Results for "AAJ Staff"

Sonny Rollins - Plus Four (1956, Reissue)

May 30, 2011

By Mark Saleski Ever have a dream where the impossible has suddenly come true? No, I don't mean something like you've won the lottery, or you finally hooked up with that special someone. No, I'm talking about the impossible. In my case, it was my guitar playing ability. For a brief moment, I could play whatever ...

What Major Labels Pay for Influence...

May 30, 2011

A Dogged Performance by a True Pro

May 30, 2011

It would have been disappointing if Eric Alexander had canceled his performance at the Artists Quarter last night. Disappointing, but perfectly understandable. In town for his almost annual Memorial Day Weekend 3-night stand, Eric was jogging in Lilydale Park when a lunging rotweiler (on a leash, no less) grabbed his left hand and wouldn't let go. ...

The Jazz Session #274: Eddie Henderson

May 30, 2011

Trumpeter Eddie Henderson is a member of The Cookers and appears on their latest CD, Cast The First Stone (Plus Loin, 2010). In this interview, Henderson talks about his childhood encounters with Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis; the discipline that allowed him to become both a medical doctor and a professional musician; and the lessons learned ...

STLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Miles Davis at Tanglewood - August 18, 1970

May 29, 2011

Since it's the week of Miles Davis' birthday, today we're going to pay tribute to the trumpeter with a replay of Davis' set on August 18, 1970 at the Tanglewood Music Festival in Massachusetts. The show featured one of the most stellar lineups of all Miles' electric bands, with ...

Letters to Naras: Doug Beavers Writes About the Latin Jazz Grammy

May 29, 2011

On Wednesday April 6th, The National Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences announced a “restructuring" of The Grammy Awards, a move that included the elimination of the Latin Jazz Grammy. This unfortunate decision undermines the integrity of Latin Jazz and disregards its importance as a major piece of the cultural landscape in the United States. I ...

R.I.P. Gil Scott-Heron

May 29, 2011

Neil Young - Living with War (2006)

May 29, 2011

By Mark Saleski The debate had become predictable; maybe a little sad, too. An artist was coming out with a protest record. You could hear the bluster from miles away. Folks twisted themselves into spittle-flecked knots in the attempt to dress down the album as insincere, misguided, vain, self-absorbed—go ahead, pick your own adjective. Add to ...

Forgotten Series: Tortoise - Tortoise (1994)

May 29, 2011

By Tom Johnson I suppose the most effective argument I could make to indicate that this album got under my skin is that during the fourth track, titled “Onions Wrapped in Rubber," I was imagining scenes from the 1986 sci-fi thriller Aliens. Static-ridden visions of the Marines making their way through the dark recesses of the ...

Louie Belogenis Trio - Tiresias (Porter Records, 2011)

May 29, 2011

The deep-seated and haunting nature of the music links this album to Albert Ayler's free-jazz masterpiece Spiritual Unity, not the least because both sessions share the same drummer, the great free percussionist Sunny Murray. Louie Belogenis' sandpaper raw saxophone tone and sparse use of swirls and slurs make him a natural heir to Ayler, but it ...