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75 or Less album reviews (Free subscription) | 3 hours ago
Various Artists - Life Beyond Mars: Bowie Covered ( Rapster ) [ audio ] Simple premise: 12 primarily electronic musicians and bands cover 12 mostly unfamiliar deep cuts (with some exceptions) from David Bowie's catalogue. I had hoped coming into this that these two factors working together would produce some interesting results. They don't. Maybe I'm being too hard? It's really not all bad; especially...
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All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 2 hours ago
Most of us find that there are certain musicians who speak to us through their music in a profound way that makes for a special connection. These are the artists who find a prominent space in our collections because we continuously seek out all of their current musical endeavors. For this reviewer, saxophonist Walt Weiskopf has always been a musician to watch. Not to take anything away from other jazz...
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All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 2 hours ago
This is by no means an ordinary trio. Totem> is comprised of guitarist Bruce Eisenbeil, bassist Tom Blancarte and drummer Andrew Drury, all three coming from the forward thinking, left-of-center scene of New York improvisers. But it's not only their sense of risk-taking and openness that differentiates Totem> from other trios, but their ability to formulate a new sonic language, not only by experimenting...
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All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 2 hours ago
While guitarist Jostein Gulbrandsen may hail from Norway, he and his quartet appear very much at home in this debut that has a decided downtown edge. At the heart of Twelve is a contorted bluesy postbop that makes wonderful use of complex rhythms and slicing tenor sax courtesy of Jon Irabagon. Both Gulbrandsen and Irabagon possess rapier-like attacks and they make up with crispness and speed what they...
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All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 2 hours ago
Jazz may not be a sport but Guillermo Klein's Los Guachos CD, Filtros, proves the winning power of teamwork. Offering sometimes-complex musical ideas in a thoroughly accessible and entertaining way, the Argentinean-born Klein stands out as a bandleader, composer and pianist. But this unassuming master, who cut his teeth in the mid '90s at Smalls with an earlier version of Los Guachos, gives his collaborators...
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MusicEmissions (Free subscription) | yesterday
The Two Koreas , Canadian indie rock band, are back with their newest EP, Sessions . This is a long EP, almost forty minutes, with seven tracks. The Two Koreas are Stuart Berman (Vocals), Kieran Grant (Guitar), Ian Worang (Bass), Jason Anderson (Keyboards), and David Gee (Drums). On their myspace page, the band likens the EP's release to that of a "blog-post update", reminding us that they are still...
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MusicEmissions (Free subscription) | yesterday
Widespread Panic has been at it for a very long time. Free Somehow would be their 10th album. Lucky number 10 right? Wrong. Free Somehow is a mediocre effort with little to be overly excited for. It brings the sound you would expect to see at the Bamboozle Music Festivle. Music that would make Jack Johnson loving college kids sway back and forth and be elated with joy. I can see why it has been said...
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MusicEmissions (Free subscription) | yesterday
I wonder how many metal fans have gone their lives without hearing Act Of God . The story of Znowhite is really rather tragic; after the typical early struggles any band encounters, this speed metal outfit earned the attention of the biggest metal labels of their time, Road Runner, Metal Blade and others. It all came to a head in 1988 when Act Of God was released and, for those lucky ones who got...
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All About Jazz (Free subscription) | yesterday
Multi-instrumentalism is one of the enduring legacies of the '60s New Thing and Chicago's AACM, where everything was fair game in the hunt for unfettered expressionism. Few have taken it as far as Kali Z. Fasteau, who plays a different instrument on each of the nine tracks of this live recording from Finland's 2007 Kerava Jazz Festival. Perhaps surprisingly, this doesn't make for a smorgasbord of unrelated...
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All About Jazz (Free subscription) | yesterday
Sebastien Paindestre can communicate with unbridled impressionism and also swing and bop like mad. These are what make this trio record, Parcours, such a memorable experience. The title suggests "wandering" or "wanderlust," depending on how you view the grammar of the music. You would think that it is courageous to make a trio record--piano, bass and drums--in a world inhabited by those under Bill...
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All About Jazz (Free subscription) | yesterday
The title of this CD says it all--the Mike Longo Trio (Longo on piano, Paul West on bass and Jimmy Wormworth on drums) takes music on a smooth flight just like a butterfly, delighting with every track. Longo is probably one of the most underappreciated jazz pianists around. His musical history includes studying with the late Oscar Peterson (a major inspiration), playing in the Dizzy Gillespie quintet...
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All About Jazz (Free subscription) | yesterday
Alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley was one of the major figures in jazz from the mid '50s to his death in 1975. His songs became soulful anthems that generations of jazz fans loved, making heads nod and shoulders weave in time. Along with his trumpeter brother Nat, Cannonball made sure that his music would reach out and remain a part of one's psyche: from aspiring musicians to older veterans who...
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75 or Less album reviews (Free subscription) | yesterday
Whatfor - Sooner Late Than Never ( Science of Sound ) [ audio ] [ upcoming shows ] This side project for Sleeping in the Aviary member Michael Sienkowski is a huge departure from his main group, creating a collection of flamboyant orchestral pop. "I'm a Bummer" is part of the newly defined effeminate ragtime genre, parts of which reminds me of early Of Montreal. "Call That Girl" has transistor radio...
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MusicEmissions (Free subscription) | 07/07/2008
Rivers Cuomo recently more than ever, has demonstrated that he is very much a man of contrast in approach. Not so long ago, he furtively released a collection of low-key, contemplative home recordings indicating that he is happy to cut a mysterious and thoughtful figure. Yet, all the time, he was adding the cherries to the sumptuous cake that represents another quirky, delving and vocally colourful...
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MusicEmissions (Free subscription) | 07/07/2008
The legend of Chuck E. Weiss continues, or more to the truth, is relived in this remastered edition of his 1981 release of original recordings. For nearly 20 years after, he could be seen every single monday at the LA club The Central, which would eventually become The Viper Room, co-owned by his buddy Johnny Depp. Yeah, he's a pretty influential figure, but one you won't hear talked up about much...
