By Doug Collette on June 27, 2012
Burlington Discover Jazz Festival Burlington, VT June 1-10, 2012
Now in its 29th year, Burlington Vermont’s Discover Jazz festival generates a tremendous amount of anticipation as its 10-day interval arrives each June. Followers plan their vacations around it, residents arrange family gatherings in time with it and those coming in from afar look forward to it as one of the most significant events of the year…
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By Doug Collette on June 24, 2012
Tedeschi Trucks Band Live: Everybody’s Talkin’ e: Sony Masterworks 2012
Back in 2009, vocalist/guitarist Susan Tedeschi and guitarist Derek Trucks formed a band they dubbed Soul Stew Revival, devoted almost exclusively to vintage r&b material. The presence of cover material on Live Everybody’s Talkin’ hearkens to that side project which, in the interim, has become a full-time endeavor for its principals and an even greater labor of love…
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By Doug Collette on June 13, 2012
Medeski, Martin and Wood 20 Indirecto Records 2012
In an ongoing celebration of its twentieth anniversary, Medeski Martin and Wood released twenty original recordings in digital form over the course of 2011. Sequenced in the order in which the tracks were released, the collection as a whole flows with the expert pacing of an MMW performance and, in truth, with much the same artful pacing as their best studio albums, such as Combustication (Blue Note, 1999)…
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By Doug Collette on June 11, 2012
Pure power takes precedence over finesse on Spectrum Road, but just barely. On this tribute to late drummer m: Tony Williams‘ groundbreaking fusion band Lifetime, guitarist Vernon Reid, keyboardist m: John Medeski, bassist/vocalist m: Jack Bruce and drummer Cindy Blackman Santana offer just enough respite from an otherwise nonstop sonic assault of just under an hour…
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By Doug Collette on June 10, 2012
Across The Imaginary Divide, the collaboration between banjoist BA(C)la Fleck and The Marcus Roberts Trio, is as adventurous as its title suggests. And the fruit of these four musicians’ labor is as seamless as their approach is fearless.
The opening moments of “Some Roads Lead Home” demonstrate that the modesty with which the foursome interacts does not belie their skills. There is no showboating, as Fleck’s acoustic instrument gives way to pianist Roberts‘ and their fluidity carries over to the rhythm section of drummer m: Jason Marsalis and bassist m: Rodney Jordan during “I’m Gonna Tell You This Story One More Time…
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By Doug Collette on June 9, 2012
Like Warren Haynes’ Man in Motion (Stax 2011), Live at the Moody Theatre contains a single performance that transcends virtually all the remaining tracks of its two CDs and one DVD. On “Your Wildest Dreams,” Haynes’ singing is as fiercely restrained as his guitar work and all the more powerful for that discipline…
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By Doug Collette on May 27, 2012
Rory Gallagher Top Priority Eagle Records 2012
Rory Gallagher never made a bad album, but there are a select few recordings in his discography superior to the others. Top Priority is just one of those where the power of playing, enhanced by the production, in combination with the late guitarist’s songwriting skills, renders it essential listening. It is, in fact, one of those Rory Gallagher discs worthy of play for the uninitiated, secure that, before it’s over, that listener will hopefully understand why the late Irish guitarist garnered such a rabid following when he was alive and gathers new aficionados posthumously…
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By Doug Collette on May 26, 2012
On Miles of Smiles, the reconstituted Wet Willie displays all the effervescent vigor of its previous concert discs Drippin’ Wet (Capricorn, 1973) and Left Coast Live (Capricorn, 1977). In fact, the group sounds more authentic than ever, based on the maturity of musicianship displayed here.
Recorded with a current lineup including original members vocalist/saxophonist/harpist Jimmy Hall, brother bassist/co-producer Jack Hall and vocalist Donna Hall Foster, Wet Willie wastes no time digging into a groove for itself on “One Track Mind,” where the good humor at the heart of its music is as evident as the deep pocket dug by bassist Hall and drummer T.K. Lively. These performances from August, 2011 in Woodstock, Georgia follow a formula similar to the original band’s studio work and live releases by alternating originals and readily-recognizable roots tunes…
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By Doug Collette on May 19, 2012
One of the most underrated bands to emerge from Britain in the late 1960s to early 1970s, Wishbone Ash achieved a fine balance between progressive and blues-rock. Its original material made prominent use of tandem lead guitars, mirrored by equally uplifting group harmony singing. These virtues distinguish the sound of the band to this day, as evidenced by comparison between a studio album, Elegant Stealth, and a live recording, Live Dates II, previously available in a variety of formats, but here in its entirety on a single compact disc…
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By Doug Collette on May 13, 2012
My Cross to Bear Gregg Allman w/ Alan Light Hardback; 380 pages ISBN 978-0062112033 William Morrow 2012
The most vibrant interludes in guitarist and singer Gregg Allman’s autobiography are those where he talks about songwriting. His accounts of exchanging and refining ideas, by himself or collaboratively, carries a level of engagement hard to find elsewhere in the 380 plus pages. Little wonder Allman values the gift of songwriting, and does so with a fervor that outshines his description of the spirituality he’s come to embrace in his later years: it is his true voice…
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