Album Reviews

Review: Emi Makabe’s ‘Anniversary’Review: Emi Makabe’s ‘Anniversary’

Review: Emi Makabe’s ‘Anniversary’

The title cut of Emi Makabe's debut full-length release, Anniversary (Greenleaf Music, 2020), is a graceful, bittersweet waltz about the…

4 years ago
Review: Small Bills’ ‘Don’t Play It Straight’Review: Small Bills’ ‘Don’t Play It Straight’

Review: Small Bills’ ‘Don’t Play It Straight’

Ten tracks into E L U C I D's Valley of Grace (Backwoodz Studioz, 2017), the rapper declared that "nothing's…

4 years ago
Review: ‘Luke Stewart Exposure Quintet’Review: ‘Luke Stewart Exposure Quintet’

Review: ‘Luke Stewart Exposure Quintet’

Free Jazz/Avant-Garde is at its most expressive when it presents itself as a collective experience. A singular unit that exists…

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

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…

5 years ago
Review: Bootsy Collins’ ‘The Power of the One’Review: Bootsy Collins’ ‘The Power of the One’

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…

5 years ago
Review: Butcher Brown’s ‘#KingButch’Review: Butcher Brown’s ‘#KingButch’

Review: Butcher Brown’s ‘#KingButch’

Here’s a tip for whoever is reading at the Richmond, Virginia Chamber of Commerce: when you produce your next showcase…

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

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.…

5 years ago
Review: ‘Blue Note Re:imagined’Review: ‘Blue Note Re:imagined’

Review: ‘Blue Note Re:imagined’

Blue Note has a more important discography than almost anyin the history of jazz, encompassing decades of some…

5 years ago
Review: Josh Johnson’s ‘Freedom Exercise’Review: Josh Johnson’s ‘Freedom Exercise’

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…

5 years ago
Review: Cat Toren’s Human Kind’s ‘Scintillating Beauty’Review: Cat Toren’s Human Kind’s ‘Scintillating Beauty’

Review: Cat Toren’s Human Kind’s ‘Scintillating Beauty’

With a first track as striking as "Radiance In Veils", one immediately gets the sense that Cat Toren's Human Kind's…

5 years ago