Photo by Jim Eigo by Nick DeRiso People think of clarinets as this sound from a different era, and the guys who play them as having done so in black and white. The late Alvin Batiste, who initially found his muse in Charlie Parker’s “Now’s the Time,” was never thatRead More
by Tom Johnson Every year I start out thinking that I have a feeling what album is going to ride high on my year end list, and more often than not I’m surprised by so many other things that the album in question may not even register. This year’s victimRead More
The electric-jazz foray ‘Fire Illuminations,’ like most Wadada Leo Smith albums, is not just another record. It’s another chapter in his fascinating, ongoing story.
What happens when you lay a “Babylon Sisters” groove underneath an ancient, American patriotic chant? Christian Fabian, Ron Oswanski and Bernard Purdie came up with the answer.
Rich Halley’s inspired collaboration provides the visionary interplay, the spirituality and, yes, the flair for melody that are hallmarks of both sides.
On ‘Live In Baltimore,’ drummer Jeff Cosgrove doesn’t disrupt Ivo Perelman’s and Matthew Shipp’s simpatico; he enhances it.
When I learned that Clara Ponty was coming out with a new album, I got curious, and to be completely upfront about it, I was curious because she is the daughter of famed violinist Jean-Luc Ponty.
by Something Else! Reviews Robert Cray tops this year’s class of inductees into the Blues Hall of Fame. He’s joined by acoustic bluesman John Hammond; soul-blues belter Denise LaSalle, 1950s singing star Big Maybelle, and singer/songwriters Alberta Hunter and J.B. Lenoir. Also to be recognized: Vivian Carter and Jimmy BrackenRead More
Checking in with our thoughts on a few of tonight’s winners from the 2011 Grammy Awards, including the Black Keys — the top-rated Something Else! Reviews record from last year — as well as Buddy Guy, Neil Young, Stanley Clarke, Paul McCartney and Mavis Staples, among others. Click through theRead More
by Nick DeRiso “Like Sonny,” reportedly based on an element of a Sonny Rollins solo — perhaps during “My Old Flame,” from Kenny Dorham’s 1957 Jazz Contrasts record? — illustrates the remarkable attention to detail that still makes John Coltrane’s music not just interesting but important. He wasn’t a stylist,Read More
