Vince Guaraldi: A Charlie Brown Christmas

A Charlie Brown Christmas is the corniest jazz-Christmas album ever made. And that's OK. It's even good. I know the dig. What m: Vince Guaraldi played wasn't jazz, it was lounge music. It was sentimental. It was lightweight. It was sappy. Yep. All of that. So what? Christmas time is about... [ read more ]

Edith Piaf: 1915-2015

2015 is the centenary of one of the best-loved, most charismatic singers of the twentieth century. For some that singer is m: Billie Holiday, for others it's m: Frank Sinatra: but for many more, especially in the French-speaking world, it's the legendary Edith Piaf. 1915-2015... [ read more ]

Kind of Purple: Jazz musicians on Prince

"Do you know who m: Prince kinda reminds me of, particularly as a pianist? Duke! Yeah, he's the m: Duke Ellington of the eighties to my way of thinking." --m: Miles Davis The tops of the pop charts isn't where we often expect to find genius. Brilliant performers som...

UMO Jazz Orchestra with Michael Brecker: Live in Helsinki 1995

If your fondness for big-band jazz includes searching for hidden treasures, here's a recently uncovered gem that should more than gladden your spirit: a concert recording from 1995 by Finland's superb UMO Jazz Orchestra featuring the renowned tenor saxophonist m: Michael Brecker who left... [ read more ]

Sonny Sharrock: Ask the Ages

Guitarist Sonny Sharrock had been recording since 1969, in a variety of formats. In 1991, he recorded his masterpiece, Ask the Ages for Axiom records. The recording was produced by Sharrock and MOD Technologies founder and bassist m: Bill Laswell. Axiom Records was a precursor to Laswell... [ read more ]

Kenny Clarke: The Golden 8

The first time I dropped a needle on a Music Matters 33 rpm test-pressing of m: Kenny Clarke and m: Francy Boland's The Golden 8 I was surprised to hear something quite unusual: a Blue Note record that was clearly not recorded in Hackensack. With only a few exceptions, most Blu... [ read more ]

Yaniv Taubenhouse Trio: Moments In Trio, Volume One

Pianist Yaniv Taubenhouse presents his second album as leader with the bold Moments In Trio, Volume One providing another fresh set of innovative new originals continuing the personal musical journey he began documenting with his highly-acclaimed debut Here From There (Fresh Sound Records, 2015). To... [ read more ]