Matthew Wilburn Skinner makes up one-third of the band Tallgrass, picking up the banjo and guitar, playing the harmonica and contributing his raspy vocals to the band. Tallgrass managed to nab a spot on NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest as well as share a stage with former President Barack Obama. Skinner is a solo performer and earlier this year put out Play For The King, a perfect showcase for his Delta Blues/jazz style of playing.
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Album Review: Melkbelly – Nothing Valley
Melkbelly’s debut, full-length album Nothing Valley may be one of the most refreshing albums of the year. Spanning a multitude of genres such as noise rock, punk, jazz, doom, and psychedelia.
Continue readingBADBADNOTGOOD
Canadian Jazz collective BADBADNOTGOOD is currently comprised of four dudes— Matthew Tavares, Chester Hansen, Alexander Sowinski and Leland Whitty. Since emerging in 2010, they’ve inched their way towards notoriety with albums like 2011’s BBNG and the aptly titled BBNG2, which they released in 2012.
Continue readingThundercat Comes Into His Own
“As long as I don’t start murdering people are robbing banks in the name of Thundercat, I’m good,” Stephen Bruner says regarding his fixation with the ‘80s action figures and cartoon series. “I kind of had a creepier fascination with it when I was younger. It scared my parents a bit. My mom had to be careful and pay attention because if she didn’t, she would turn around and I would seriously be worshiping the toys. I’m sure eating the cat food, staring at the toys and not really playing with them would scare anybody though [laughs].”
Continue readingAlbum Review: The Cairn Project’s Self-Titled Debut Album
Local Greeley group who call themselves The Cairn Project created their self-titled debut album “to serve as a marker in their own musical journey.” Started by drummer Brian Claxton and tenor saxophonist/clarinetist/bass clarinetist Joel Harris simply to form a band of friends and make music that was personal to them, The Cairn Project (“Cairn” is a stack of stones hikers make to mark a trail, FYI) consists of six professional jazz musicians – alto saxophonist/flutist Briana Harris, guitarist Ben Parrish, pianist Tom Amend and bassist Patrick Atwater. Each song is composed by a different member, leading to a jazz album of unique instrumental pieces, each of which has it’s own thing going on.
Continue readingTop Tunes Thursday: Quantic Presents The Western Transient — A New Constellation
This week, Will “Quantic” Holland released the debut record for a new side project. Holland is a man of many projects, including The Quantic Soul Orchestra, The Limp Twins, Quantic and his Combo Barbaro, as well as numerous one on one collaborations. His latest is called Quantic Presents The Western Transient, and the record, A New Constellation. At seconds under the 3/4 hour mark, the record delivers ten locations for his dream jazz vacation, and is recorded with artists and performers handpicked by the maestro. From balmy Caribbean, to melodic 70’s, A New Constellation is a warm and snuggly love letter to jazz and soul music, with just enough “Quantic” thrown in.
Continue readingAlbum Review: Currency of Man — Melody Gardot
Philadelphia based singer/songwriter/siren Melody Gardot hasn’t known many times in her life without music. Being raised by two grandparents and a travelling mother, Gardot was rarely in one place for long, so when she began to take piano lessons at the age of nine, the blooming musician finally had something that was hers: music. At 16, she began playing in local bars two nights a week, and in 2003, after being in a near fatal car accident, she coped with excruciating pain by teaching herself to play guitar.
Continue readingAlbum Review: Kamasi Washington— The Epic
If you’ve never heard the name Kamasi Washington, there’s a reason for that. It’s because up until now, he’s had no solo records outside a few small self releases. Like Kishi Bashi, Washington has supported many a musician. His first national tour was with Snoop Dogg, and he joined Raphael Saadiq for his first international tour. Before releasing his new record The Epic, he lent his skills to records like Flying Lotus’ You’re Dead! and Kendrick Lamar’s masterful To Pimp A Butterfly.
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