Cyril Neville, Soulo (Endangered)

One of the wonders that is the Neville Brothers is the way four personalities, like points on a compass, can face in different directions yet together complete a circle. Cyril, […]

Various Artists, Sweet Emma and Her Preservation Hall Jazz Band (Preservation Hall)

Mose Allison, Gimcracks & Geegaws (Blue Note)

Various Artists, Angels in the Mirror: Vodou Music of Haiti (Ellipsis Arts), Various Artists, New Orleans Voodoo…From the Inside (Dubat Publishing)

Irma Thomas, Marcia Ball and Tracy Nelson, Sing It! (Rounder)

There are voices, and then, there are voices. Two of the absolutely most spine-tingling, toe-curling, soul-caressing voices I know belong to Irma Thomas, the long-reigning Soul Queen of New Orleans, […]

Bernard Purdie et al, Bernard Purdie’s Soul to Jazz II (ACT/Blue Jackal)

J.J. Cale, Any Way the Wind Blows: The Anthology (Mercury Chronicles)

Ry Cooder, et al, Buena Vista Social Club (World Circuit/Nonesuch), Afro-Cuban All Stars, A Toda Cuba le Gusta (World Circuit/Nonesuch), Ruben Gonzalez, Introducing…(World Circuit/Nonesuch)

Various Artists, Chess Soul: A Decade of Chicago’s Finest (MCA/Chess)

Gregg Allman, Searching for Simplicity (Sony)