Album Reviews

Review: Irreversible Entanglements’ ‘Open the Gates’Review: Irreversible Entanglements’ ‘Open the Gates’

Review: Irreversible Entanglements’ ‘Open the Gates’

"I’m so close," poet Camae Ayewa, a/k/a Moor Mother, intones on "Lágrimas del Mar" off of Irreversible Entanglements’ Open the Gates (International…

3 years ago
Review: William Parker’s ‘Migration of Silence into and Out of the Tone World [Volumes 1-10]’Review: William Parker’s ‘Migration of Silence into and Out of the Tone World [Volumes 1-10]’

Review: William Parker’s ‘Migration of Silence into and Out of the Tone World [Volumes 1-10]’

Has there ever been a musician whose musical imagination is as universal and as omnivorous as William Parker's? Perhaps Alexander…

3 years ago
Review: Jonny Greenwood’s Soundtrack to ‘Spencer’Review: Jonny Greenwood’s Soundtrack to ‘Spencer’

Review: Jonny Greenwood’s Soundtrack to ‘Spencer’

Jonny Greenwood is primarily known as the guitarist of Radiohead, but he also has a superb discography of film scores.…

4 years ago
Review: Henry Threadgill Zooid’s ‘Poof’Review: Henry Threadgill Zooid’s ‘Poof’

Review: Henry Threadgill Zooid’s ‘Poof’

As some artists approach their late careers they become ruthless self-editors, paring down their style to remove everything that is…

4 years ago
Review: Terence Blanchard’s ‘Absence’ featuring the E-Collective and Turtle Island QuartetReview: Terence Blanchard’s ‘Absence’ featuring the E-Collective and Turtle Island Quartet

Review: Terence Blanchard’s ‘Absence’ featuring the E-Collective and Turtle Island Quartet

Wayne Shorter is among the best composers of the second half of the Twentieth Century. Several of his compositions including,…

4 years ago
Review: L’Rain’s ‘Fatigue’Review: L’Rain’s ‘Fatigue’

Review: L’Rain’s ‘Fatigue’

Multi-instrumentalist Taja Cheek, who records under the moniker L'Rain, creates a unique experience in Fatigue. The album is kaleidoscopic and…

4 years ago
Review: Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog’s ‘Hope’Review: Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog’s ‘Hope’

Review: Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog’s ‘Hope’

Nobel physicist Erwin Schrödinger once noted that “[i]f a man never contradicts himself, the reason must be that he virtually…

4 years ago
Review: ‘Impulse! Records: Music, Message & The Moment’ and Sons of Kemet’s ‘Black to the Future’Review: ‘Impulse! Records: Music, Message & The Moment’ and Sons of Kemet’s ‘Black to the Future’

Review: ‘Impulse! Records: Music, Message & The Moment’ and Sons of Kemet’s ‘Black to the Future’

In 1960, Creed Taylor founded Impulse! Records, which he dubbed "The New Wave in Jazz." While over time, Impulse! established…

4 years ago
Review: Tony Allen’s ‘There is No End’Review: Tony Allen’s ‘There is No End’

Review: Tony Allen’s ‘There is No End’

An artist’s final recording is often an unusual gift to the world. In large part, this derives from the fact…

4 years ago
Review: Logan Richardson’s ‘Afrofuturism’Review: Logan Richardson’s ‘Afrofuturism’

Review: Logan Richardson’s ‘Afrofuturism’

Memorial day weekend 1921 started just like any other day in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma. One of the…

4 years ago