Two decades does the music of Yusef Lateef and Rahsaan Roland Kirk a world of good.
The Very Best of Charles Mingus(Rhino/Atlantic)
The Very Best of Charles Mingus(Rhino/Atlantic)
"I believe I've transcended," Van Morrison repeatedly incanted toward the end of the title track from his 1968 album, Astral Weeks, during the second night of a brief November stint at the Hollywood Bowl. Indeed, frequently over the course of those two nights, the famously mercurial, 63-year-old Iri ... More >>
There’s nothing smooth about the subversive jazzy punk funk these cats play.
There’s nothing smooth about the subversive jazzy punk funk these cats play.
March 18-24, 1999
Blues and Politics
(Dreyfus Jazz)
For the members of this trio, the joy is truly in the journey.
Fast reviews of recent releases
From the classroom to the stage, this troubadour is molding young minds.
Wednesday, July 18, Quixote's True Blue, 303-297-1772.
This chameleonic guitarist is still shredding after all these years.
Fast reviews of recent releases
The Secret Circus brings in the (offbeat) clowns.
The Mingus Big Band follows in the legend's footsteps.
Shades of Blue (Blue Note)
Shirts Against Skins
Backbeat writers sound off on a few of their favorite musical things from 2002.
Ken Burns's Jazz remains controversial. But its effect on album sales is difficult to dispute.
Though rooted in some legendary punk and rock bands, Banyan's free-form style extends far into the future.
Mingus Big Band
Two reasons why today's jazzers are afraid to go where Ornette Coleman went before.
Stumbling down memory lane with the late Lester Bangs.
Amon Tobin mixes hip-hop and drum and bass with all that future jazz.
The Creative Music Works Orchestra brings jazz out of the closet.
With her own cosmopolitan pedagogy, Amy Denio goes the spoot route.
Ralph Carney, Charlie Haden Quartet West, Enemymine, Styx
March 11 - 17, 1999
Pianist Marc Sabatella has no interest in making one-dimensional music.
Pianist Marc Sabatella has no interest in making one-dimensional music.
Pianist Marc Sabatella has no interest in making one-dimensional music.
Handing out the trophies for 1997's best albums.
Handing out the trophies for 1997's best albums.
Handing out the trophies for 1997's best albums.
Handing out the trophies for 1997's best albums.
Handing out the trophies for 1997's best albums.
Handing out the trophies for 1997's best albums.
Handing out the trophies for 1997's best albums.
UNMASKING THE TWO BRITISH MASTERMINDS BEHIND THE JAZZ-RAP SENSATION US3.
Green Day 21st Century Breakdown (Reprise Records) The five years since the release of American Idiot, an album so strong that most critics didn't believe the Green Day crew had it in them, have only added to the burden of expectations for 21st Century Breakdown, as Billie Joe Armstrong and pals ... More >>
​As music critics -- and people who generally think about, talk about, listen to and make music -- the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to right now?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation. For t ... More >>
As music critics -- and people who generally think about, talk about, listen to and make music -- the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to right now?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation. F ... More >>
As music critics -- and people who generally think about, talk about, listen to and make music -- the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to right now?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation. ... More >>

