instrumental Archive
25 Sep 2020
Album Review: The Greyboy Allstars with Fred Wesley — West Coast Boogaloo
The Greyboy Allstars have a rich history. Founded more than 25 years ago, the soul jazz group came together originally to work as a backing band for DJ Greyboy, a […]
20 Sep 2020
Adi the Monk: The ‘Cosmic Thread” Running Though His Music
Asheville’s music community features an impressive number of unique personalities. But it’s safe to say that only one has a personal history that includes a period spent as a Vaishnava […]
19 Sep 2020
Album Review: Chick Corea – Chick Corea Plays
The pandemic and its resultant shutdowns may have (for a time) put a stop to live music performances, but after a brief pause in March and April, it seems to […]
21 Aug 2020
Dan Lacksman: The Electronic System Man
This feature appeared previously in Synth and Software. — bk This pioneering synthesist has worked with Bowie, Dolby, Deep Forest, and Kraftwerk’s Florian Schneider on what could be his final […]
20 Aug 2020
Album Review: Martin Denny — Exotic Moog
Introduced in the middle 1960s, Dr. Robert A. Moog’s invention – the Moog Modular synthesizer – changed the musical landscape. Groundbreaking releases like Switched on Bach made it plain that […]
08 Aug 2020
Album Review: Barrett Martin Group — Scattered Diamonds
In spring of last year, I reviewed Songs of the Firebird, a resonant and deeply intriguing album that could be described in part as a jazz album made with non-jazz […]
28 Jul 2020
Album Review: The Radam Schwartz Organ Big Band — Message from Groove and GW
Situating a Hammond organ out in front of a big band is a splendid idea; the verve and energy of the keys plays off well against the muscular, thrilling backdrop […]
25 Jul 2020
Album Review: Dreamroot – Phases
This Durham, North Carolina group combines neo-soul, jazz and spoken word in a style that seems incredibly natural and effortless. Joe MacPhail’s piano runs are lyrical and accessible, and Lynn […]
24 Jul 2020
Album Review: Purdie Fabian Oswanski – Move On!
Bernard Purdie is one of the most influential drummers in music; his style has made a serious impression on players well outside his chosen genres of jazz and funk. And […]
27 Jun 2020
Album Review: Sonar with David Torn — Tranceportation (Volume 2)
In my April 2018 review of Vortex, the first collaboration between Sonar and guitar master David Torn, I likened the music to ‘80s-period King Crimson at its most accessible, citing […]