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A look back at the five-decade career of the original Jazz Messenger – with his own band and bringing the heat in some legendary sessions with other artists.

Hoping to make a career playing (or teaching) jazz? Take a few tips from interstellar traveler and consummate showman Sun Ra.

A re-post, just in time for my own personal Sabbath (I have separate playlists for my Jewish and Wiccan friends)… Sunday morning – a time of worship. And for me, that worship involves a cup [...]

Jazz drummer and bandleader Chico Hamilton passed away last week at the age of 92. Often associated with cool West Coast jazz, Chico also could kick it up a few notches and play a lot closer to [...]

I don’t think I can shed any new light on the legacy of John Coltrane. But I can answer the question, how did a white, middle-class kid from Akron – a 12-year veteran of parochial schooling – get [...]

I thought this theme worked pretty well in our blues post. But I couldn’t resist expanding the definition so I could cover some of my favorite jazz summits. Think of these collaborations as [...]

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting overwhelmed by all the dire news and violent images I’ve been digesting lately. Maybe it’s time to shut everything off, disconnect the cable, buy someone’s [...]

Time for another random post… Let’s start with The Grammys. Now RCR is probably the last place anyone would go for the latest news on rock and pop acts that typically get nominated [...]

I’ve got a real weakness for West Coast jazz – that cool, seductive sound that didn’t exactly get a big thumbs up from Miles Davis in his autobiography Miles: “What bothered me more than anything [...]

Let me start by pointing out that what I don’t know about Sun Ra could fill a book. A 476-page book, to be precise – written by John F. Szwed, who happens to know a lot about Sun Ra. I’ll also [...]

Check it – RCR is now optimized for iPad and iPhone use. We’re also the only site I’m aware of that’s optimized for rotary phones. Just dial Garfield 1-2323 and I’ll have [...]

Several things happened since I first posted this piece almost two years ago: 1) Based on my google stats, it’s still drawing a lot of readers; 2) A new bio about long-time Thelonious Monk [...]

I’m a bit of a “completist,” but only with a few select artists. For example, I don’t need all 1,000 songs that Lightnin’ Hopkins recorded throughout his career. Just give me a little bit of this [...]

Don’t get me wrong… I like to hear John Lee Hooker do the boogie over a driving beat or Allen Toussaint comp behind a funky New Orleans horn section or Thelonious Monk make seasoned jazz [...]

My wife and I just spent a week at one of these all-inclusive resorts in Mexico – the kind of place that makes you feel like an alcoholic baby in a really lush crib, constantly reaching out to [...]

Here’s a re-post. See you soon… In a rare moment of weakness, my brother admitted that his love of Latin music makes for a very lonely existence. The same can be said of jazz. You [...]

Kevin and Tim tag-team on this piece about an American classic that still gets a lot of action some 50 years after it first hit the scene. It can sneak up on you: that warm, soothing yet crunchy [...]

At what point did we know that the box set was deceased? Was it when the German Bear Family label released a 12-CD collection (with hardcover book) of Pat Boone’s complete ‘50s recordings? Or [...]

Alright, guitar fans. I know all of you have your favorite examples of six-string nirvana – Derek & the Dominos, The Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East, Stevie Ray Vaughan’s first album, [...]

Sunday morning – a time of worship. And for me, that worship involves a cup of joe, the Sunday Times, and a playlist of soul-soothing music. (Hey, I did 12 years of hard time at parochial [...]

“This is the story of a love affair between a man and a woman whose backgrounds and experiences, whose cultures and class were so different, that the chances of them even meeting were extremely [...]