As new age fusion phenomenon 2002 caps 30 years of groundbreaking instrumental recordings with the release of their latest album Hummingbird, a recent quote from group co-founder and multi-instrumentalist Randy Copus (piano, electric cello, guitar, bass, keyboards) bears repeating even as we’re heading optimistically beyond the pandemic era. In a short documentary about the creation of their 2020 album Celtic Fairy Dream, he said, “The more stressful times become, the more we

Spring is in the air, music venues are starting to open up and slowly but surely, it seems our collective angst is lightening and we can all see the light at the end of a long, anxiety ridden tunnel. Working tirelessly toward dropping their new full length album So Far So Good mid-year, the five hard-gigging rockers of Daytona Beach powerhouse Greye are feeling that vibe of freedom and optimism full on. From January through mid-April, they were back, to the tone of 35 live gi

Listening edge of my seat intently to L.A. Source Codes, multi-talented young Los Angeles bassist Will Lyle’s eclectic and effusive hard swinging yet eminently sensual and sometimes exotic debut album, a quote from Ted Gioia’s landmark 1998 book The History of Jazz came to mind. Discussing styles that emanate from specific times and places, he wrote: “Like the New Orleans tradition that preceded it, and the Swing Era offerings that followed it, Chicago jazz was not just the m

Marking an extraordinary 30 years since the release of his debut album Love Struck, veteran Jamaican born, Atlanta based singer and performer Robert Minott drops an infectious swirl of uplifting funk and chill vibes on his latest single “Can’t Hold Back” – a hybrid track fusing his deep seated reggae roots with tastes of Afro Beat and R&B and featuring the spirited rap of Jamaican rapper/DJ Mr. Lexx. Produced by renowned fellow Jamaican artist Kirk “Kirkeldove/Drummy” Bennett

Young digital age music consumers whose lives are soundtracked 24/7 to Spotify and Apple Music playlists probably can’t fathom it, but back in the day (80s/90s), music fans learned about artists they were unfamiliar with via label generated CD samplers. The choices were limited to the 80 minutes a disc could hold and perhaps a certain theme or agenda, but it was still a way for that generation to hear some tasty stuff without making a full album commitment to one specific art

As popular as the musical competition show “The Voice” has been for NBC and despite the hundreds of incredible talents that have won and been featured, as recently as April 2021, an article in the New York Post was lamenting the puzzling reality that after 10 years and 20 seasons, it has failed to produce a big star. The success of Kelly Clarkson as a coach on the show is just another reminder that American Idol has done much better in this area. One of Clarkson’s best team c

A work of extraordinary depth and rich, intricate texturing of spacey ambient dreamscapes and soul-stirring earthy tones, The Silence of Grace is a meditative reflection and celebration of the natural beauty and wonders of the Pacific Northwest combining the expansive talents of ambient electronic artist Deborah Martin and oboe and English horn master Jill Haley. The eight track recording marks Deborah’s 30th Anniversary with Spotted Peccary Music – an inspiring run that bega

It probably wasn’t intentional, but in the midst of Cory Williams’ second full length album Bird Mouth - a quirkily titled but deeply emotional, wildly mood-swinging album described in its promo materials as “a love letter and a eulogy to love lost – the Austin based singer/songwriter creates the perfect anthem for the post pandemic, non-socially distanced world we are thankfully (so far!) emerging into. His cheerful, playfully grooving and soaring/jangling tune “Josephine Ho

Tell me about your new album Kings for Sale. What does the title refer to and how does the music reflect that theme? Afton Wolfe: It’s a very personal record that I’m proud of. The title is actually a lyric from the first single “Dirty Girl,” where I sing “Razorblade and Shankerman and Kings for Sale/Ain’t nothing we can do, it’s all for the family now, in old Clarksdale.” It seemed impossible to use any of the song titles as the name of the album because no single track enca

Having passed away in 2016, legendary jazz and bluesman Mose Allison didn’t live to experience the pandemic, but the sad, resigned, delightfully quirky and ultimately hopeful lyrics he penned back in 1987 presciently capture our collective moment thanks to a splendid, deeply soulful twist given to “Ever Since the World Ended” by two of L.A.’s most compelling and adventurous jazz singers, Lauren White and Dolores Scozzesi. The edgy, percussively struttin’ and incisively impact