Category Archives: Music

Nico Hedley’s Painterly

Queens-based singer, songwriter and bandleader Nico Hedley has dubbed his first full length album Painterly. It’s an odd sort of adjective, but just one listen to the album’s first track and its first single “Tennessee” explains it succinctly and sufficiently. … Continue reading

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Orrin Evans’ The Magic of Now

I want to start this review by saying that this music is a great comfort to me in a time that is providing few comforts. But that’s a statement I could make about every jazz album I review these days. … Continue reading

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Various artists’ Folk Music of China, Vol. 15 – Folk Songs of the She, Miao & Li Peoples

Volume 15 of the excellent Naxos World series of regional Chinese folk music continues the label’s strong line of these releases. As we near the completion of the planned 20 volumes, each release continues to highlight the nearly unimaginable diversity … Continue reading

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Andrew Cyrille’s The News

Andrew Cyrille’s The News takes its title from a highly abstract composition by the bandleader that began as a solo percussion piece on a 1970s album, but it could just as easily been named for another track here, “Dance Of … Continue reading

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Gerry Gibbs Thrasher Dream Trios’ Songs From My Father

This album is a monumental release in so many ways I may not be able to count them – being a word guy, not a numbers guy. First off, it’s a big double disc set of vibrant, modern piano (mostly) … Continue reading

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Trippers & Askers’ Acorn

This is an absolutely spellbinding record that defies easy description, so settle in. Jay Hammond, now based in Durham, North Carolina by way of Brooklyn, and his musical collective called Trippers & Askers, have created a layered masterpiece of spiritual, … Continue reading

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Michael Murphey’s Michael Murphey

Before Michael Murphey traded in his outlaw country cred and became Michael Martin Murphey, the Americana Adult Contemporary singing cowboy, he created a couple of my favorite LPs from the 1970s. Now that two of his first three albums are … Continue reading

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Ben Goldberg‘s Everything Happens to Be

Starting from a base in classical music and klezmer, clarinetist Ben Goldberg has spent about 30 years now finding his own ways of making experimental music within a loose jazz framework. For his latest outing he put together an ensemble … Continue reading

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Joseph Spence’s Encore: Unheard Recordings of Bahamian Guitar and Singing

Okay, before we get going here — and pretend you haven’t read the heading above or noticed the album cover art right there <—. Here’s a short quote from the publicity for this release: “He directly influenced key guitarists in … Continue reading

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Gordon Lightfoot’s Don Quixote

Gordon Lightfoot and I go back quite a ways. Though he cut his first album in 1966 and quickly became the top folk singer in Canada, his first hit in the U.S. was the single “If You Could Read My … Continue reading

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