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Surfing the sludge: Goodbye, Joey LaCaze 24 Aug 2013 | 10:05 pm
I did not know the man, so this is what Joey LaCaze means to me. In the selection below—the title track on an all-time-great heavy-rock record—listen to that sloshy double-time (:24), the groove-vorte...
Recent raves: Jason Becker + Space Opera 23 Aug 2013 | 10:47 pm
There are tales of dashed hopes and then there is the story of Jason Becker, a classical/metal shred-guitar virtuoso who landed his dream gig (the lead-ax spot in David Lee Roth's band) in 1989 only t...
Sandbags, part II: On Jarrett, Shipp and getting past Us vs. Them 26 Jul 2013 | 04:28 pm
If Matthew Shipp had posted an Emperor Has No Clothes take on Keith Jarrett in, say, early 2001, my response probably would've been something along the lines of "Amen." At that time, I was still in co...
Feels like home to me: Convulse / Sorcery 15 Jul 2013 | 06:45 pm
A lot of my recent recreational listening has focused on two Nordic death-metal albums, Convulse's World Without God (1992) and Sorcery's Arrival at Six (2013). Despite the two-decade gap between them...
Congratulations, Richard Davis 28 Jun 2013 | 12:31 pm
In honor of today's big news—Richard Davis has been named a 2014 NEA Jazz Master!—I'm posting streaming links to a 2010 episode of WKCR's Jazz Profiles program that I curated/hosted with my friend Rus...
Listening from both sides: fan vs. critic 21 Jun 2013 | 06:23 pm
Had some nice catch-up chats with other writers at the Jazz Journalists Association Awards this past Wednesday. (Shout-outs to David Adler, Nate Chinen, Patrick Jarenwattananon, Laurence Donohue-Green...
Recently, again 11 Jun 2013 | 03:26 pm
*Black Sabbath review at Pitchfork. It's been a bumpy ride, but the new Sabbath album is finally here. I'm thankful that I had the space to muse on it at length. I'll echo Stereogum's Michael Nelson, ...
Recently 29 May 2013 | 04:01 pm
*NYC Metal package at Time Out New York. This one's been gestating a long time; I'm really happy with how it turned out. Don't miss the portrait gallery—featuring exclusive shots of Immolation, Ross t...
Life-affirming vent: Maryland Deathfest XI 27 May 2013 | 07:29 am
When I ran into Fred Pessaro (Invisible Oranges / Brooklyn Vegan) at Maryland Deathfest on Saturday afternoon and asked him how he was doing, he flashed a weary grin and said, "Grinding." I knew what ...
'call it art': The vindication of the NYAQ 15 May 2013 | 05:41 pm
The New York Art Quartet isn't a household name. Even among my fellow free-jazz enthusiasts, they're still something of a cult-favorite group. That seems a little odd, because the three principal memb...
