by Nick DeRiso Taking on Nina Simone, a singer of dusky persuasiveness, might be foolhardy enough. Remaking this song, a Top 20 pop hit off Simone’s celebrated 1958 debut Little Girl Blue seemed like the worst idea of all. But Canadian singer Kellylee Evans finds a new light, even if it’s only a small sliver, within this dark tale from [...]

by Nick DeRiso Cassandra Wilson, who consistently defies convention as this restless chanteuse, doesn’t disappoint with Silver Pony — issued today on Blue Note as the long-awaited part-in studio, part-live followup to her celebrated Loverly. She has the vocal phrasing, the dusky intellect, of Charlie Parker and the elastic intuition of Betty Carter. Yet, Wilson is no throwback. She writes [...]

By Mark Saleski You look at the song listing and see “Alfie,” “Pennies From Heaven,” “Shadow Of Your Smile,” and…”Smoke On The Water“? What? Did I read that right? Yes, and singer-guitarist KJ Denhert is not foolin’ around. Well, except for when she is.Denhert refers to her music as “Urban Folk and Jazz,” which kind of makes sense if “urban” [...]

by Mark Saleski I wish I had a cool story about where I learned about the blues. I never had an older brother who gave me his Howlin’ Wolf records. There was no cousin who pointed out the line that runs backwards from Jimmy Page. Despite the early appearance of my inner music nerd, I doubt that I was curious [...]

by Pico Last week, another Strickland made his debut. Enoch Jamal Strickland, better known as “E.J.” Strickland, has made his name as a drummer for notables that include Freddie Hubbard,