instrumental Archive
13 Jul 2015
Album Review: Thelonious Monk — The Complete Riverside Recordings
In my final year of college, I was exceedingly fortunate to have signed up for a course called American Popular Music History: Stephen Foster to the Present. There were only […]
12 Jun 2015
Album Review: Buddy Rich — Birdland
There has lately developed a trend of dubious merit. Some legitimate (that is, for-profit) record labels have begun releasing what can only be called bootlegs. Tapes – often recorded by […]
10 Jun 2015
Album Review: Wes Montgomery — The Classic Recordings 1958-1960
The world’s a much smaller place today than it was a quarter century ago. When I frequented record stores – even once the CD era began – import albums were […]
02 Jun 2015
David Torn: The Audience is Here (Part 2)
Continued from Part One… “So,” continues guitarist-composer David Torn, “I don’t intend to recreate any of the pieces on only sky in live performance. However, I can accurately recreate the […]
01 Jun 2015
David Torn: The Audience is Here (Part 1)
As I would discover within the first moments of our conversation, it’s inaccurate to describe the music made by David Torn as “avant garde.” Which is fine, really, because as […]
20 May 2015
Review: Two New Albums featuring Larry Coryell
One of music’s greatest guitarists, Larry Coryell has enjoyed – and continues to enjoy – a long and storied career. After his professional start playing with Chico Hamilton, Coryell launched […]
15 Apr 2015
Album Review: Art Pepper — Neon Art, Vols. 1-3
Art Pepper was a white jazz saxophonist who specialized in a West Coast style of jazz popular in the 1950s and 60s. His catalog is vast and varied; his recorded […]
07 Apr 2015
Festival Review: Big Ears Festival 2015, Part 2
Continued from Part One… Next, it was drone time. The minimalist work of the duo A Winged Victory for the Sullen (joined by three additional musicians) was delivered in the […]
06 Apr 2015
Festival Review: Big Ears Festival 2015, Part 1
Typically, I don’t make a point of attending “kickoff events” at the start of music festivals. My thinking is that they’re generally an opportunity to spotlight the event sponsors and […]
03 Apr 2015
Rick Wakeman, Cannonball Adderley, and Me
Today I’m going to indulge in a brief change of pace. I’d like to tell you about a pair of reissues with which I am involved. I won’t be reviewing […]