While it’s true that I’m trying to take a break from contemporary jazz these days–I really needed to poke my head out and see what else is going on–there’s still contending with that wild card, […]
What are my neighbors thinking about me right now, with me playing Lyn Stanley‘s Novel Noel over and over in September? I thought that guy didn’t like the holidays, man he never puts up decorations. […]
If it seems that Somesh Mathur is adopting a different message and different overall theme for each record, then his latest release Mother Maa shouldn’t come as a surprise. Somesh has come a long way […]
I’ve been jamming on reviews ever since I returned from Denmark, and I’ve noticed that I keep mentioning New Dreams, from Barry Coates, Jimmy Haslip and Jerry Kalaf over and over. It took a few […]
On a lark. I asked for a cajon for my birthday a couple of weeks ago. Ever since I was introduced to this musical wooden box, back in Hawaii a few years ago, I thought […]
Whenever I listen to a Jan Gunnar Hoff album from 2L Recordings, I always think about that razor’s edge between improvisation and adhering to the original composition. Just a few weeks ago, I thought I […]
Does it surprise you to know that I’ve been anticipating the release of Nancy & Lee, an LP reissue of Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood’s duet album from 1968? Even I’m surprised by this a […]
It’s been a few months since I’ve heard from my friends in the Swiss jazz world, so I was quite pleased to receive the latest LP from drummer Florian Arbenz. The last time I reviewed […]
Ester Wiesnerova is a Slovakian singer-songwriter who is swinging for the fences on her ambitious debut album, Blue Journal. When I first received this in the mail, I immediately thought wait, is this just a […]
I tend to bolt up straight whenever I hear the name Kevin Volans. During my journeyman audiophile days back in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Kevin Volans’ White Man Sleeps suite for string quartet […]
Thanks to my busy late-spring schedule, it’s been a few weeks since I’ve done a music review for VA. That means I’ve been sitting on a lot of fantastic new releases, keeping them to myself, […]
Resonance Records is on a roll right now, and this Mingus album just might be their finest release yet. The Lost Album from Ronnie Scott’s, recorded in August 1972, wasn’t quite lost–Mingus always intended to […]
Over the last few weeks I’ve been transitioning the Vinyl Anachronist music reviews into something that’s been much more liberating and fun, and Tradknaster from bassist Gus Loxbo is another careful and logical step toward […]
Hallelujah, I have a turntable in the house once more. It’s been months, waiting on my new Technics SL-1210G to arrive, but in the meantime I get to play with the Premium Class entry-level Technics […]
I’m going to review another 2L Recordings release, Alt Hva Modrene Har Kjempet from Kammerkoret Aurum, and I don’t want any shenanigans this time. The last time I covered a 2L Recordings release, the MQA-CD […]
For a while, I didn’t think I’d post another review of a Satoko Fujii release from Libra Records. It’s not because this Japanese avant-garde pianist isn’t my cup of tea–she is. It isn’t because the […]
When you name your ensemble the Cortez/Williams Project, and your new album is called Hermanos, you might think that this is all about two longtime friends, musicians, who finally got enough free time to hang […]
Sometimes I see the structures underneath my contemporary jazz reviews veer toward the formulaic. I realized that when I reviewed the new album from guitarist Juan Carlos Quintero, Table for Five! A casual listen would have […]
These have been prolific times for legendary composer and trumpet player Wadada Leo Smith. Over the last year or so I’ve received so many new recordings from Smith, and we’re not talking single albums. We’re […]
I shouldn’t have to convince jazz lovers that four CDs’ worth of previously unavailable live Bill Evans on Resonance Records is something special they want to own, but these two new releases are quite special–not […]
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