review Archive
14 Oct 2024
Album Review: Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated – BBC Sessions #1: 1962-1965
A great deal of what is thought of as the British Invasion (“beat era” if you’re from the UK) arose from the blues and r&b scene in the very early […]
13 Oct 2024
Album Review: Jose Ramirez – Bad Hombre
Costa Rican guitarist Jose Ramirez has covered a great deal of ground during his few years in the spotlight. Debuting in 2021 with the self-released Here I Come, he demonstrated […]
12 Oct 2024
Album Review: Nick Gravenites with Pete Sears – Rogue Blues
NOTE: Gravenites passed away shortly after this review first appeared in Living Blues. Nick Gravenites is music royalty. A prime exponent of Chicago blues, he was a towering figure in […]
05 Oct 2024
Album Review: Famous Monsters Speak
American pop culture has taken some wacky and unexpected turns over the years. The 1950s saw the rise of science fiction in film; creatures from outer space seemed to be […]
20 Sep 2024
Album Review: Chick Corea Trilogy
More than a decade ago – 2013, in fact, Chick Corea released a live album, Trilogy. Featuring him on acoustic piano with bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian Blade (plus […]
14 Sep 2024
Album Review: Bruce Katz Band – Back in Boston Live
It’s refreshing to encounter an artist whose work encompasses soul jazz, blues and r&b, executing each style with verve and authenticity. That’s certainly the case with Back in Boston Live, […]
08 Sep 2024
Album Review: Sparkle*jets U.K. – Box of Letters
Despite their name, Sparkle*jets U.K. are from Southern California, not Leeds, Hull or Manchester. With that bit of housekeeping out of the way, let’s consider the latest release from the […]
07 Sep 2024
Album Review: The Courettes – Hold On, We’re Comin’
Older readers may recall the time when Natalie Cole recorded a duet with her father, Nat “King” Cole. The event was somewhat controversial, as Nat had at that point been […]
31 Aug 2024
Album Review: Blake Jones & the Trike Shop – And Still…
Oftentimes, the listener’s path into an artist’s work goes like this: they hear about new music, listen to those recordings, develop greater interest, and then maybe get the opportunity to […]
28 Aug 2024
Album Review: The Raveonettes — The Raveonettes Sing…
As I (and plenty of others before me) have observed before, an artist’s choice of covers can tell you a lot about that artist. Copenhagen duo The Raveonettes (Courtney Rose […]