Buddy Guy is the blues, and he’s our connection to a genre that’s embedded in the history of America. But it’s a sound the guitarist fears is fading. Born and raised in Louisiana without running water or electricity, Guy tells NPR’s David Greene, “They got some mosquitoes in Louisiana that can almost lift you out […]
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From the archives: The crimped hair. The tiered skirts. The heavily kohled eyes. The wraith-like movement. I wanted to be her. My big sister Claire – for it was she – was glamorous and mysterious back then, in 1978. What I didn’t know, but found out soon after, was that Claire was herself in awe […]
by Reverend Keith A. Gordon Updated March 08, 2017 If not for the cruel hand of fate, Peter Green (born October 29, 1946 in London England) might today be considered the greatest British blues guitarist, on par with Eric Clapton, instead of the somewhat obscure cult artist he is today. Green’s struggle with […]
Trees was a British folk rock band recording and touring throughout 1969, 1970 and 1971, reforming briefly to continue performing throughout 1972. Although the group met with little commercial success in their time, the reputation of the band has grown over the years, and underwent a renaissance in 2007 following Gnarls Barkley’s sampling of the […]
Valentina Lisitsa was ‘just another blonde Russian pianist’ until a shaky home-made video changed everything. Forty-six million YouTube hits later, she talks about her remarkable renaissance. MORE
Lewis Jones reviews Lou Reed by Anthony DeCurtis (John Murray) With the four albums they released between 1967 and 1970, the Velvet Underground challenged the prevailing musical fashion set by California hippies. Instead of peace, love and soft drugs, they sang about paranoia, perversion and hard drugs. Gleefully uncouth, they were also cool and witty, […]
If history has taught us anything, it was that the age-old classical music scene has been dominated by the eccentric and the brilliant. Singapore’s musical child prodigy Min Lee will be part of that very rich history when she takes to the stage with the 300-year-old Brahms Stradivarius violin crafted by handcrafted by the great […]
Rory Gallagher threw every fibre of his being into his music. Scrappy, unabashed, and bluesy to the core, he was a sublime guitarist and compelling singer. His live and studio recordings, especially during the 1970s, deliver strength, wisdom, and inspiration. Personally, I count him among my favorite guitarists. I seldom travel without his music and […]
The opportunity presented itself in November to attend a performance by blues artist Mose Allison at a jazz club in the Detroit area. This was my first time seeing him perform live, although I had been familiar with his music since youth. I have just recently become reanimated by his music, which has always made […]
Paul Tingen (Sound on Sound magazine) writes ….. Under the guidance of engineer and producer Maxime Le Guil, Vincent Delerm forsook grand orchestration for the humble piano — bowed, plucked and hammered… We had three principal constraints when making this record,” explains engineer, mixer, and co-producer Maxime Le Guil. “The first was that it was […]
Pianist Ivan Ilić embarks on a journey of discovery for his new album of Feldman, Scriabin and Cage Until a few years ago, I had no interest in reading composers’ biographies or anecdotes from their lives. I concentrated exclusively on the music. But then I had a couple of experiences that led to a change […]
Robin Arens writes: Isn’t it nice to meet someone who takes time for a good chat in these hectic times? Especially if this person has a lot to tell, carries the living memory of an important part of jazz history, and is called Chuck Israels? Bassist/arranger/composer Chuck Israels is in expansive form for this interview […]
An NME encounter with the great trumpeter in 1985 MORE
John Kelman writes: In the 21st century, few drummers have managed Brian Blade’s kind of crossover success. Beyond playing in saxophonist Wayne Shorter’s quartet for nearly 15 years, beyond being a first-call drummer for producer/singer/songwriter Daniel Lanois—whether it’s for his own projects like Black Dub or working with everyone from Bob Dylan to EmmyLou Harris—and […]
Originally posted April 2011 Robert Baird writes ….. Whistling ductwork, whirring fans, murmuring pipes—along with being jazz’s most storied location, a living shrine to the memories of Bill Evans, John Coltrane, and so many others, Manhattan’s Village Vanguard, on Seventh Avenue South, was, on this winter’s night, the Das Boot of jazz. In every corner, […]
Ian Patterson (all about jazz) writes ….. In times when independent musicians have to function as one-person business enterprises most musicians show more than one face. David Lyttle, drummer par excellence from Waringstown, Northern Ireland, wears more faces than most. Musician, songwriter, record label owner, producer, interviewer and talent scout—Lyttle has built a solid reputation […]
There is a unique blend of southern R&B, soul, and blues that is known the world over… Closely related to the sounds of Stax Records and folks like Rufus Thomas, but with a slightly different blend of spices and it’s own distinct flavor… Studios, sessionmen and songwriters from the northwest corner of Alabama put […]
allaboutjazz write: Albert “Tootie” Heath is among the drummers who lived—and thrived—during what many call the golden age of jazz, the ’40s, ’50, early ’60s. He’s enjoyed the fruits of a varied and historic career, but never stayed put. Just kept working. He admires the musicians of today and the direction of jazz. The Philadelphia native […]
Art Garfunkel, one half of the most successful pop music duo in history, tells Neil McCormick about his two-year struggle to repair his voice. MORE
Paul Naser writes: The rare balance of passionate ambition and mature dedication that are the hallmark of young professionals puts them in a category all their own. More often than not they began honing their skills at an early age and it seems as if life conspired to help them succeed. Justin Faulkner, the young […]
All•About•Jazz write ….. The trajectory of Steven Wilson’s career, since stepping away from his longtime band Porcupine Tree to go solo, has been nothing short of remarkable. Since interviewing him in 2012 for the release of Get All You Deserve (Kscope, 2012)—an audio and video document of his world tour in support of Grace for […]
Mr. H says: LOATH that song and to such an extent that I cannot offer an objective answer. But some others can, and so: Rocci Disopa, former Recording Engineer answered May 16Because the old Airplane were seminal figures in the ‘hippy’ counter culture movement of the Sixties. They were considered radicals, purveyors of a […]