jazz Archive
19 Oct 2018
Victory Boyd: From Subway to Festival Stage
Victory Boyd was “discovered” busking Stevie Wonder songs on the streets and in the subway stations of New York City, and that discovery led to a recording contract not only for her, but for her entire family including her father and eight siblings. The singer-songwriter was a featured performer at the fourth annual LEAF Downtown
26 Sep 2018
Album Review: Richard Shulman Trio — Turned Into Lemonade
Conveying a spirit of hope and optimism without the use of words is a challenging goal. But on Turned Into Lemonade, the latest from the prolific jazz/orchestral/new age composer (he’s released more than two dozen albums), that ambitious goal is realized. This all-original jazz outing is credited to the Richard Shulman Group: Shulman plays acoustic
19 Sep 2018
Hundred-word Reviews for September 2018
Time once again for some 100-word reviews. Please note that I receive many albums each day for review consideration; even when allowing for the fact that 80-90% of them don’t make the cut for coverage/review, there are still far too many to cover. What that means in practical terms is twofold: (1) the only way
12 Sep 2018
Album Review: Iceberg Slim — Reflections
If I told you that a key inspiration for the slice-of-street hip-hop of Ice-T was an earlier recording artist going by the name of Iceberg Slim, you’d likely develop some immediate preconceptions as to what the earlier iceman sounded like. But I’m here to tell you that you’d probably be way off base. Iceberg Slim
23 Aug 2018
Hundred-word Reviews for August 2018, Part 2
Herewith are ten more 100-word reviews of recent new releases. As they used to say, “Collect ‘em all, kids!” Denny Seiwell Trio — Boomerang Rock fans of a certain age may recognize Seiwell’s name; he was (for a time) the drummer in a ‘70s British group called Wings. That background has nearly zero to do
22 Aug 2018
Hundred-word Reviews for August 2018, Part 1
Time for some more hundred-word reviews. These days, I’m busier than I’ve ever been, so the only albums to make the cut for review are ones I consider remarkable, special in some significant way. So please consider all of these as recommended titles. Oytun Ersan — Fusiolicious When a release explicitly advertises itself as fusion,
20 Aug 2018
Multiple Discs, Multiple Artists (Part 1 of 2)
It’s purely happenstance, but at the moment I have two discs each of archival/reissue/compilation music from seven acts. (Actually, I have three discs each by three of those, but I’m trying to shoehorn these reviews into a theme, so work with me here.) These diverse releases cover a lot of stylistic ground, and they’re all
20 Jul 2018
EP Review: Sister Ivy – Plecia
Sister Ivy is an Asheville-based project, the nom de musique of Rachel Waterhouse. Sister Ivy has had a relatively lengthy gestation period: the group played its first gig some three years ago at the old Sherwood Music. But quality takes time, and the refined, sultry character of Waterhouse’s original music has surely benefited from the
09 Jul 2018
Fifty-word Reviews for July 2018, Part 2
Here’s ten more quick reviews of new music worth your time. Beth McKee — Dreamwood Acres This lovely clutch of original songs features the sultry, soulful vocals of McKee, and the rich instrumentation is built around McKee’s classic electric piano (Wurlitzer, Rhodes), which she plays in a straightforward, non-fussy manner. Imagine Bonnie Raitt playing keys
29 Jun 2018
Liner Notes News
I’ve been extraordinarily busy lately. After devoting a large chunk of 2017 to the writing of my first book, Reinventing Pink Floyd: From Syd Barrett to The Dark Side of the Moon, in 2018 I’ve been focusing on writing liner note essays for albums. Here’s a summary of recent and upcoming releases with which I’ve