carol robbins taylor

On The Street Where She Lived

Continuing to advance the art of jazz harp and her own compositional skills, CAROL ROBBINS is joined by Billy Childs' Jazz Chamber Ensemble and others on nine cool new tunes on TAYLOR STREET.
by David McGee
 

 
 
dial oatts music

Fanning the Flames of Whitman’s ‘Subtle Electric Fire’

Enlisting the support of some 64 musicians and choir/session singers, GARRY DIAL and DICK OATTS have delivered a stirring, jazz-oriented musical interpretation of Walt Whitman poems.
by David McGee
 

 

 
blues blues3 featured

Christmas Beyond the Blue

BLUES, BLUES CHRISTMAS VOLUME 3 leads this revised and updated review of four essential blues Christmas albums, including last year's DEATH MIGHT BE YOUR SANTA CLAUS
by David McGee
 

 
 
oconnor band featured

You Can Go Home Again

MARK O'CONNOR. predictably unpredictable, returns as a member of a splendid roots band featuring his wife MAGGIE, his son FORREST and his son's fiancee, KATE LEE. It's a loving family affair.
by David McGee
 

 

 
roys new day

Here Comes the Sun

“As fast as we roll, we’re always catching up/as much as we have, it’ll never be enough/as hard/as hard as we work, we just work our fingers to the bone/what do we have to show?” Listening to this catchy chorus of the f...
by David McGee
 

 
 
kenny lavender conscious

Thoughts That Lie Too Deep for Tears

Two very different artists make two very different albums but still manage to cross paths. What do KENNY LAVENDER and his big band have in common with LAWRENCE BLATT and his guitar?
by David McGee
 

 

 
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The (Eastern) Beat Goes On

Across the Middle East and North Africa, the beat goes on. This scene shines on Putumayo’s Arabic Beat, a collection that chronicles the musical creativity of Arabic musicians today. The album revels in artists rarely heard i...
by David McGee
 

 
 
mac i sang featured

No Bigger Heart Than His

Now 91, MAC WISEMAN, The Voice With a Heart, is the focus of (and participant in) a tribute to his extraordinary life and career. PETER COOPER and THOMM JUTZ steered the project.
by David McGee
 

 

 
UNCOVERED Vol. 1 Front Cover

A Fresh Perspective on the ‘African Mahler’

CATALYST QUARTET, a young American ensemble, explores the chamber music of SAMUEL COLERIDGE-TAYLOR, works whose sophistication belies their early date
by David McGee
 

 
 
silver lining

The Common Language of the Heart

Tony Bennett and Bill Charlap are together again, now in a relaxed, refined, reflective and altogether classy survey of the songs of Jerome Kern, 'the angel at the top of the tree.'
by David McGee
 

 

 
sam butler raise

Tested In the Furnace of Affliction

SAM BUTLER, former lead guitarist with the Blind Boys of Alabama, makes his solo debut with a most unusual spiritual album--with songs by Springsteen, Waits, Curtis Mayfield, Johnny Cash, et al.
by David McGee
 

 
 
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Joy To the World

Bluegrass Buddhist PETER ROWAN examines his personal spiritual journey on DHARMA BLUES and offers some insights we should all take to heart.
by David McGee