I grew up loving Christmas Carols, they were one of my favourite parts of Christmas outside of the gifts. I loved decorating our tree while listening to carols, it really put me in the holiday spirt.
Tag: Jazz Fusion
Unquestionable Presence (1991) by Atheist
Oh my science, YES! Where has this been all my life?
Far From Over (2017) by ViJay Iyer Sextet
This is my second Vijay Iyer record, the other one I’ve heard was a trio record which was obviously not as full band as this one. That makes him one of the 21st century jazz artists I’m actually paying attention to, because my popular music podcast has me ignoring jazz basically altogether at the moment.
Winter in America (1974) by Gil Scott-Heron, Brian Jackson
I knew one thing about Gil Scott-Heron, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.” And I don’t know it well. So I came into this expecting a record of spoken word with few expectations about the music backing the poetry. All I basically knew is that this guy was regarded by some as the first MC.
Focus (1993) by Cynic
Most of the time, when I encounter “progressive death metal” (which this sounds like to me, but which it isn’t categorized as on RYM), I think “this isn’t very progressive.” It usually sounds like more ambitious death metal, but it doesn’t sound very proggy. Well, not so here. If there is one thing this record …
Introducing The Eleventh House With Larry Coryell (1974)
This is fusion very much in the Mahavishnu Orchestra mode. In fact, listening to the opening of “Birdfingers,” you wouldn’t be faulted for thinking this was the Mahavishnu Orchestra itself, or perhaps Jeff Beck and the Jan Hammer Group, or something like that. As jazz fusion goes, a lot of it is very much on …
Grupo Irakere (1976, 1978)
So much of what I’ve read about this band focuses on their Grammy-winning North American breakthrough, as if the first time North Americans heard this music was the first time it was really vital and worth listening to. And I do understand that distribution was a different beast in the ’70s, but still, it’s a …
The Bad Plus Live at the Wintergarden Theatre, December 12, 2013
I only knew the Bad Plus from their excellent jazz covers of rock songs and I actually was completely unaware that they were doing their own material for some time.