jazz Archive
14 Nov 2012
The Very Best Of…Concord Jazz Artists
Because Concord Music Group has acquired the licensing to some of the most venerable labels in all of music (Stax, Fantasy, Riverside, Prestige, and others) as well as large chunks […]
13 Nov 2012
Catching Up With Modern Jazz, Part Two
A quick roundup of some notable jazz releases, from your friendly neighborhood jazz novitiate who nonetheless knows what he likes… Toots Thielemans – Yesterday & Today (Universal Music) My first […]
12 Nov 2012
Catching Up With Modern Jazz, Part One
As many readers know, I’m a relative latecomer to appreciation of jazz. Other than a copy of Weather Report‘s Heavy Weather LP, my record collection was all but jazz-free until […]
11 Oct 2012
Album Review: The Fusion Syndicate
Progressive rock musicians are — by their very nature and out of necessity – an ambitious, adventurous lot. So it’s not an insurmountable conceptual leap to get a bunch of […]
27 Sep 2012
Album Review: Vince Guaraldi – The Very Best of Vince Guaraldi
The music of Vince Guaraldi could well be described as “jazz for people who don’t like jazz.” And even knowing what little I do about Guaraldi the man, I strongly […]
25 May 2012
Album Review: The Thelonious Monk Quartet – Misterioso
Serious rock fans know the tale of Big Star. The Memphis group – led initially by Chris Bell and Alex Chilton – released two (or three, depending on whether one […]
30 Jun 2009
Album Review: Ray Charles — Genius: The Ultimate Ray Charles Collection
The word Genius is thrown around far too cavalierly. At this writing, Michael Jackson (the self-proclaimed King of Pop) has been dead only a few days, and tributes everywhere call […]
13 Feb 2008
Youth at Jazz: Keeping the Jazz Fires Burning in WNC
WNC’s long “roots music” tradition is well-known and justifiably celebrated. But there’s a whole lot more going on musically in the region, and much of it has an equally important […]