Category Archives: Music

Various artists’ It’s All Her Fault: A Tribute To Cindy Walker

Cindy Walker is one of the most under appreciated American country music songwriters among the listening public, but she’s a legend among her fellow musicians of several generations. When Americana singer songwriter Grey DeLisle — who counts Walker as among … Continue reading

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Roy Brooks’s The Free Slave

Detroit native Roy Brooks may be one of the most under appreciated drummers in jazz, but if there’s any justice in the world, this album reissue should change that. The Free Slave is the record of an incendiary live set … Continue reading

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Trond Kallevåg’s Minnesota

Drawing from the same well of history, culture and human experience that informed his previous Hubro release, 2023’s Amerikabåten, Norwegian guitarist and composer Trond Kallevåg delves even deeper into the Norwegian American immigrant experience with Minnesota. I’ve been a big … Continue reading

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Lauren Murphy’s Ol’ Coquille single: a love song to her home and her roots

Before I begin, a disclaimer is probably in order. I’ve known Lauren Murphy for a dozen or so years, and I’ve adored her for exactly that long. She’s family to me; I call her my sister from another mister. We … Continue reading

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Mojna’s Mareld

Nordic contemporary folk trio Mojna has followed up their critically acclaimed second album, 2024’s Väntenätter, with yet another deep dive into the space where composed contrapuntal music meets purposeful improvisation. Once again the music on Mareld treats boundaries as nonexistent, … Continue reading

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Paul Simon’s Live From Philadelphia

This concert from Philadelphia’s Tower Theater was filmed in 1980, the same year that Paul Simon released his feature film One Trick Pony. The Simon-scripted One Trick Pony was the story of a once popular folksinger who’d had a hit … Continue reading

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Wolfgang Muthspiel’s Tokyo

I’ve been a fan of Austrian guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel since at least 2016, when I absolutely loved his quintet recording Rising Grace. I’ve also been on board with this particular trio of Muthspiel’s, with Americans Scott Colley on bass and … Continue reading

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The Necks’ Disquiet

I’ve been aware of The Necks for a while, but this is the first time I’ve really delved into their …what … their world, their ethos, their music. For a band that has been together for nearly 39 years and … Continue reading

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Duke Ellington & His Orchestra’s The Ellington Suites

The first thing you notice when you start up the first movement of Duke Ellington’s “The Queen’s Suite” is that you can’t tell if it’s “classical” or “jazz” or “pop” music. That, of course, is a hallmark of Ellington’s oeuvre, … Continue reading

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Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Pass, Ray Brown, Mickey Roker’s Dizzy’s Big 4

Dizzy Gillespie is often referred to as one of the best jazz trumpeters of all time, and is credited along with Charlie Parker with being one of the most influential figures in the development of bebop. He was also known … Continue reading

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