I was just thinking about extraordinary feats in musical history.
It’s somewhat common for an artist to make one or two great albums and then decline or have a short, intense period of creativity which then falls off (Sly Stone). But a sustained output of superb music is much more rare.
Here is a short list […]

It seems that the forum, to the extent that it’s being used at all, has become a destination for hackers and assholes who shamelessly promote themselves and products that have nothing to do with jazz.
With apologies to the few folks who use the forum for legitimate purposes, I’m shutting it down, effective immediately.
Also, I am […]

Hi, everyone.
For those expecting a rundown of the best B3 dates with a horn section, sorry to disappoint — this blog is still basically dead.
Actually, I’m asking any lingering readers out there to weigh in with their opinions of what the best Hammond B3 organ records are that feature a horn section. To […]

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I went to see the Realistic Orchestra on a lark, really. They were playing at Yerba Buena Gardens for free on a Saturday, and I happened to be in the area with my wife, shopping. I wasn’t even really planning to write a review, but I was fairly impressed.
The first thing that struck me […]

Hi, everyone.
I’ve just added a directory of live music clubs that regularly feature progressive jazz music (not Quiet Storm) and have an online presence to JazzboNotes.com. You can access the directory under the Links menu at the top of this page.
The directory includes a link to the clubs’ website, and to a map showing where […]

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I don’t know exactly what I was expecting when I walked into the Jazzschool, but I confess I was a little surprised by the compactness of the place.
The Jazzschool manages to pack a very intimate performance space (more about this in a minute), a tiny campus store, and a charming little cafe into […]

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There are few things more boring than listening to someone play standards like Satin Doll more or less the same way they’ve been played for decades, without a scintilla of originality, without one new idea. Taylor Eigsti is the polar opposite. When he plays a standard, he hits you with a new idea every […]

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If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area and you love jazz, you undoubtedly know that Yoshi’s, long a fixture of the jazz scene in Oakland, opened a second club in the Fillmore area of San Francisco in late 2007.
The setup is gorgeous; soothing grays and wood predominate. It’s a fairly intimate club […]

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When I sat down to listen to Oregon this time around, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The last time I had seen the band was over twenty years ago in Boston, when they were touring behind 1983’s self-titled release, Oregon. At the time, Ralph Towner was just beginning to use the Prophet Five […]

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When you laugh in delight or tear up because you’re so moved half a dozen times during a concert, you know you’ve witnessed something special.
That’s the kind of experience you’re in for if you manage to catch The Five Peace Band in action.
At Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley, California on March 21, 2009, The Five […]