An Interview with Cecil McBee   Cecil McBee may not only be one of the most prolific bass players in jazz, but one of the most inventive—his style of playing is immediately recognizable: melodic riffs that are unconventional but fit neatly into the larger motif of the composition, a technical mastery of the instrument displaying remarkable precision, making his excursions into unexpected territory all the more revealing of the expressive soul behind the music. His style exposes otherwise hidden passages that lurk inside the composition, making for melodious extensions of the main theme... Read More

Know What I Mean? Adderley, Evans, et.al. Shoot-Out   This album, featuring Cannonball Adderley and Bill Evans, is considered one of the best older jazz records available, both musically and sonically. I am not going to delve into the history or importance of the album since it has received considerable attention from the date of its release in 1962. Instead, we will devote time to comparing three accessible copies: OJC-1984 Side 1 First up, the common OJC from the mid-‘80s. I used to be able to find records in this series new for less than ten bucks at places like Tower; these were... Read More

Beer Budget Digital for Analog Buffs  I finally broke down several years ago and added some digital “front-end” components to my main system. I’ve never invested heavily in digital gear given that my mainstay format has long been LP. I’ve been buying vinyl records for almost 60 years- and have barely scratched the surface. If all production of the LP stopped tomorrow, I’d still have access to millions of existing records in circulation. But I first learned the value of digital in the archival world, where I heard ancient recordings brought back to life. And for both work and... Read More

Pharoah Sanders -Black Unity That a vinyl LP is essentially one long, continuous groove is probably nowhere more evident than listening to Pharoah Sanders’ Black Unity. This album was recorded and released during the peak of his creative power with a cast of ensemble players that are notable for their work in the avant-garde/free jazz space. There’s a whole lotta music packed into these grooves and trying to make sense of this album is not to listen in studied fashion—better to absorb it as a whole than to concentrate on its parts or look for some over-arching theme. The music is... Read More

Muriel Grossmann Devotion I’m a fan of Muriel Grossmann, though I have yet to meet her. She lives and works in Ibiza, which sounds like a constant party, but this woman is always working, striving, and challenging herself. Her newest release is another notch in her ascent as an important artist committed to modern spiritual jazz. The album, pressed at Third Man Records (nice clean, well-made wax), played flawlessly. This is the first album with Abel Boquera on Hammond B3. Side I “Absolute Truth”— takes the entirety of side one, some spacy sounds which are soon joined by a regular... Read More