1993 + 30 = Saturn (or, a Sun Ra Sampler)
Sean MurphySun Ra's music sounds like it was intercepted from another world. Thirty years ago, today, Herman Poole Blount, aka Sonny Blount, aka Le Sony'r Ra, aka SUN RA, left these…
Happy Trails, Peter Brown
Never heard of him? Don't worry, you've heard him, nevertheless. Unless you've managed to go your entire life without listening to Cream, and if you've never heard "Sunshine of Your…
Tina Tuner: Twilight of the Goddess
Wow. Another irreplaceable icon has departed a planet that could scarcely contain her. Tina Turner: what a goddess, an inspiration, a river deep & mountain high human being and a…
This Apostle’s Creed: East Broadway Run Down
Fall '83 and, as if weekly church services weren't insufferable enough, the Sacrament of Confirmation required mandatory tutelage, also once a week, on Sundays, which meant our soccer games (and…
Gordon Lightfoot: Bon Voyage
Perfection is impossible (if fun) to try defining; you know it when you see it or hear it. "Sundown" requires little analysis: it's perfect. Every word, every sound, every second:…
100 + 1: National Poetry Month Meets Mingus
Charles Mingus had many things to say, and he used his mouth, his pen, his fists, and mostly his music to say them. Of the myriad words that describe Mingus, passionate would…
Easter Sunday and Eric Dolphy
Eric Dolphy’s Avowal* Eric Dolphy’s alto is less a solo than an announcement: not unlike a boisterous child acting out in the rear pew, where everyone gradually comprehends, he is…
National Poetry Month Meets Marvin Gaye
I was aware (and in awe) of John Goodman before I reviewed his book (10 years ago!) Mingus Speaks -- an indispensable document of the great Charles Mingus (a lot…
National Poetry Month Meets Howlin’ Wolf
National Poetry Month rolls on. Thanks again to Decolonial Passage for publishing "Howlin' Wolf's Harp" last summer. This one appears in Rhapsodies in Blue (and I read it last week…
David Lindley: Jackson Browne’s Right Hand Man
One of the more unheralded "guy behind the guy" guys, David Lindley did plenty of amazing stuff, but he shined brightest backing up Jackson Browne on some of the '70s…