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Sugar Ray & The Bluetones: Seeing Is Believing
by Jim Trageser
Possessed of a rich timber on both vocals and harmonica, a keen ear for melody, and an unerring feel for the blues, New England's Sugar Ray Norcia had the grand career misfortune to begin breaking nationally just before the pop punk band Sugar Ray came on the scene and sowed confusion among music fans.
John Coltrane: Trane 90
by Jim Trageser
Along with Miles Davis, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, the late saxophonist John Coltrane is one of the most anthologized figures in the history of jazz. He is also one of the most studied, with at least four full biographies on Amazon, and dozens of other books looking at various aspects of his music. The number ...
Pedro Neves: 05:21
by Jim Trageser
It is what it sounds like: West Coast jazz. It's probably worth pointing out, though, that the music found on Pedro Neves' sophomore album comes from the west coast of Portugal, not the United States. You'd never guess that this is Iberian jazz, though, just from listening to it. There's no trace of fado--that ...
Lee Fields & The Expressions: Special Night
by Jim Trageser
Pop culture often gets ahead of itself in writing off styles no longer in vogue among the younger set--even when tremendous music is still being made by the original creators. So while big band swing was considered hopelessly dated by the 1970s, Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Harry James, and Les Brown were still turning ...
Richie Cole: Richie Cole Plays Ballads & Love Songs
by Jim Trageser
Alto saxophonist Richie Cole has made quite the career with his brand of hard bop, generally coming at melody almost as an unintended consequence of his heavy focus on improvisational interpretation. On his latest release--itself an unintended consequence of a recording date arriving without half the scheduled musicians able to attend--Cole taps into his ...
Anna Danes: Find Your Wings
by Jim Trageser
On her 2014 debut, San Diego's Anna Danes came across as what she admittedly was: A woman who only came to singing in her 40s, who had limited training, only a rudimentary grasp of technique and theory--in short, a beginner. The voice was unpolished, the delivery often hesitant, the choice in material suspect for someone aspiring ...
Dawg Yawp: Dawg Yawp
by Jim Trageser
Drawing equally upon threads common to Mumford & Sons, late period Beatles, acid-blues pioneer Little Axe, world music-era Paul Simon, and the good Lord only knows what else, the Cincinnati duo of Dawg Yawp has produced one of those little gems of an album that not only defies easy categorization--but even so much as adequate description. ...
The Girshevich Trio: Algorithmic Society
by Jim Trageser
While nearly all of the buzz in the music press about the Girshevich Trio has been about the young age of drummer Aleks Girshevich--who was roughly 12 when this album was recorded, the second of his young life--sooner or later his career will be judged solely by his playing. That's the thing about prodigies--they grow out ...
Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials: The Big Sound of Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials
by Jim Trageser
For more than 25 years, Lil' Ed Williams and his three-piece Blues Imperials have been as rock-steady in their roster makeup as they have musically. Since the late 1980s, singer-guitarist Williams has been backed by Michael Garrett (second guitar), James “Pookie" Young (bass) and Kelly Littleton (drums). That kind of longevity in a band ...
Tommy Castro & The Painkillers: Method to My Madness
by Jim Trageser
Few have epitomized the workingman nature of the blues as much as Tommy Castro. A popular staple of blues festivals and cruises, and steadily in demand since he issued his debut in 1994, Castro nevertheless has always somewhat resided in the second tier of blues artists: Popular, well-liked, kept working steadily, but not considered one of ...
