Blogcritics Author: Pico

Quickies: Three From ESP-Disk Records

Pico — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 03:34:20 EDT

ESP-Disk hauls out three vintage documents of extreme whack jazz from its vaults.
In 1966, attorney Bernard Stollman founded the ESP-Disk label in New York City. Less than three years later, with orders dried up from established record labels bootlegging their better-selling records, the label was driven out of business.This is a familiar story followed in some variation by thousands of start-up record labels over many years,...

Quickies: Mike & The Ravens, Pete Levin, Antonio Ciacca Quintet

Pico — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:44:34 EDT

From the rowdy to the refined, it's all here in this episode of Quickies.
This installment of "Quickies" starts with the rowdy but eventually settles on the refined. A rocker, followed by a groover, concluded with a swinger (no, not that kind of swinger). They're all from guys you might not have heard of but in their own way have quietly made significant contributions to the music scene of their choosing. In each case,...

Music Review: Steve Allee Trio - Dragonfly

Pico — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 02:48:48 EDT

Steve Allee's latest proves again that this contemporary jazz pianist can more than cut it with the straight ahead stuff.
Last year we touched on a solid release by Steve Allee, Colours, where the seasoned Indianapolis-based pianist found delight in turning from crossover jazz to honest-to-goodness straight trio jazz. Allee must have really enjoyed making that record, because here we are less than a year later chatting up another Steve Allee Trio release, called...

Music Review: Umphrey's McGee - Jimmy Stewart 2007

Pico — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 06:32:22 EDT

A tasty selection of full-on improvs by the band that's rewriting the rules on full-on improvs.
One of the major draws of Umphrey's McGee is their ability to play on their toes in a live setting. The extended improv sections of songs provide opportunities for the band members to showcase not only their instrumental prowess, but their mastery of so many music forms, like prog-rock, jazz, pop, metal, reggae, funk...even country. Oftentimes...

Music Review: The Homemade Jamz Blues Band - Pay Me No Mind

Pico — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:17:35 EDT

The Homemade Jamz Blues Band are the Blues' new kids on the block but they play like old veterans.
Ten years ago, Hanson caused a stir in the pop world by delivering catchy tunes that were self-performed and largely self-penned, by siblings who were still just kids. Today, the blues has its own version of Hanson, and the name of this family affair is The Homemade Jamz Blues Band. So how young are these kids? How about thirty-seven years...

Music Review: Charles Lloyd Quartet - Rabo de Nube

Pico — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 04:01:54 EDT

You take a jazz giant like Charles Lloyd for granted at your own risk.
For more than forty years, Charles Lloyd has been the small combo leader making distinctively impressionistic and soulful kind of small combo jazz. His tenor's delicate, almost alto-like timbre is instantly recognizable from just a single note. His prolific periods of the late sixties and since the late eighties have produced consistently...

Music Review: Totem> - Solar Forge

Pico — Mon, 7 Jul 2008 23:57:12 EDT

Ahhh, sweet, sweet cacophony...
I've got that itch again. It's an itch that manifests itself whenever I listen to music with form, predictability and harmony for too long.Yes, folks, it's time to cleanse the soul with some good, gut punching whack jazz, and Solar Forge by Totem> is the elixir.Totem> (yes, the ">" is part of the name) is a trio devoted to dedicated to collective...

Music Review: Art Pepper - Unreleased Art, Vol III: The Croydon Concert May 14, 1981

Pico — Wed, 2 Jul 2008 01:17:43 EDT

Art Pepper's widow Laurie gives us jazz fans another reason why we miss her late husband so much.
The story of Art Pepper's remarkable emergence from the abyss of drug addiction and incarceration is one of the most uplifting stories of the jazz greats, amongst stories that have more often ended tragically. His comeback was not only complete, but had even exceeded his earlier peak. For the last five years of his life, Pepper was arguably the...

Music Review: Scrapomatic - Sidewalk Caesars

Pico — Tue, 1 Jul 2008 00:33:54 EDT

When it comes to what it takes to present old roots music to modern audiences, Scrapomatic understands.
Last week Scrapomatic rolled out their third CD Sidewalk Caesars, and once again progenitors Mike Mattison and Paul Olsen are bringing the spirit of mid-twentieth century folk blues to the early twenty-first century. There's not a shortage of acts out there bringing the roots music to a more contemporary audience, a trend I welcome, by the way....

Quickies: Cassandra Wilson, Larry Vuckovich Trio, Peter Calandra

Pico — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:47:06 EDT

This episode of Quickies has a bit more of a cinematic feel than prior ones. Find out why...
For this episode of Quickies, we stick mainly with the jazz genre with a couple of diversions to other styles found here and there. These new releases all start with traditional jazz, but our protagonists each put their own little twist on it. Our first entrant is a well-known quantity in jazz circles and I've even alluded to her on other...