Why Wayne Shorter Matters
Sean MurphyWayne Shorter is, for my money, possibly the most underrated genius in any genre of music. To be sure, he certainly received plenty of props within jazz circles and the people…
Original Poem: Pharoah Sanders Donating Blood to Buy Food, 1962
A young Sanders with his mentor and bandmate John Coltrane Huge gratitude to the team at Decolonial Passage for including my work in their "Food, Power, and Powerlessness" issue. (It's…
Steadfast and Inimitable: The Sound & Vision of Pharoah Sanders
Not a fan of Led Zeppelin, The Clash’s Paul Simonon once opined: “Just looking at their album covers makes me want to throw up.” When it comes to Pharoah Sanders,…
Ask The Ages: Revisiting Sonny Sharrock’s Masterful Swan Song
The name alone is epic: Sonny Sharrock. I won't resist the urge, because I can't, to pick a low-hanging pun and opine that Sonny put the rock back in jazz.…
The Wisdom of Crowds: A Celebration of Humanity via YouTube (Revisited)
Everyone knows YouTube is the best shortcut to favorite, as well as forgotten video clips. And while it is well worth recognizing, and celebrating, the millions of anonymous DJs out…
Beauty and The Beast, Featuring Sonny Sharrock
The name alone is epic: Sonny Sharrock. I won't resist the urge, because I can't, to pick a low-hanging pun and opine that Sonny put the rock back in jazz.…
Pharoah Sanders: Village of the Pharoahs/Wisdom Through Music
Raise your hand if you’ve been holding out hope that more of Pharoah Sanders’ early ‘70s catalog would finally get remastered and/or released for the first time on CD. Anyone?…
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 Wisdom of Crowds: A Celebration of Humanity via YouTube (Part One: Music)
Everyone knows YouTube is the best shortcut to favorite, as well as forgotten video clips. And while it is well worth recognizing, and celebrating, the millions of anonymous DJs…
Upfull Living Or, A Tale of Two Album Covers
Part One: Pharoah Sanders Maybe you have to be a Jazz aficionado to get excited by an album cover, but come on: How can you not love this? How can…