by Something Else Reviews Gary Moore, former guitarist with Thin Lizzy and Skid Row, has died at age 58. The Belfast-born Moore, perhaps most famous for his 1979 hit “Parisienne Walkways” with the late Phil Lynott, was found dead in a hotel room Sunday while vacationing at the Costa del Sol, Spain. The cause of death was not immediately known. [...]

by Nick DeRiso Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads Blues” remains one of the most terrifying, wonder-filled songs, even if you don’t know the oft-told tale of how the doomed Mississippi bluesman became so proficient so quickly at playing his guitar. It’s one of the reasons that, despite the brevity of his time on this earth — born about 1910 and dead by [...]

By Nick DeRiso Otis Rush is the star-crossed guitar god, always in the right place at the wrong time. Close but no rock star. That despite his role as a principal architect of the modern Chicago blues-guitar vernacular, and a memorably emotional style of singing that echoes some of the genre’s most recognizable figures. He’s in his prime on “Live [...]

by Nick DeRiso Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter was a man of sweeping appetites, for songs, for drink and for life. This made his music rugged and true, but also got him into his share of big trouble. Very big. Ledbetter, born on Jan. 29, 1885 on the Jeter Plantation near Mooringsport, La., would spend several stints in jail, once reportedly [...]

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 S. Victor Aaron Last year we spotlighted a trio of CD’s that made up the maiden releases by a new record label, the artist-run collective Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records. A year later last June, there were three more BJU records to examine. And here we are less than six months after that, and there are now four more new [...]

by Pico Last year, keyboard whiz Marco Benevento caused a stir with his very first studio effort Invisible Baby. That record presented Benevento as a post-rocker who likes to mingle melodic acoustic piano with edgy electronic effects used to create a unique sonic presence; a sort of indie-minded Jim Brickman. Just one short year after Invisible Baby, Benevento is back [...]

by Nick DeRiso They are the two-by-fours that make up country music’s earliest construction, rootsy legends whose very names conjure never-faded invention and old-timey amusements. That’s probably why nobody messes with Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. It’s like tugging on Superman’s cape. Well, except 13-time Grammy-winning bluegrass legend Ricky Skaggs, whose tribute to them — out today — [...]