Mareike Wiening Future Memories Greenleaf Music Certain jazz labels such as Greenleaf Music, Pyroclastic, and Outside in Music are just a few that one can count on for creative jazz presentations today. Greenleaf, the subject at hand, is an independent music company owned, operated and curated by trumpeter and composer Dave Douglas. The label is […]
Joe Fiedler Fuzzy and Blue “Open Sesame” Multiphonics Music Who would have thought we’d encounter the music of the long-running television show Sesame Street through a progressive jazz outfit? Well, this is not the first but the second time for trombonist Joe Fiedler who released Open Sesame in 2019 and is the EMMY-nominated music director […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with John DeNicola An Academy Award-winning songwriter, John DeNicola has channeled his lifelong passion for music into a remarkably vibrant career in the recording industry. His songwriting successes include co-writing the hit singles “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” and “Hungry Eyes” for the Dirty Dancing […]
Making a Scene Presents Gerry Casey’s Interview with Michael Browning To say that Michael Browning’s name is linked rock n’ roll would certainly be an understatement. “Michael Browning discovered and propelled to global stardom, the hardest rocking band the world has ever seen. I’m of course talking about AC/DC. With them from the earliest of […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Mike Terrill of The Fires of Denmark When Mike Terrill starts making music, he works…fast. In just the last five years, he’s been a part of over 100 projects/recordings. But on Relativity, the latest release from his project Fires of Denmark, Terrill took his time; unable […]
Colin James Open Road Stony Plain One of Canada’s most renowned blues artists, Colin James, has reached a milestone, issuing his 20th album, Open Road. It’s the third in a trilogy of records. It’s the follow-up to 2018’s Juno Award -winning Miles to Go, and 2016’s Blue Highways. Even though the travel motif is in […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Miss Lady Blues Kesha Boyd who is professionally know as Miss Lady “Blues” is no stranger to the music industry. She has assisted many artists, writers, and producers with their careers. She is a songwriter and singer. She has worked with the Major Record labels to […]
Dionne Bennett Sugar Hip Ya Ya Hunnia Prepare for blast-off. This one comes as an explosive surprise. British Jamaican singer-songwriter, producer, and radio personality Dionne Bennett, who has forged most of her career in Europe, means business. We can thank Little G Weevil for bringing Bennett to our attention as the album was recorded in […]
Various Artists Highway Butterfly – The Songs of Neal Casal (3 CDs, 5 LPs) Royal Potato Family Neal Casal never got his due as a complete artist and certainly as a songwriter until now. Spread across 5 LPs and 3 CDs from a stunning list of artists are 41 of the late Casal’s songs in […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Joe Veloz of Joseph and the Velozians Throughout my career as a musician, I have strived to accomplish a high level of skill as a bassist by creating and developing deep organic grooves along with strong song and melodic sensitivity. As a GHS […]
Eberhard Weber Once Upon a Time Live in Avignon ECM Bassist Eberhard Weber has been recording since the mid-1970s back in the dark ages when this writer was just beginning his now-retired radio career. Perhaps that’s why we are taking up for the first time a review of a solo bass album. You may not […]
Shubh Saran inglish Art of Life Shubh Saran is a New York-based guitarist, composer, and producer who has performed globally and grew up in six different countries. His nomadic raising shapes a wide range of influences in his music, sourcing from modern jazz, neo-soul, rock, classical Hindustani and Rajasthani folk music, and more. In short, […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Chris “BadNews” Barnes Chris BADNEWS Barnes and Grammy Award-winning producer, Tom Hambridge, have teamed up for Barnes’ first ever original blues album, BADNEWS RISING. This is Barnes’ third release with Vizztone Records. All ten original offerings written by Barnes & Hambridge were recorded at Nashville’s Sound […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents Gerry Casey’s Interview with Krissy Matthews It was 1995, Krissy was 3 years old and his father invited him on stage to play along to Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison. This is when the story started for British Norwegian Krissy Matthews. Now at 28 years old, he has gained a reputation […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Jon Arthur Schmidt Jon Arthur Schmidt is a singer-songwriter and recording artist currently based in the Minneapolis area. Born and raised in the rural landscape of southern Minnesota, his unique sound resonates with the tones and colors of the Midwest, and stems from his traditional […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an interview with Abby Posner Abby Posner has been a working musician in Los Angeles for the past 16 years. She is best known for her ability to play nearly any instrument that she can get her hands on, twisting genres, and pushing the boundaries of folk, roots, and […]
