Gerald Clayton : Ones & Twos

L.A.-based jazz pianist and composer Gerald Clayton has had quite the music career at just 41-years old. He’s released five solo albums between 2009 and 2022. He’s collaborated with everyone from John Scofield to Kendrick Scott to Diana Krall to Roy Hargrove. He’s also the son of famous jazz bassist John Clayton. His style is […]

McCoy and Henderson, Forces Of Nature : Live At Slugs’, 1966

I was never much of a live album guy. Growing up I had a few that stood out and I would listen to more than once, as opposed to relegating it to the shoebox of shame in my closet. The shoebox was where unloved albums went to die, making room for the bangers and regular […]

Out Of/Into : Motion I

Jazz quintet Out Of/Into – formerly known as The Blue Note Quintet – makes it perfectly clear that there are some exciting things happening in the world of jazz still. Following in the footsteps of the giants of jazz that came before, the band that consists of pianist Gerald Clayton, alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, vibraphonist Joel Ross, drummer Kendrick […]

Mr. Jones’ Takes The Spotlight : Breaking Down Elvin Jones’ ‘Poly-Currents’

There’s plenty of amazing jazz drummers, but for my money one of the most powerful with the most finesse was Elvin Jones. Jones gained notoriety for being part of John Coltrane’s great quartet, along with McCoy Tyner(piano), Jimmy Garrison(bass), and of course Coltrane. Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette, Philly Joe Jones, Billy Cobham, Rashied Ali, and […]

Wayne Shorter’s ‘Schizophrenia’

Wayne Shorter is one of those cats that sounds and feels as if his music is coming from an entirely different place from any of his contemporaries. There’s an intellectual quality to the music that not even Miles Davis ever achieved. Davis reached both celebrity and more listeners with Kind Of Blue, laying claim to […]

Joel Ross : The Parable Of The Poet

Joel Ross is part of the new wave of artists continuing a decades-long journey in creating evocative and forward-thinking music in the realm of jazz. The Chicago-born, New York City-based vibraphonist released his debut in 2019 titled Kingmaker with Blue Note Records and established himself as a musician and composer to watch. His music is […]

The Nels Cline Singers : Share The Wealth

Nels Cline has had quite the career, both before and after Wilco. A musical force to be reckoned with in the Avant Garde, jazz, punk, and experimental scene he’s played with everyone from Mike Watt, Medeski, Martin, and Wood, Geraldine Fibbers, Blue Man Group, Ornette Coleman, and Rickie Lee Jones to name a few. But […]

Joel Ross : Kingmaker

I find it hard to find “new” jazz artists. Not because there aren’t any worthy of my time and ears, but because I just don’t know where to look. When you have such a vast and expansive search pile as the history of Blue Note, Impulse, and Prestige Records over the last 70 years, getting […]