There's a fullness in ten years. A lot of work, if rather relentlessly done, can really make a discernible impact. Ten years ago, folks were making all the talk as rather cyclically that jazz was dead. It was such an exhausting conversation. Folks were around making this music, obviously. It couldn't be that dead. The problem was in the awareness and the tweaking of the … [Read more...]
Stream José James’ “I Need Your Love” feat. Ledisi & Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah
Twenty-twenty is gearing up to be an insanely exciting year music-wise. The latest staggering album announcement comes from none other than vocalist José James who is set to drop No Beginning No End 2 on March 6th. The album will mark his debut on Rainbow Blonde Records, a label he co-founded with Talia Billig, aka Taali, and Brian Bender. Stream the lead single “I Need Your Lo … [Read more...]
Ben Williams’ ‘I AM A MAN’ Album Reviewed
On February 1, 1968, a malfunctioning garbage truck fatally crushed two black Memphis sanitation workers - Echol Cole and Robert Walker. Their passing was in many ways directly the fault of Henry Loeb, the city’s white supremacist mayor. Loeb previously served as the Memphis’ Public Works Commissioner, a role in which he undertook several steps to impose unduly harsh conditions … [Read more...]
Stream Ben Williams’ “If You Hear Me” From Upcoming Album ‘I AM A MAN’
Esteemed bassist Ben Williams is back with an album of his own after a four year hiatus. The 2009 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition winner (since then rechristened the Herbie Hancock International Jazz Competition) will be releasing his newest opus, I AM A MAN, next February via the José James co-owned label Rainbow Blonde Records.Inspired by Memphis’ 1968 sa … [Read more...]
Justin Brown – ‘NYEUSI’
For years, I have referred to Justin Brown as a murderer. He has an adeptness at the drum kit so technically rambunctious, so particularly expressive, that one's previous thinking about what drums can do dies. This has been the clear case for years in a percussive sense, however, Brown also has this capability as a composer and bandleader, as shown in his debut album, NYEUSI, … [Read more...]