Charles Stepney : Step on Step

Charles Stepney may not be a household name, but the Chicago-based producer, arranger, and composer was an enigmatic musical mind in the 60s and 70s. First as a staff producer at Chess Records in the 1960s where he was the creative force behind artists like Rotary Connection, Minnie Riperton, Marlena Shaw, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, […]

Fischer & Forde : It’s Just Business

There’s an uninhibited joy on Fischer & Forde’s debut album It’s Just Business. The dance/disco/house LP begs you to unplug from the big machine, put on your dancing shoes, and give into the grooves. It’s the kind of album you decimate your eardrums with in the car and drive an extra couple blocks just so […]

Dive Into The Deep End With London Odense Ensemble and “Jaiyede Suite, Pt. 2”; Album Out in June

It seems that there’s a new ensemble in town, London Odense Ensemble. Comprised of El Paraiso Records luminaries Jonas Munk, Jakob Skøtt, and Martin Rude, along with London-based jazz artists Tamar Osborn and Al MacSween, London Odense Ensemble came together for some seriously heady jams and it seems they’ve got an album’s worth of early […]

Dive Into The Deep End With London Odense Ensemble and “Jaiyede Suite, Pt. 2”; Album Out in June

“You’ll Know When You Get There” : The Genius Of Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi

It’s not that Herbie Hancock doesn’t get the love and heaps of praise that he deserves, but his trilogy of albums he released for Warner Brothers Records in the early 70s definitely do not. Mwandishi, The Crossing, and Sextant were released concurrently in 1971, 1972, and 1973, and saw Hancock expanding his sonic palate exponentially. […]

Makaya McCraven : Deciphering The Message

Makaya McCraven is one of the most intriguing artists/composers working in jazz today. His jazz chops combined with his Teo Macero cut n paste arrangements have given me(and the rest of the world) something to look forward to every time he drops a new album. Albums like In The Moment, Highly Rare, and Universal Beings […]

The Budos Band : Long In The Tooth

When I first heard The Budos Band I thought I’d come across some long lost relic from the 70s. Super tight and funky rhythm section, jazz-inflected horns, Latin percussion, and slinky guitar all coming together to give the impression that James Bond could’ve been a lot cooler had he been spying to this soundtrack. Imagine […]

Nevergrand : Things That We Should Fear

Sometimes all the day requires is a little shot of music sunshine. A bright spot to lighten up what feels like a perpetually dark day, and unfortunately those darker moments tend to pop up more than usual as of late. So if you need to shine a little light on your grimly shaded frame of […]

Live Series Part Four : Miles Davis’ ‘Live Evil’

I mean, if I’m forced to stay home in pandemic isolation I might as well enjoy myself. There’s no point in fretting over not being able to hang out in crowds at restaurants, or zombie shuffle my way thru the mall. I’m really not a fan of either of those activities anyways. Crowds cause me […]

White Denim : Side Effects

White Denim have become this twister of sound from the Lone Star state. They break bread with blues, rock, soul, funk, and madness. From album one back in 2009 to now their sound has morphed and evolved, much like the creature in The Thing. You remember, it could take the shape of whomever it came into […]