Jazz Articles about Van Morrison

Van Morrison: Remasters Redux

by Doug Collette
November 8, 2008

Inasmuch as the six titles range from the sublime to the pedestrian, the latest batch of Van Morrison remasters constitutes a microcosm of The Belfast Cowboy's entire discography.

Because Morrison is such an uncommonly gifted artist, it's possible to excuse the oversights in the overall archiving process, including lack of details in the remastering preparation and production as well as the ostensible lack of contribution from the artist. The Belfast Cowboy has never been comfortable dealing with his past and ...

Van Morrison: Remasters at Last

by Doug Collette
April 12, 2008

Van Morrison's position as one of the leading white soulmen of our times is as firmly grounded as his begrudging acceptance of celebrity status. The Belfast Cowboy so reviles the cult of personality that has surrounded him since his days leading Them, that it has resulted in his steadfact refusal, since the advent of the compact disc, to take advantage of the extensive archiving possibilities offered by the format.

Coincidental with the release of a new album, however, Morrison consented ...

Van Morrison Concert in Palace of Jewels: Less Than Dazzling

by Ralph A. Miriello
March 30, 2008

Van Morrison in Concert United Palace TheaterNew York City March 15, 2008

The air was cool and the streets were filled with middle-aged transplanted white folks from the suburbs, all making there way to the upper reaches of Manhattan island--175th Street and Broadway, to be precise--the area known as Washington Heights. The occasion for this excursion was a much anticipated and somewhat rare performance by the iconoclastic singer/songwriter Van Morrison at the magnificent ...

Van Morrison and Rory Gallagher: Live at Montreux

by Doug Collette
February 10, 2007

Van Morrison Live at Montreux 1980/1974 Eagle Eye Media 2006

For close to forty years the Montreaux Jazz Festival has set the standard for jazz as an all-inclusive art form. Two artists, purely coincidentally both Irish, have recently released DVDs containing concert performances at the famed fest, each of which, in its own way, illustrates how broad the definition of jazz can really be.

Van Morrison titled one of ...

Van Morrison: What

by Chris M. Slawecki
December 24, 2003

As I have grown, Van Morrison has steadily become one of my favorite singers. Maybe that's because it’s so tough to explain what he does or what kind of singer he is. You find him lumped in retail bins between Meat Loaf and Morrissey under “pop/rock”... which is an easier sell, I guess, than “the real swinging Celtic folk blues” or something closer to the truth.

Underneath its surface, beneath the structure of its songs, What’s Wrong...? swims ...

Van Morrison: What

by C. Michael Bailey
November 10, 2003

For those readers who may think that Van Morrison has no business recording for Blue Note Records, I have just two words...

Norah Jones.

What’s Wrong with Picture? is Morrison’s debut on the jazz label and I suppose it is jazzy enough. He provides his characteristic Celtic blue-eyed soul over a broad landscape of musical styles. The blues play a big part, of course, and show up in the some spectacular iterations. The title cut and ...

Van Morrison: What's Wrong With This Picture?

by Alexander M. Stern
November 6, 2003

Van Morrison has always been difficult to categorize. He straddles a line between Hank Williams, Sr. and William Blake; between W. B. Yeats and Muddy Waters. He’s Ireland’s rock and roll saint; a genuine rhythm and blues Rimbaud. He’s Jack Kerouac on the road to Belfast.

Looking back on Morrison’s long and storied career, it’s almost impossible to identify a single highlight. Some partisans will choose Astral Weeks, Van’s murmured farewell to childhood, and arguably one of ...