Cruising to ‘Point of No Return’ from Malcolm Strachan
Malcolm Strachan, the trumpeter for The Haggis Horns, released his second “solo” album this year, Point of No Return. Although it’s a solo album, the core band on “Point Of No Return” are musicians that Malcolm has known and worked with for over two decades, often in The Haggis Horns,Continue Reading
Listen (to) “All Day” (from) The Motet
When I think of Denver funk, The Motet is the first band I think of. They’ve been putting out great albums for more than 20 years, with All Day, being their 10th and I’ve been with them most of that time. This album takes them back to their funk rootsContinue Reading
EMPIRE CENTRAL From Snarky Puppy – Album of the Year
Back when EMPIRE CENTRAL was released, I wrote a full review and declared that “this album will be nominated for and win Grammy (or two).” In fact, it has now made it to the second round as “Best Contemporary Instrumental Album” nomination and has also been released in Dolby AtmosContinue Reading
Lettuce Unify in Love, Peace and Funk!
Lettuce is a very special band. They blaze new trails in funk yet never forget their roots and pay homage to all their funk forefathers. Unify is their latest album, the third in the trilogy following Elevate and Resonate and it may be their best yet. Each song is anContinue Reading
GroundUP Music Festival 2023 Recap
Finally getting to putting my thoughts together on the fantastic GroundUP Music Festival 2023 experience. This ‘Snarky Puppy’ festival is like no other, an intimate 14-hour per day, 3 day intimate event put on at the North Beach Bandshell for a max crowd of 1,500, comprised heavily of musicians andContinue Reading
Joe Marcinek’s JMB5 Evolution
Joe Marcinek is a conjurer, always evolving and he does it again with JMB5 the unassuming name for his fifth studio album. As with his live shows his lineup of musicians change enabling him to capture a wide range of sounds and styles, always keeping it fresh and interesting. He’llContinue Reading
North Beach Music Festival Precap 2022
North Beach Music Festival (NBMF) is just one week away! The second iteration looks to be funk filled and jam packed, right up my alley and can’t wait. It’s hard to top last year’s inaugural but the brothers Plotnicki have outdone themselves with several of of my favorite bands andContinue Reading
Suwannee Hulaween 2023 Recap
Hulaween has become one of the best, most popular multi-genre festivals in the East since it’s inception in 2013. I’ve now attended seven in a row since 2015 (no event in 2020) and somehow it keeps getting bigger and better. It’s a split of live bands and electronic music, fiveContinue Reading
Gem & Jam Festival 2023 Lineup
Gem & Jam Festival has announced the full lineup for its 15th annual edition set to take place February 3 – 5, 2023. The three-day music, art, performance, and gem & mineral festival will return to the scenic desert landscapes of Pima County Fairgrounds in Tucson, Arizona. Headliners include legendary jam band The StringContinue Reading
‘Coast’ is a Trip from BTTRFLY Quintet
BTTRLY Quintet is a great band arising out of the pandemic and Coast is an epic debut. The band played a few shows live at Cervantes and has compiled some great stuff here from the combination of members of Lettuce (Eric “Benny” Bloom, Adam Deitch), Break Science (Borahm Lee, HunterContinue Reading
Zach Brock’s Excellent Album — ‘Dirty Mindz’
Zach Brock is the greatest jazz fusion violinist since Jean-Luc Ponty, hands down. Zach is a long-time member of the world-jazz-funk-fusion band Snarky Puppy and its only violinist. One of his long-time heroes and influences is Jean-Luc and he really has become the standard bearer for this generation! Dirtz MindzContinue Reading