JD Souther: You're Only Lonely

by Doug Collette
August 1, 2024

JD Souther might well be considered the unsung hero of country rock as we know it. Forget for the moment the ill-conceived and woefully mis-executed David Geffen vanity project that was Souther, Hillman and Furay: his early alliance in Longbranch Pennywhistle, with the late Glenn Frey, co-founder of the Eagles, led to Souther's collaborations with that group, including but not limited to what is arguably the pinnacle of their discography Desperado (Asylum, 1973) (he is one of the captured outlaws ...

Todd Mosby: Land of Enchantment

by Jack Bowers
October 25, 2023

As Land of Enchantment is New Mexico's state motto, it is not hard to ascertain the motive behind Missouri-bred guitarist Todd Mosby's latest album. As for its target, that would seem to be the light or smooth jazz market, as there is an abundance of rhythmic flow but a lack of what could be considered improvisational focus. Yes, saxophonist Tom Scott does venture an ad-lib or two, as do Mosby and pianist Dapo Torimiro, but these are ...

The Muffins: Baker's Dozen

by Mark Sullivan
January 4, 2023

The Muffins were a Washington, D.C. area progressive rock band who were active from 1974-81 and then again (with their best-known line-up still intact) from 1993-2015. It is rare for any group to reform after more than a decade apart, and still rarer for them to resume their creative life rather than indulge in nostalgia. But this was not just any band: progressive rock pioneer Fred Frith declared them “the finest progressive band that America produced," and they served as ...

Grant Geissman: Blooz

by Richard J Salvucci
October 27, 2022

There are several ways of judging the success of a recording. Perhaps a hearing makes the listener, if a musician, want to sit in and jam. That is a good sign. Then there is the “sit still test." For many, the direct, emotional and physical connection between music and brain leaves them simply hanging out, absence of motion impossible, sitting still not an option. Grant Geissman's Blooz happily passes both tests. Turn the volume up and a blues party comes ...

Chris Walden: Missa Iubileum Aureum: Golden Jubilee Jazz Mass

by Jack Bowers
August 30, 2022

First things first: there is no doubt that Chris Walden's reverential Missa Iubileum Aureum ("Golden Jubilee Jazz Mass") is beautifully written and wonderfully performed by the LMR Jazz Orchestra, St. Dominick's Schola Cantorum and cantors Kurt Elling and Tierney Sutton. Is it jazz? That is another question, one not so easily answered. While there are elements of jazz, they are incidental and generally overshadowed by the more doctrinal aspects of what is essentially an homage to devotion and piety. And ...

Saxsession: Dave Koz, Grace Kelly and Gerald Albright

by Joseph Vella
June 18, 2021

Tom Scott: Cannon Re-Loaded: An All Star Celebration of Cannonball Adderley

by AAJ Italy Staff
July 16, 2009

Folgorato in giovane et�� dalle performance di Julian Adderley nei classicissimi Milestones e Kind of Blue, Tom Scott rende omaggio alla figura immortale del saxofonista di Tampa con un album raffinato e senza smagliature. In Cannon Re-Loaded Scott mette insieme una scintillante formazione di all-star composta dal trombettista Terence Blanchard, sugli scudi in pi�� occasioni; l'irreprensibile George Duke al piano; e una ritmica capace di unire tradizione e attualit�� composta da Marcus Miller e Steve Gadd. Come se non bastasse, ...