Rob Shepherd

Traveling the Spaceways: Sun Ra Arkestra’s ‘Swirling’ and M’Lumbo and Jane Ira Bloom’s ‘Celestial Mechanics’

Sun Ra was born on the planet Saturn sometime presumably in the early 20th Century. Some historians mistake him for…

4 years ago

Review: Bootsy Collins’ ‘The Power of the One’

Far too often when people succeed in their field, it becomes far too easy for them to cling to that…

4 years ago

Review: Azymuth, Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad’s ‘Azymuth JID 004′

In the field of astrodynamics, azimuth is essentially a way of navigating based on an established location, usually true North.…

4 years ago

Review: Josh Johnson’s ‘Freedom Exercise’

One effective way to find new artists and music is through their works with others. A great example of this…

4 years ago

Review: Bob James’ ‘Once Upon A Time: The Lost 1965 New York Studio Sessions’, Admas’ ‘Sons of Ethiopia’, and Takuya Kuroda’s ‘Fly Moon Die Soon’

Artists often produce some of their best work when given increased freedom over the creative process. In so doing, their…

4 years ago

Five Non-Traditional Tributes to Charlie Parker

On August 29, 1920, Charles Parker Jr. was born in a home at 852 Freeman Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas. The…

4 years ago

Review: Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah’s ‘Axiom’

In the field of philosophical logic, an axiom serves as a starting point from which other statements are derived. It…

4 years ago

Review: Marcos Valle, Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad’s ‘Marcos Valle JID 003’

In the year 1500, navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral claimed Brazil as a colony for the Portuguese empire. Despite the region’s…

4 years ago

Review: Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids’ ‘Shaman!’

In the early 1990s, Allan Wilson and Rebecca Cann reached a scientific breakthrough in their testing of mitochondrial DNA. Their…

4 years ago

A History of the Newport Jazz Festival – Chapter VIII: Fortress in the Wings, 1972-1980

After the destructive summer of 1971, George Wein wanted to keep the legacy of the Newport Jazz Festival alive but…

4 years ago