2025: Focus on Sanity
Sean MurphyObviously I think the world would be a more enlightened, happy, and peaceful place if more folks listened to jazz, and I'm content to convert as many lost souls as…
Peter Sinfield, Prog Rock Visionary
There are few rock bands I've written about more than King Crimson (check it out here, here, here, and here -- and there's more if you need it: just Google…
Born in the U.S.A. at 40: The Boss Before, During, After
i. Before Deliver Me From Nowhere Perhaps because of what followed—the next album, the acclaim—Springsteen’s decision to make the ultimate lo-fi album seems even more prescient, appropriate, and perfect. If Darkness…
In the Garden of Eden: Doug Ingle, RIP
RIP to Doug Ingle, singer and organist on Iron Butterfly's epic (or insufferable -- and for my money these are not mutually exclusive) "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," a song that for many young…
Like the Dew on Georgia Kudzu: Dickey Betts
A few quick thoughts on the passing of the amazing Dickey Betts. First, let's go to the (permanent) record: if this is the first item on your CV, you're a…
“The Way We Were” at 50, and David S. Ware
On This Day, 50 years ago: On February 2, 1974, a sweet, soft ballad by a 31-year-old Barbra Streisand knocks Beatle Ringo Starr down a notch on the Billboard Hot 100. Streisand’s…
The Master at 100: Understanding Max Roach
Max Roach, b. Jan 10, 1924 While there is much to admire and recommend in the excellent documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi, especially for young creatives or academics who want to better understand--and…
2023: A Final Farewell to Some Irreplaceable Icons
Wow, it's sad to look back and see the sheer number of all-times greats we watched depart our planet this year. Of course, these losses are invariably mitigated by the…
Original Poem: Albert Ayler’s Vision
If it’s true a picture is worth a thousand words, this particular image seems able to conjure up entire books, libraries filled with stories of pain and pathos, apathy and…
William Dowd, RIP–and some thoughts about the harpsichord (Revisited)
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA (From Dec 6, 2008.) A life well spent? That’s the goal, isn’t it? For any of us. Not necessarily to be enshrined in a newspaper’s obituary (although few people…