• Smith/Kotzen

    Music

    Smith/Kotzen

    Black Light/White Noise

    This is the third album from rock veterans Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden) and Richie Kotzen (The Winery Dogs). The busy axeslingers – especially Kotzen, who is always involved in solo and band projects – released their full-length debut and an EP in 2021. Smith-Kotzen has happily blossomed into a going concern. What’s interesting about Smith/Kotzen’s

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Jay McShann – Goin’ to Kansas City

The story of Jay “Hootie” McShann is legend. Born in 1916, he got his start as a youth tickling the ivories in the infamous wide-open Kansas City barrooms and ballrooms. His Jay McShann…

Romane

Soir de Trottoir

Patrick Leguidecoq, better known as Romane, has been a pioneer of the Gypsy jazz revival. Beginning with his now-classic 1992 album Swing for Ninine, he’s hailed today for his ongoing efforts to spread…

Moby Grape

Sundazed

Most bands that comprised San Francisco’s psychedelic scene circa 1967’s Summer Of Love consisted of folkies gone electric (the Grateful Dead, Country Joe & The Fish, Jefferson Airplane). Moby Grape was one very…

Billy Strings

Live, Volume 1

Billy Strings has travelled far from his days as bluegrass flatpicking prodigy, though that style remains a linchpin of his sound as he’s kept moving, developing greater depth and range. Strings’ ability to…

Los Lobos – Good Morning Aztlan

Good Morning Aztlan

I just “introduced” Los Lobos to a buddy of mine. Now, this guy is a huge music fan with what I would describe as pretty eclectic tastes. But up to this point he…

Adrian Raso – Clean Up The Mess

Black Mamba Records

Adrian Raso understands that, just as a guitar solo is not just a place-holder between lyric lines, an instrumental is not just a bunch of notes that sound good together. Guitarists may have…

Jules Shear – More

Jules Mark Shear is living proof that talented pop musicians who prefer to remain on the fringes can maintain a successful career without cowtowing to the winds of fad and fashion. On his…

Prasanna

The highly decorated Prasanna embellishes his artistry with a style that fuses elements of jazz and Indian music. The ancient Indian art of Carnatic music weaves throughout, bringing much-needed pizazz, panache, and fearless…

Stephen Bruton – Nothing But The Truth

I love when records like this happen. I loved this when I first heard it, and subsequent listens revealed more great things. Bruton is well-known as a guitarist and ace producer from Austin.…

Mollie O’Brien and Rich Moore

Mollie O’Brien and her husband, Rich Moore, have been fixtures in the Denver music scene for more than 30 years. And though they have released several albums over the years (culled from their…

Robben Ford – In Concert Revisited

The premise of the Autour Du Blues DVD was to stage a transatlantic blues summit for the 25th anniversary of Paris’ New Morning club in December ’06, teaming the group of France’s studio…

Dennis Jones

Dennis Jones’ fifth album elevates his craft to new heights as he juxtaposes an arsenal of blues, rock, and funk with visceral production values. The genre is contemporary blues, and Jones plays serious…

Larry Carlton/Steve Lukather – No Substitutions

I don’t really know what to say about this one. It’s just a good, old-fashioned jam by a couple of great guitarists. To no one’s surprise, they’re both up to the task. The…

Jimmy McIntosh

While guitarists in high-profile bands get the lion’s of share of publicity, the working stiffs who slug it out on local stages get no love. Las Vegas sideman Jimmy McIntosh is one of…

Andreas öberg – Solo

Swedish guitarslinger Andreas öberg is a firebrand, playing mainstream jazz and Gypsy jazz with a fury. His style is ultra-modern – fast and driving, with a rock and roll-inspired intensity. Fronting the Hot…

Jeff Beck

Since the late ’90s, Jeff Beck has been fusing equal parts blues, jazz-rock, and heavy-duty electronica; this time he’s added spoken-word sections and vocals over the big, throbbing grooves, thanks to singer Rosie…

Roy Orbison

Roy Orbison waxed optimistic about life and music on December 4, 1988, the day he played a concert near Cleveland and did a video interview discussing his dramatically revived career. Two days later,…

Johnny Hiland – Johnny Hiland

Johnny Hiland

A friend of mine asked what I knew about Johnny Hiland. I repeated things I’d read about Hiland. You know, the blind guitarist from Nashville who looks like he plays in your hometown…

The Little Willies

Essentially a super-group of players that just want to have some fun with the music they grew up with, Norah Jones, Jim Campilongo, Lee Alexander, Richard Julian, and Dan Rieser serve up lots…

Kenny “Blue” Ray – Git It!

I’ve lost count! I believe this is Kenny’s sixth self-produced CD. And, as have its predecessors, Git It, his most recent effort, again illustrates Blue Ray’s dedication to the blues craft. Rumor has…

Sunny War: With The Sun

A phrase like “overnight sensation” is usually all kinds of wrong in that the artist in question was beating the pavement long before a writer or reviewer “discovered” them. Case in point is…

Robby Krieger with Jeff Alulis

Set the Night on Fire: Living, Dying, and Playing Guitar with the Doors

Buzzcocks

Late For The Train: Live & In Session (1989-2010)

Dave Hunter

Les Paul Praises

Ace Frehley

Ace is back – and he told you so! The former Kiss guitarist shares a buffet of the gems that influenced him – Hendrix, Clapton, Page, and the Rolling Stones, to name a…

Ed Gerhard – House of Guitars

House of Guitars

There are a number of us who find joy in collecting pawnshop guitars – you know the type, cheap, affordable, and ever so quirky. There’s a certain pleasure in having one of these…

John Thomas

Intrigued by that “Only A Gibson Is Good Enough” decal on the headstock of his World War II-era Gibson Southern Jumbo, musician and writer John Thomas began delving into the story behind the…

Jimi Hendrix

Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision

It’s astonishing – and fortunate – that so much unreleased Jimi Hendrix material exists, given his brief recording career. It seems every time he picked up his guitar in the studio, the Record…

Lee Ritenour

Ritenour’s previous album, 6 String Theory, featured collaborations with guitar peers John Scofield, B.B. King, Slash, and George Benson, among others. Here, he’s working with virtuoso rhythm section players – and a few…

Pokey LaFarge

Hamfats-Styled Hot Stuff

Pokey LaFarge’s Rounder Records debut continues his rich, well-established sound. Primarily acoustic, he offers another amalgam of jazz, blues, jug band, and Western swing. At different times, LaFarge and his expanded band conjure…

  • Yes

    Yes

    Close to the Edge: Super Deluxe Edition

Hank Williams

I’m Gonna Sing: The Mother’s Best Gospel Radio Recordings

Hank Williams, like other Grand Ole Opry stars, also hosted his own live shows over Nashville’s WSM. These 15-minute programs sponsored by Mother’s Best Flour featured him and his Drifting Cowboys, and each…

Jack Bruce and the hr-Bigband

A Bass Legend And Much More

Jack Bruce was one of the most fascinating figures in rock and roll – although he preferred to be known as a jazz musician. As one-third of Cream (with Eric Clapton and Ginger…

Eiiza Gilkyson – Beautiful World

Few folksingers, even those from the original folk revival, have been able to combine social consciousness with musicality as well as Eliza Gilkyson. She merges strong songwriting talent with commanding vocals to create…