All Play and ‘No Paperwork’: An Interview with L.A.Z of Clear Soul Forces
"Natural born liberal consumer of music", Jarrel Lowman (aka L.A.Z), talks about his EP, No Paperwork, a mixture of hip-hop, smoking jazz, and calloused-fingered blues.
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Is a Different Kind of Paradigm Driving Jazz These Days?
Jazz musicians are releasing their music in smaller batches. An interview with rising saxophonist Jonathan Greenstein and Mack Avenue Records President Denny Stilwell about how EPs fit into jazz creativity and jazz economy.
Common Deer – “Glass” (video) (premiere)
This latest offering from the Canadian "orchestral indie" quintet is a charming and somber gem.
Dope Opera: Azeem Talks with PopMatters About His West Coast Hip-Hop Classic, ‘Garage Opera’
In 1999, Azeem recorded his underground classic Garage Opera, hip-hop's equivalent of garage rock.
Callback to the Future: Maestro Gamin on the Miracles and Medicines of His Latest EP
Maestro Gamin’s latest venture with producer Books One, Miracle Work Medicine, sees a return to Daisy Age hip-hop.
Chavez: Cockfighters
Twenty years later, the New York foursome's new EP does little more than make long-time fans yearn for their older material.
Andre Cymone: Black Man in America
Former Prince collaborator Andre Cymone delivers a deftly executed and sobering set of protest songs for the modern age with Black Man in America.
Western Education: Restless Dreams
Western Education draw on the sounds of their youth for their latest EP.
See Gulls: Curtain Call
See Gulls offer up another impressively expansive EP with Curtain Call, one that stretches out both its sound and its emotional impact.
Dierks Bentley: Riser
A stripped down version of this overwrought and over-weighted album could have provided a way out of Nashville's doldrums.