Mike Clark and Michael Zilber Mike Drop Sunnyside Renowned jazz drummer Mike Clark and acclaimed saxophonist Michael Zilber have a decade-long musical relationship in the Bay Area. Although Clark spends more time now in New York, the two had such an inspiring week of performances in the Bay Area in 2018 that they decided to […]
Adam Schultz Soulful Distancing Blue Heart It’s rather common for an established bluesman to have a younger protégé that he is mentoring, with Buddy Guy and Quinn Sullivan being perhaps the most recognizable example to most blues fans. But Pennsylvania’s Clarence Spady has an apprentice too, 18-year-old guitarist Adam Schultz. After a long recording hiatus, […]
Gary Vogensen Shot of Hope Little Village Here’s an unfamiliar name to most but you’d likely perk up when you learn that Gary Vogensen played with Mike Bloomfield, Barry Melton, Norton Buffalo, Maria Muldaur, Etta James, Commander Cody, John “Marmaduke” Dawson of the New Riders of the Purple Sage (for years), and more. Bay Area […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Debbie Bond American Singer, guitar player and songwriter Debbie Bond has been performing for decades in the Alabama backwoods and is now a regular on the Southern US and European club and festival circuit. Influenced by raw juke joint blues and the famed sounds of Muscle […]
William Parker Mayan Space Station – Painter’s Winter AUM Fidelity This likely introduces some of our readers to William Parker for the first time. Parker is an edgy, free jazz, avant-garde composer, multi-instrumentalist, poet, griot, shaman, and community leader. His major instrument is the bass, but he plays such instruments as the trombonium and shakuhachi […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Jennifer Lyn of Jennifer lyn and the Groove Revival On the plains of North Dakota, USA nestled between the tall grass and the open prairie sky sits a recording studio. The sound of overdriven guitars with dueling lead harmonies and classic rock undertones rips through the […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents Gerry Casey’s Interview with Cathy Grier I traveled from NYC to WI for the Steel Bridge Songfest in June 2016. I fell in love with the Sturgeon Bay scene so much that I moved to Wisconsin. Within the 3 years of arriving, I won Paramount Music Association Blues challenge […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Mark Cameron Minnesota based singer, songwriter and guitarist Mark Cameron has been active in live music for over thirty years. Mark began his performing career in the rich folk-rock scene of the early 1970’s and brought this influence into several bands he founded during the 1980’s and […]
Art Hirahara Open Sky Posi – Tone Pianist/composer/ and bandleader for his sixth outing on the Posi-tone label, Art Hirahara, furthers his appealing mix of straight-ahead jazz to standards to progressive jazz as he splits the selections between a trio and quartet on Open Sky, the title alone suggesting few, if any boundaries. The trio […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Emily Duff Emily Duff’s small batch brand of SWEET & SOUR ROCK AND ROLL WITH A GREAT BIG HIT OF COUNTRY SOUL, digs deep, weaving a patchwork of sin, tragedy, romance and regret that lies at your feet begging to be mended. A dark optimist, Emily […]
Samara Joy Samara Joy Whirlwind We first introduced our readers to jazz vocalist Samara Joy, who appeared on Bruce Harris’ Soundview, released just a few weeks ago. Now Joy delivers her self-titled debut, after winning the Sarah Vaughn International Jazz Vocal Competition. Consider that past winners include the likes of Jazzmeia Horn and it harbingers […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an interview with EG Kight Nestled in rural Georgia, EG Kight has grown deep roots on her land, where her family has lived for four generations. Kight’s granddaddy was a southern preacher. When Kight was an infant, her mama was offered a Gospel recording contract, but turned it down […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Molly Jenson Molly Jenson is a singer/songwriter from Southern California. She independently released her debut album, “Maybe Tomorrow” (produced by Greg Laswell), in 2005. Jenson signed to Bully! Pulpit Records, in a joint partnership with Nettwerk Music Group in 2008 and re-released her debut album in […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Jack Grace! The man Jerry Lee Lewis once likened to “that Cash kid, but good” has enjoyed a long and varied career. Jack Grace is that man: a singer, songwriter, and guitarist who’s been touring and recording for over 25 years. His duet with Norah Jones, […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with B. Christopher B. Christopher, like most composers, is not a household name. However, if you own a television, you have probably heard his music. With over 3,000 placements annually, on virtually every channel, it would be difficult not to hear his work. Like most studio musicians, […]
Daniel Herskedal Harbour Edition Chances are good that you have never heard an album where the music perfectly captures the song titles as well as this one. Close your eyes and conjure the images for Norwegian master of the tuba Daniel Herskedal and his trio for Harbour. His may well be the only trio of […]
