Liner Notes

Joe Beck: Beck

by Arnaldo DeSouteiro
July 17, 2026

Beck is back! A perfectionist, gifted with a sharp sense of self-criticism, Joe Beck (born on July 29, 1945, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was making good music (and a lot of money) when he disappeared from the NY music scene in 1971 to become a dairy farmer in Vermont. After his professional debut with Paul Winter's group in 1964, he had played with such masters as Gary McFarland, Charles Lloyd, Chico Hamilton, and Gil Evans, on whose orchestra he was a ...

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Deodato: In Concert - Live At Felt Forum

by Arnaldo DeSouteiro
January 22, 2026

Since his days at Verve Records in the early 1960s, when he produced seminal bossa nova albums by such artists as Luiz Bonfá, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Walter Wanderley, Laurindo Almeida, Bola Sete,, João Gilberto and Astrud Gilberto, until his activities during the A&M/CTI era (when also signed Milton Nascimento and Tamba 4) and at the Greenestreet label (which thrived for a scant ten months in 1984, but gave him enough time to launch trumpeter Claudio Roditi's solo career), Creed Taylor ...

Melvin Rhyne: Tomorrow Yesterday Today

by C. Andrew Hovan
November 9, 2025

A disciple of some of the earliest jazz organ practitioners, such as Jackie Davis, Milt Buckner, and Wild Bill Davis, jazz veteran Melvin Rhyne's major claim to fame has been the five years he spent with the renowned Wes Montgomery in the early '60s. Yet this is really only a fraction of the story for the 67-year-old organist. Much like the proverbial hibernating bear, Rhyne kept a low profile throughout the '70s and '80s and he even told writer Pete ...

Fridolin Blumer: Beyond Scope

by Mark Corroto
November 7, 2025

Are there norms in free improvisation? A better question might be: are there rules? Free improvisation has been called many things--instant composing, non-idiomatic improvisation, spontaneous composition, intuitive music--but no matter the name, the question of structure remains. To explore this, let's look beyond music to another art form: film. Specifically, the 1998 cult classic The Big Lebowski, written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. The film follows Jeffrey “The Dude" Lebowski, played by Jeff Bridges, who is ...

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Grant Green: The Main Attraction

by Arnaldo DeSouteiro
October 30, 2025

During his brilliant career as one of the best producers in the music history, Creed Taylor (born in Lynchburg, Virginia, on May 13, 1929) has worked with some of world's greatest guitarists: from Barry Galbraith (1919-1983) and Mundell Lowe, who took part in the Creed Taylor Orchestra albums (Lonelyville, Shock!, Ping Pang Pong) for ABC-Paramount in the late Fifties, to smooth jazz virtuoso Steve Laury, who was signed to CTI in 1995. In between, Creed produced memorable albums ...

Dino Betti van der Noot: Brahm Dreams Still

by Thomas Conrad
October 27, 2025

In 2023 I signed on to write the liner notes for an album by someone I had never heard of. He was Dino Betti van der Noot, and the album was Let Us Recount Our Dreams. I approached the project with some trepidation. But Dino turned out to be a revelation. His music, in its sweep and richness and sense of dominion, reminded me of Gil Evans. Yet Dino's orchestral language was his own. His pieces were more volatile, more ...

Introducing: The Russ Macklem Detroit Quintet

by Vincent Chandler
October 23, 2025

What do these musicians have in common: Wardell Gray, Joe Henderson, Yusef Lateef, Thad, Elvin, and Hank Jones, Betty Carter, Howard McGhee and Marcus Belgrave? They are all legendary jazz musicians from Detroit who were born elsewhere. Some were raised in Detroit, while others moved there later in their lives. This phenomenon dates to the Great Migration of the early 20th century and continues due to a vibrant music scene and nationally diverse collegiate jazz programs in Metropolitan Detroit. Less ...

Dan Krimm: Second Wind

by Dan Krimm
October 4, 2025

Dan Krimm is hardly the first artist to find inspiration in the bounteous beauty of Marin County, but in composing, recording and designing Second Wind he's crafted a musical sojourn equally fueled by locally sourced creativity. Since moving to San Rafael in 2016, he's reimmersed himself in music after several years focusing on other pursuits. With Second Wind, he's reintroducing himself as a fretless bassist, bandleader, and composer with a gift for honing singing melodic lines. And he's keeping excellent ...

Michael Dease: Flow

by Howard Mandel
September 27, 2025

Everything comes together for Michael Dease and company on Flow, which should be no surprise but mustn't be taken for granted. The dynamic Mr. Dease, a consummate musician, sweeps his diverse crew of long-term collaborators and gifted newcomers through a confluence of songs rich in melody, rhythm and feeling. Pleasure-forward, Flow entices, refreshes, buoys and inspires. The album--Dease's 18th as a leader since 2005 and his 11th from Posi-Tone, all imbued with joyful engagement and flaunting stylistic variety--covers ...

Jovino Santos Neto Quarteto: Mais Que Tudo: Live at Kerry Hall 1995

by Bruce Phares
August 30, 2025

Sit down. Put on the best earphones you've got. A seatbelt wouldn't hurt, either. Get ready to be blown away. From the opening salvo of Jovino Santos Neto's dazzling composition “Metamorph," you're about to be taken on a musical journey of intense elation, abandon, and passion, engaging and urgent in all aspects, through the many twists and turns of what now is considered a legendary concert; the first time Seattle ears were given a chance to hear these amazing songs ...