Spiritual Jazz- Three Picks       Exploring “new to me” music often forces me to confront my own biases if not outright ignorance. If you asked me how much jazz I listen to, I’d say very little these days. Sure, I’ve gone through many of the highly regarded “audiophile” favorites and warhorses, usually in the form of reissues from the likes of Analogue Productions (Sonny Rollins “Way Out West” cut at 45rpm is spectacular despite the hard panning characteristic of many early stereo recordings), or other labels, e.g. Music Matters. I have quite a pile of traditional jazz,... Read More

  In connection with the Ian Anderson interview, I spent a fair amount of time listening to the early Jethro Tull albums. My focus was that transitional period when the band morphed from the blues into something that straddled hard rock, folk and then emerging “progressive” sounds – a path traced from This Was, to Stand Up, Benefit and Aqualung. Since I had already done an extensive vinyl shoot-out of different Aqualung pressings over the summer of 2015, I thought I might add my thoughts on some of the other early Tull pressings to coincide with the Anderson... Read More

  Hooker ‘n Heat by Rebecca Davis Known for their musical dedication to primal electric blues, 1960s stalwarts Canned Heat are also noteworthy for their support of actual blues men. In various settings, they frequently provided musical backing – and commercial connections – for the elders who had inspired them artistically. Canned Heat founder Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson had started his recording career this way, accompanying Delta legend Son House on his 1965 “comeback” for Columbia. Guitarist Henry Vestine had been involved in the rediscovery of Skip James, and... Read More

  Skip Taylor, who managed Canned Heat during the band’s classic era, produced the albums discussed here and is still working with them today, was gracious enough to share some insights. Skip’s story is itself the stuff of legend, as you will see:   How did you get involved with Canned Heat?   Skip: When I joined the band as manager, and eventually got involved in producing their records, I knew nothing about the blues; I was a rock music guy; the band was really detached from the modern rock scene for the most part, except for Bob Hite, who worked in a record store,... Read More

When I think of the Chicago blues, particularly the era of the “electric blues,” I usually think of the legendary performers on the Chess label, most of whom are dead and gone, the label now operating as part of the Universal Music Group. A few small labels, like Alligator Records, which started in 1971, Earwig Music (founded in Chicago in 1978 by Michael Franks) and Red Lightnin,’ established in the UK in 1968, have catalogs of older blues recordings or distribute “contemporary blues.” But Delmark Records, founded in St. Louis in 1953, and based in Chicago since 1958, is not... Read More