30 Via El Paraiso Records

It’s been over 10 years since I first found that magical passageway that led to the door of El Paraiso Records, the Danish record label run and curated by Causa Sui members Jonas Munk and Jakob Skøtt. These two have built a library of sound with El Paraiso Records that is layered in progressive, thoughtful […]

Chris Cohen : Paint A Room

Chris Cohen is one of those musicians/songwriters that seems to ride a completely different wavelength than the rest of the world. As a collaborator he’s worked with everyone from Deerhoof to Ariel Pink to Cass McCombs to Weyes Blood. But as a solo artist is where his magic truly lies. His solo work feels aged […]

Sml : Small Medium Large

The latest to come out of Chicago’s forward-thinking record label International Anthem is by Sml. Sml consists of the quintet of bassist Anna Butterss, synthesist Jeremiah Chiu, saxophonist Josh Johnson, percussionist Booker Stardrum, and guitarist Gregory Uhlmann. The project began as a series of long form improvisations at the beloved but now closed LA venue […]

Elephant9 : Mythical River

I discovered Elephant9 a couple years ago via the great and powerful algorithm. Spotify was playing in the house while I did my Friday afternoon cleaning. Not sure what I was listening to, but it ended so the great Spotify algorithm started spitting like-minded artists out at me. One was a song called “Sojourn” by […]

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 […]

Road Trip, BBQ, Sunday Jazz, Birthday Celebration

Weekend came and went as usual. The space/time/weekend continuum continues to baffle and astound my regular guy brain. I’ll never quite understand how five days feels like 10, while two days feel like an afternoon nap. And yet despite that glaring disturbance in the force I’m still 50-years old with a sizable 401-K, a nearly […]

Ivan The Tolerable Trio : Infinite Peace

Oli Heffernan, aka Ivan The Tolerable, isn’t one to chill and take some down time. He’s a musician on a mission, and that mission is to dive into the deep end of the pool and see how far down he can go. Dig deep and explore. His music is a crossroads of heady jams, psychedelic […]

Making Things, Jazz On CD, Tapping Into The Universal Hum: 2024 Edition

I’m coming into 2024 hot, folks. Okay, maybe not hot but with a dull, orange glow of a meteor entering earth’s atmosphere. That glow is the glow of creativity. I told myself on New Year’s Eve that I wanted to make this year one where I put energy into making things, as opposed to letting […]

John Runs The Voodoo Down : Me, Miles, and The Portal That Is ‘Bitches Brew’

Even before I found myself going down the jazz rabbit hole(a hole I’m still dizzily finding myself descending into 15 years later) I knew of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew. As a teen seeing that album cover by French painter Malti Klarwein perusing Musicland or Super Sounds, it would always make me stop and gawk. The […]

London Odense Ensemble : Live At Jaiyede Jazz Festival

When you’re as tight, forward-thinking, and exploratory as London Odense Ensemble it’s hard not to keep striking while the iron’s hot. The five-piece fusion/cosmic jazz collective is made up of Danish musicians Jonas Munk(guitar), Martin Rude(bass), and Jakob Skøtt(drums); as well as London-based Tamar Osborn(saxophone, winds) and Al MacSween(keyboards). A fruitful recording session back in […]