Five Songs to Celebrate the Sun
Sean MurphyOverture to the Sun: When There Is No Sun: Lazy Old Sun: Third Stone from the Sun: Fat Old Sun:
Four From Pharoah
I've spent an intense chunk of time this past week revisiting two obscure (but recently reissued!) albums from one of my top-tier jazz heroes, the still very much alive Pharoah…
The Real Life Fable of Charles Mingus and Orval Faubus (Revisited)
On Sept. 4, 1957, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus called out the National Guard to prevent nine black students from entering Central High School in Little Rock. Charles Mingus had many…
Strange Love
ON THIS DAY: On Aug. 30, 1963, the hot-line communications link between Washington, D.C., and Moscow went into operation. Kubrick (1964) Arthur Lee (1967)
Gary Clark, Jr.: You’re Gonna Know His Name By The End of the Year
So....I read the borderline rapturous review of his new EP in the recent Rolling Stone. Exactly... And yet...the review was sufficiently ecstatic that I made a mental note to check him…
Hurricane Music
Ten songs to weather the storm. First and foremost, a nod to Alex Chilton (and Alan Vega!), remembering 2003 and the soundtrack from the last hurricane. Some Floyd for the…
Elvis Is (Still) Dead, Long Live The King!
Poor Elvis. The one-time king is now more often the (big) butt of jokes (see?). But his musical and cultural imprint remains huge and will forever be impossible to escape…
In Defense of Good Sax, Part Five: The (Ongoing) Evolution of a Masterpiece
1959 was a watershed year for jazz music (arguably the greatest single year for jazz in all history–which is saying a lot). Here’s a taste: Miles Davis Kind of Blue,…
In Defense of Good Sax, Part Four: Separating The Best of The Best
Best sax solos ever? That is kind of like choosing the best sunset; it's impossible. But some do stand out apart from the rest, and beauty is always in the…
In Defense of Good Sax, Part Three (The Joy of Saxless Jazz)
Starring John Zorn and Marc Ribot. So what happens when one of the most prolific and staggeringly gifted sax players (and composers) of our era, John Zorn, conducts his music…