Dylan Jack Quartet Period Pieces Creative Nation Music Period Pieces is the follow-up to this quartet’s 2020 Tale of the Twelve-Foot Man which we covered on these pages. Although we don’t see “Dylan Jack Quartet” on the cover, we see the same four names – guitarist Eric Hofbauer, drummer Dylan Jack, bassist Anthony Leva and trumpeter Jerry […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Luca Kiella! Luca Kiella Chiellini left all he ever knew when he was 26 years old. With nothing but his suitcase, his keyboard, and the big dream of making his mark in the music industry in the United States. All the way from his home in […]
Dave Specter Six String Soul – 30 Years on Delmark Delmark Guitarist Dave Specter lives up to the enticing album title Six String Soul, with his career-to-date selection of 28 remastered tracks spanning his three decades with Chicago’s Delmark records. It’s so tempting to engage in the kind of wordplay found in the liner notes […]
Dino Govoni Hiding in Plain Sight Whaling City Sound Hiding in Plain Sight is a terrific title when considering that tenor saxophonist and composer Dino Govoni hasn’t issued a recording in nearly a decade yet has remained continually active as an educator, a long-time faculty member at Berklee School of Music. This is his third […]
Dave Meder Unamuno Songs and Other Stories Outside in Music Undoubtably you are wondering just what are Unamuno songs? This album has quite a concept behind it. Pianist and composer Dave Meder is using the writings of Spanish Civil War-era philosopher Miguel de Unamuno as a historical analogy to recent sociopolitical unrest here in the States. Meder […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Diane Durrett Singer, songwriter, producer Diane Durrett is a board member of the Recording Academy Atlanta Chapter, best known for the GRAMMYs. In 2020, during the pandemic with no LIVE shows Diane shifted adding video editing to her technical skills. She produced three music videos for […]
Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson Searching for the Disappeared Hour Pyroclastic Pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and guitarist Mary Halvorson are two of the most forward-thinking musicians on their respective instruments. While a duo recording of two chordal instruments may seem bound for clashing rather than harmonizing, one can point to classics such as Bill Evans and […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Mike Michel of The Orange Goodness The Orange Goodness is an exciting groove-fueled indie rock group that creates out of Minneapolis, Minnesota and features Mike Michel (guitars,vocals) Ian Allison (bass) and Reese Kling (drums). The Orange Goodness collaboration grew organically from a solo recording and auditory […]
Paul Jost Quartet While We Were Gone – Live at Soapbox Gallery Self-released Paul Jost’s While We Were Gone may well be the top jazz vocal album of 2021. Yes, we said the same about Roseanna Vitro’s Sing a Song of Bird, but let’s just consider that one a collaborative vocal effort. Jost delivers a […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Brings You Gerry Casey’s Interview with Lindsay Coleman and Justin Bennet of The Wayward Saints If any band typifies what driving rock n’roll should sound and feel like it’s the magnificent Wayward Saints. Their first single In The Wild just roars like a wild animal ready to take on the […]
HOME PAGE EPK Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Russell James Like most musicians, Russell began playing at an early age. After years of piano and horns, Russell taught himself how to play guitar and began writing his first songs at age fourteen. By his mid-20s, Russell had found himself drawn to American […]
Jeremy Monteiro & Alberto Marsico Jazz-Blues Brothers Jazz Note Back in April of this year, we brought you the elite trio of pianist Jeremy Monteiro aka Singapore’s King of Swing, bassist Jay Anderson, and drummer Lewis Nash Live at No Black Tie. That session introduced this writer and you readers to the swinging, bluesy piano […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Neil Taylor From The Porkroll Project The band has a collective experience that runs deep and wide, having played together in various other projects for over ten years. They are well seasoned veterans of events such as the Philadelphia Jam on the River, the Annual Chameleon […]
Jane Ira Bloom and Allison Miller Tues Days Outline/Supaphine In 2017 in one of the first jazz reviews (see Wild Lines) this writer contributed to these pages, we praised soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom with these words – “If you love the pure sound of the soprano without the screeching and honking and free from […]
Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Kurt Neumann – Staring at the World “BoDeans’ Kurt Neumann launches interview driven, visual podcast 10/27/2021. Staring at the World will focus on the creative element with some of the world’s most innovative and creative voices.” On Staring at the World, BoDeans’ Kurt Neumann delves deep into conversations with […]
Hayes Carll You Get It All DualTone Hayes Carll has built his career mostly on singer-songwriter roots-rock records but he claims that You Get It All is a country singer-songwriter record. He turns to his wife, Allison Moorer, and her favorite producer, guitar great Kenny Greenberg as co-producers of this, his eighth album. The many […]
