Music
Suplecs, Mad Oak Redoux (Small Stone Recordings)
Rather than the band’s usual wrestling cartoon cover art, Suplecs has this time chosen a leafless tree dying in the desert. Instead of some fun, goofy title, we are given […]
King Rey, Street Friends EP (Independent)
How do you like your indie rock? Does the recent trend toward lo-fi garage psychedelics led by Deerhunter, Ty Segall, Kurt Vile, Girls and Wavves irritate, or do you happily […]
Gregg Martinez, South of the Parish Line (Magnolia Records)
Equipped with one of the best blue-eyed soul voices around, Gregg Martinez flirted with stardom in the ‘80s when Philly soul masterminds Victor Carstarphen and Keith Benson nearly launched him […]
Jimbo Mathus, Confederate Buddha (Memphis International Records)
At first this is a far cry from Mathus’ recordings with the Squirrel Nut Zippers. There was a tight stateliness to the Zippers, even when they were playing at their […]
The Funky Butt Brass Band, You Can Trust the Funky Butt Brass Band (Independent)
I once saw Henry Butler judge a big butt contest at the Funky Butt on Rampart Street and have been searching for another night like that ever since. Similar memories […]
Maria Muldaur, Steady Love (Stony Plain Records)
Maria Muldaur intuitively knows what a song needs to suit her vocal style. From “I’m a Woman” and the Memphis Jug Band’s “Garden of Joy” in the folk revival days […]
Poncho Sanchez & Terence Blanchard, Chano y Dizzy (Concord Jazz Records)
The meeting on record of Poncho Sanchez and Terence Blanchard risks a collapse under the weight of names. Not just their own, but the corresponding heroes that inspire the collaboration. […]
Various Artists, This May Be My Last Time Singing: Raw African-American Gospel on 45 RPM 1957-1982 (Tompkins Square Records)
Behold, Mike McGonigal’s curated a second set of obscure, raw, raving, and maybe even revenant gospel sides. This one lacks the assurance of the first one, Fire in my Bones […]
Kenny Brown, Can’t Stay Long (Devil Down Records)
Blues music can generally be divided into two categories. There are the rock-informed blues with polished, clichéd solos, going- through-the-motions vocals, and obnoxiously loud and pummeling versions of everything from […]
Donald Harrison, Ron Carter and Billy Cobham, This Is Jazz: Live at the Blue Note (Half Note Records)
[Updated] The collaboration between alto saxophonist Donald Harrison, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Billy Cobham blossomed into something more during a 2002 tour featuring Harrison, Carter, and Cobham with the […]
