September 2011

Lucy Kaplansky: Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse, Berkeley, CA 09/18/2011

Lucy Kaplansky has a well-honed grasp on melody, which is something almost impossible to teach and reveals her deeply rooted and intuitive musicianship. Still, Kaplansky’s seriousness and austerity, matched with a few uninspired new songs, made it a long evening, and one whose highlights were frustratingly weighed down by filler.

Read More

John Scofield: A Moment’s Peace

With tunes from The Beatles (McCartney’s “I Will”) residing comfortably next to standards of a different era ("I Loves You Porgy"), the array of songs matches the versatility of the musicians involved. Deserving an audience beyond that of the genre itself A Moment’s Peace is a seamless piece of contemporary jazz that that never betrays an unnecessary compromise to broaden its appeal.

Read More

The New Mastersounds: Breaks from the Border

The title of The New Mastersounds’ latest, Breaks from the Border, refers to the fact that the album was recorded in the border town of Tornillo, Texas, but it may as well refer to the musical position in which the band finds itself in the wake of the album’s release.

Read More

View posts by year