Album Reviews

With the release of his first solo album after six years with the band Midnight North (feat. Grahame Lesh), Alex Jordan offers strong evidence towards solidifying his own musical personality. The Subtle Exhibitionist may not always sound wholly original, but the music usually transcends easy comparisons because its multi-instrumentalist/composer creator is more urbane than he […]

Willie Nelson spends the majority of First Rose Of Spring gazing back over his life with the nostalgic perspective of a man approaching ninety years of age. The placid tone of its title track sets the stage for this thematic arrangement. The simplicity of its structure and his emotional delivery evoke memories of the country singer’s first […]

Pianist Julian Shore immerses the listener in journeys, both physical and emotional, as he assembles a stellar band, capable of conveying his deeply personal observations on Where We Started. Many of the players have long-standing shared histories. Shore has toured, performed, and recorded with saxophonists Caroline Davis (4 tracks) and Oded Tzur (closing track only) in their own groups. […]

Corb Lund, a native of Alberta (Canada’s Cowboy country) has dubbed his specific brand of music “Agricultural Tragic.”  The catchy tag is remarkably self-aware and makes a pretty apt title for his latest record. Lund’s variety of infectious Americana/Country/Bluegrass covers a lot of territory to be sure, but that territory of his latest includes plenty […]

Remember those glorious days when punk rock and country music collided to form a raucous new sound that would eventually be termed alt-country? The Country Westerns definitely do, as is evidenced by their self-titled debut. Consisting of singer-guitarist Joey Plunkett, drummer Brian Kotzur, and bassist Sabrina Rush, the trio have solid credentials between them ranging […]

With Ray LaMontagne’s Monovision, the singer-songwriter delivers emotionally captivating folk-rock balladry that soothes in its candor, soul, and simplicity. After pushing his musical boundaries a bit with the experimentalism of 2014’s Supernova and 2016’s Ouroboros, for his eighth album, LaMontagne returns to familiar territory. The album has all of the Ray LaMontagne trademarks, consisting mostly […]

Originally released in 2000, Riding with the King is actually one of three blues-oriented albums Eric Clapton conceived and executed during this phase of his career. 2004’s Me and Mr. Johnson was comprised of songs written and originally recorded by the icon of the genre Robert Johnson, while From the Cradle, released a decade earlier, […]

In these times the blending of Black music genres such as hip-hop, R&B, electronica and jazz are usually highly acclaimed based on the success of artists such as Robert Glasper, Thundercat, Kamasi Washington, Terrace Martin, Derrick Hodge, to name just a few.  Yet, when we travel back to 1969, we learn of a different reception […]

Khruangbin’s third studio LP Mordechai, comes after their breakthrough 2018 release, Hasta El Cielo (Con Todo El Mundo In Dub). The globally influenced trio is originally from Houston, but they haven’t been back to Texas in a while, as they have been touring all over for nearly three and a half years. Mordechai is their […]

With the Covid-19 pandemic shutting down the touring lives of musicians and fans, many artists are releasing live albums to both support their careers financially and also capture that addictive “in the moment” feeling we are all craving. The Canadian duo Japandroids have followed suit and their first live release Massey Fucking Hall was recorded […]

The ability for any partnership to survive thirty years is a remarkable feat, as I’m sure our married readers are willing to attest, but it is truly a rare accomplishment for musical groups to not only exist for over three decades, but to continue to thrive and musically evolve all while maintaining a legion of […]

Seldom does an artist burst upon the scene with an impressive debut like Seven Angels from NYC-based trumpeter, composer, arranger and now bandleader John Lake. He made his mark in large ensembles and session work, having moved to Brooklyn from the Midwest seven years ago. He’s been thinking about his own project for years now […]

Alto saxophonist/composer Bobby Watson debuts a new incarnation of his renowned band Horizon on Keepin’ It Real, furthering a legacy endowed by Watson’s days as one of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and passed on through a lifetime in jazz education. Watson, like drummer Ralph Peterson and other Blakey alumni, keep furthering the iconic drummer/bandleader’s legacy. […]

When Eric “Roscoe” Ambel gets behind a project, one needs to take notice. You can always count on visceral rock n’ roll and sassy attitude which is exactly what he and Emily Duff deliver on Born on the Ground. Duff’s nine “love songs” clock in at just a little over a half-hour. There’s no need […]

The Poland-based Marcin Wasilewski Trio has been playing together since their high school days and the current lineup has been in place since 1993, a remarkable achievement for any jazz unit. Suffice it to say, we know their sound well through their five ECM recordings and their appearances on other ECM albums. Wasilewski speaks for […]

The debut full length from Melbourne, Australia based Bananagun is an excitingly intoxicating mix of genres. Taking inspiration from such wide-ranging influences as afro-funk, retro soul, exotica jazz, folk, rock and garage punk The True Story of Bananagum keeps listeners guessing from moment to moment as the rich sounds blend into delicious tropical cocktails with […]

The last time we heard Will Hoge was on his 2018 blistering political protest filled American Dream, much of which is playing out in streets as this is being written. This time around, however, it’s as if he’s content having gotten all that angst out. Instead, he retreats to a more familiar comfort zone, storytelling […]

Jerry Granelli is a drummer with a decorated history of collaborations with icons over his six decade career. Here on The Jerry Granelli Trio Plays Vince Guaraldi & Mose Allison he teams with pianist Jamie Saft and bassist Bradley Christopher Jones to pay tribute to two of his favorite tenures with pianist Vince Guaraldi and […]

Color of Noize is only Derrick Hodge’s third album under his own name but he has been almost ubiquitous in recent years as a sidemen, producer, collaborator and opinion leader. The composer/bassist/bandleader has collaborated with Robert Glasper, Maxwell, Terence Blanchard, and Common. He’s played on Grammy-winning albums by all four. He’s produced for Blue Note […]

Punisher, the sophomore album by Los Angeles singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers, is an assured collection of brooding meditations that serenade, challenge, and give a glimpse into the psyche of a young artist on the rise. Some of the songs deal with the complex emotions that accompany her rise to fame following her 2017 full-length debut Stranger […]