve seen him burn up the stage at Newport Jazz with a decibel-breaking, raucous performance. That
When seeing BEATrio in concert, drummer Antonio Sanchez, who positioned himself as the project’s leader, rather offhandedly quipped, “Banjo, harp, drums…what the hell is that?” It may be one of
Brandon Woody is the new trumpet voice in jazz who simultaneously sounds new and old. You’ll hear he is steeped in the tradition of such greats as Freddie Hubbard while
The highly versatile vocalist Joan Osborne, who excels as both a songwriter and song interpreter, returns with the live album, Dylanology, eight reimagined, well-known Bob Dylan songs. Her road band