Alex Brown The Dark Fire Sessions Self-released Pianist and composer Alex Brown is relatively new on the scene and The Dark Fire Sessions marks only his second release as a bandleader. Having seen Brown perform in virtual performances such as Sean Jones’ Dizzy Spellz at the 2021 Detroit Jazz Festival and at Baltimore’s Keystone Korner […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Zac Harmon! Zac Harmon is an award-winning guitarist, singer, and songwriter whose distinctive style continues the lineage of American Blues music. America’s classical music. Blues Revue called Harmon “a masterful musician and performer of the blues.” Blues journalist Don Wilcock referred to his “Bobby Blue Bland uptown […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Mark Joseph Mark Joseph’s 2021 third full-length album, Vegas Motel, is a highly personal record rooted in the emotion of the year it was written (2020), yet reaching far beyond the confines of the times. Vegas Motel delicately emotes Joseph’s real-life experiences and relationships dating back […]
Benjamin Schnake Ensemble The Joy of Playing Self-released The Benjamin Schnake Ensemble presents an enticing meshing of jazz and South American music. Schnake, a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger was born in Chile and studied both classical and popular music growing up. He is skilled at the charango (Andean small guitar), pan flutes, and quena (Andean […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Shaun Johnson Ever heard of a big band covering Spiderman? Get ready, my friend. We’re happy to introduce you to what we call the new evolution of big band music – born of rebellion – and we owe it to Sinatra to keep that evolution alive […]
Sue Foley Pinky’s Blues Stony Plain Canadian-born and longtime Austin TX resident Sue Foley is back with Pinky’s Blues, the follow-up to her acclaimed 2018 The Ice Queen. The title references her signature pink paisley Fender telecaster, “Pinky.” Foley is at the peak of her still growing career as she won “Best Traditional Female (Koko […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents Gerry Casey’s Interview with GUISE! “Music is about passion, emotion, and presentation. Certainly Jassy Goode , Michael Lappin, and Louie james know all about that. GUISE are a breath of fresh air , there never was a better time for a band like Guise with the energy, talent and […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Jeff Taylor of the Altered Five Blues Band Altered Five Blues Band makes music with a swaggering stomp of bruising, barrelhouse grit. According to Downbeat magazine, frontman Jeff Taylor “sings powerfully” and “Jeff Schroedl’s live-wire guitar reaches the high bar of mixed invention and fluidity.” Blues Bytes magazine declares the […]
Kazemde George I Insist Greenleaf Music I Insist is the debut as a leader for Brooklyn-based tenor saxophonist, composer, and educator Kazemde George. The title is to both signify an emphatic statement and a nod to Max Roach’s landmark 1960 protest album We Insist! Freedom Now Suite. George has previously released a series of electronic […]
Ben Levin Still Here VizzTone Still Here is the third release for the youthful pianist/songwriter/vocalist Ben Levin, who has already matured well beyond his years. When we last visited him on his 2020 release Carryout or Delivery on these pages, Levin was still in college, having just reached drinking age. And, as we said then, […]
The Delerium Trees STORMS ON THE MOON The Delerium Trees have just released their great album “Tales from the Western Isles” and the next one is already at the start! And this time a double album which of course means double enjoyment! “Storms On The Moon”, sixteen songs, sixteen times unearthly good music and selected […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Taylor Rae The singer/songwriter’s eclectic style was influenced by a diverse roster of artists that includes Grace Potter, Janis Joplin, Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones, Jewel, Simon & Garfunkel and Steely Dan. In pre-pandemic times, Taylor averaged 200 gigs annually, including the second stage at the legendary […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents Gerry Casey’s Interview with Johnny Gallagher “What can you say about this man that hasn’t already been said. A force of nature, a rock n’ roll dynamo, a larger than life stage presence. All of them are true and yet they don’t adequately describe the awesome talent that Johnny […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Rusty Ends Rusty Ends is the real deal, a true link between the rock and blues of the 50’s and 60’s and the 21st century. Rusty learned his craft as a teenager playing in the bars and taverns up and down Dixie Highway between Louisville and […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Tony Holiday Not only does he enjoy the cozy informality of making music on them, he’s done some outstanding recording on those porches too. Studios simply aren’t a necessity for the blues harmonica wailer when he’s ready to lay some sounds down for posterity. He just […]
Farnell Newton Feel the Love Posi-Tone Feel the Love is third Posi-Tone release for Portland, OR-based trumpeter and composer Farnell Newton. We covered his second one, Rippin’ and Runnin’, on these same pages in May 2020. Newton, who after being raised in Miami, FL attended the Philadelphia High School for creative and Performing Arts, studied […]
Rodeo FM All the things you asked for Rodeo FM is Pat – lead vocals and acoustic guitar, Masataka – bass, Dominik – drums and backing vocals, Desmond – guitars and backing vocals, Gigi (guitar & banjo) Rodeo FM is a band based in Berlin, Germany, making music for 15 years. They have really played everywhere, at weddings and funerals, […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Sarah and Claire Bowman of “The Bowmans” In 2016, Sarah and Claire Bowman lost their mother, Anne Corbi, an acclaimed community activist, brilliant legal mind, and at times, an intimidating and aggressive person. Until the time of her death, Anne gave many things to Sarah and […]