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I’ve been a Galactic fan for more than 20 years, listened to every album they’ve put out, and seen them live about 20 times through several configurations. They’ve changed from emphasizing vocals to instrumentals and back and play a wide range of music, from heart-pumping funk to jazz and blues and gospel. And I like it all, but I’ve gotta say “Audience with the Queen” is a new favorite album. In the “Behind the Scenes,” videos,  they tell Irma that she’s going to sound young on the record and much to her amazement, she does, and I can absolutely confirmContinue Reading

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The Psycodelics are one of my favorite new bands of the last several years and they just released their fantastic debut album, “Please Keep Off the Grass.” They bill themselves as modern Black American music and they’re all of that — funk, soul, R&B and jazz all rolled into one beautiful package. They have a sound all their own while also echoing the greats from the past like Sly and the Family Stone, Al Green, and Earth Wind and Fire. I first caught The Psycodelics live last year at a local venue and was immediately a fan. On Jam CruiseContinue Reading

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Apple Cores from James Brandon Lewis is one of my favorite jazz saxophone albums of the last few years. It hits with a natural, primal feeling – at times fully relaxing and others full-throttle stimulation. The first and only time I’ve seen JBL live was at Newport Jazz Festival 2024 with The Messthetics and I found that set totally electrifying. So, when Apple Cores was released, I was keen to give a listen. The album definitely should be heard start-to-finish as it’s well organized and runs a course through a range of feelings. It’s a trio album with James onContinue Reading

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The recording sessions for “Somni” the new album from Snarky Puppy with the Metropole Orkest was the time of a lifetime. I was fortunate to be able to attend all 6 recording sessions, 2 per night for 3 nights, and it was an experience beyond my wildest dreams. And yes, ‘Somni’  from Catalan translates to ‘Dream’  in English so totally appropriate. First, some background before jumping into the actual recording session experience. So Snarky Puppy is 20 years old in 2025 (first album recorded in 2005 and published in 2006). Starting with their fourth album, “Tell Your Friends” in 2010,Continue Reading

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I became enamored of Artemis in August of 2024 when I first caught them live at the Newport Jazz Festival. Interestingly, Arboresque was recorded in New York City just two weeks after that event, so it’s fitting that I dive in with this review. The group’s bio is shown in the display box on the right and comments from the band are shown with each track. Arboresque is a great jazz album, full stop. The instrumentation configuration of drums, bass, keys, trumpet, and sax enables the sound to be both plush and full and at the same time highlight theContinue Reading

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All The Quiet (Part I) from Joe Armon-Jones is an excellent jazz album with dub and hip-hop influences. Armon-Jones is also the keys player in one of my favorite Euro jazz bands, Ezra Collective, who put out one of my top albums of 2024 (Album Review: Dance, No One’s Watching from Ezra Collective).  The Part II album will be released in approximately 3 months. All The Quiet is mostly groove-oriented with some marching band influences. The album mixes an array of stylings. There are some propulsive funky tunes with the stunning horn section, notably Lifetones, Foregiveness, Nothing Noble and TheContinue Reading

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Naughty Professor have been one of my favorite horn-driven, funk bands for over 10 years. The six-piece band puts the two-sax + trumpet horn section front and center for their shows and pumps out massive funk jams. “Voices” is their fifth full-length album and as indicated from the title, each track features a guest vocalist. Back on their fourth album, “Identity,” in 2017 (they also had the EP, “Everyday Shredder,” in 2019), NP had a mix of guest vocalists and instrumentalists on each track. Further, I know the band and Snarky Puppy have mutual respect — and Snarky Puppy hasContinue Reading

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Imola Vida-Veres is a new artist and she’s got an exquisite voice and compositional chops. She sings in both Hungarian and English, naturally with a slight, but charming accent reminiscent of the fabulous Polish songstress, Basia from the 1980s. Imola’s got an airiness to her vocals that can go from a gentle wind to full gusts pretty quickly showing both grace and power. The accompanying musicians are all locked in and include several Hungarian string players as well as GroundUP/Snarky Puppy stalwarts Bob Lanzetti, Keita Ogawa, Marcelo Woloski, Bobby Sparks and André Ferrari (Bokanté). Nic Hard, Snarky’s long term soundContinue Reading

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Every Greyboy Allstars album release is a time to celebrate and I’m loving listening to all the gifts in Grab Bag: 2007 – 2023. It’s an eclectic mix of songs that the band had played life but never recorded over the last several years. In that sense, and because of the warmth and style of the album, it feels gorgeously familiar. It’s a testament to the collective experience of the group as bandmates and as craftsmen with other artists. The five fit together seamlessly and they weave in and out of the tunes with adroitness.  This absolutely hits the sweetContinue Reading