Robert Billard & The Cold Cuts Stop Self-released Robert Billard, formerly mostly a folk singer and now a bluesman, may be the only one of that ilk living in Nunavut, Canada’s newest province, a massive, sparsely populated territory of northern Canada, forming most of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Its islands have expanses of tundra, craggy […]
HOME PAGE Tour Schedule Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Doug Grey of The Marshall Tucker Band When you wake up and want to put a smile on your face, you think of the songs that always manage to reach down and touch your soul the moment you hear the first note. The Marshall […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Jonathon Long The first thing you notice about Jonathon Long’s new record, Parables of a Southern Man, is that his virtuoso guitar playing is not his only strength. Long is a complete musician and entertainer, a great singer and totally original songwriter whose lyrical guitar playing […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Donna Herula Donna Herula is a Chicago-born blues singer, songwriter, and slide guitarist that has a passion for playing traditional Delta and Country Blues, early Chicago Blues, folk, Americana, and roots music. Using electrified resonator guitars, her sound combines her love for the music of the […]
Making a Scene Presents Gerry Casey’s Interview with Delta Fuse. Now and then a band comes along that gets the pulse racing. Delta Fuse are exactly that, from the first time I heard them play live to a packed house in Ballyshannon at The Rory Gallagher international festival. I knew that what I had witnessed […]
Sean Chambers That’s What I’m Talkin About This album is a tribute to Hubert Sumlin, a musician who had a huge influence on Sean’s life and future career in music. For a number of years Sean was a member of Hubert’s touring band , an experience that Sean will tell you himself made a significant […]
Autumn Dawn Leader I, Autumnus Autumn Dawn Leader (and that’s her real name!), singer/songwriter and multi instrumentalist was born in the USA and moved to the East Midlands of the UK in 2004. She took her first musical steps at the age of four when she performed in concerts with her mother. At 16 she […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Rob Stone Long renowned as a hard-hitting blues harmonica wailer and forceful vocalist, Rob Stone combines tough Chicago blues tradition with a swinging West Coast rhythmic drive. He’s made a series of widely acclaimed albums over the last two decades-plus showcasing his singular approach to the […]
Will Bernard Ancient Grains Posi-Tone Guitarist Will Bernard’s musical history is truly versatile and Ancient Grains is his third as a leader for Posi-Tone, the label that tends to favor straight ahead jazz. However, Bernard, a Berkeley CA native and Brooklyn transplant, has recorded with avant –garde trumpeter Don Cherry, worked with Hindustani-influenced Jai Uttal, […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Chris Murphy For 25 years, and with no sign of slowing, violinist Chris Murphy has made a living by writing, performing and recording original music. For Murphy, the path forward is charted by looking backward, to the troubadours and minstrels of ages past. Forget the exaggerated […]
Horizons Quartet Self-titled PM Records As soon as we mention the Deer Head Inn, the jazz readers of these pages will realize that the Horizons Quartet are local to this writer. Yet, keep in mind that the venue is home to many reputable musicians and a gig location for many prominent NYC-based musicians. After all, […]
Various Artists A Sweet Relief Tribute to Joey Spampinato True North This is an amazing group of artists all generously donating their proceeds from these recordings to the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund to support NRBQ founding member/bassist/songwriter Joey Spampinato with his current health issues. Joey’s wife Kami Lyle and producer Sheldon Gomberg rallied a group […]
Gerald McClendon Let’s Have a Party Delta Roots Chicago soul singer Gerald McClendon, the “Soul Keeper,” makes a quick return from 2020’s Can’t Nobody Stop Me Now, a major statement, which he now quickly follows with Let’s Have a Party. McClendon first got a lift from 2019’s Delta Roots release, Battle of the Blues: Chicago vs. Oakland, […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Tia Carroll Tia has been performing steadily with her own band for decades in California, and made some successful recordings before (rock, gospel, and blues (with bands in Italy and Brazil.) But this is her first stateside studio recording of strong original blues and soul, and […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Elisha Marin! Elisha Marin is a self-taught singer-songwriter, visual artist, and teacher. Elisha directs an arts nonprofit in rural Southern MN. He began performing on stage when he was 8 years old. Elisha lives in a former opera house and is passionate about historic building restoration […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents Gerry Casey’s Interview with Jim Basnight Jim Basnight started recording solo and with the Moberlys in the late 70’s and led a pre-grunge original rock and roll scene in his native Seattle, before relocating to NYC in 1980. He’s been working live and releasing records ever since. Armed in NY […]
Eric Selby Where You Born At Eric Selby, based in Washington DC is an artist, producer and multi instrumentalist and single father of four wonderful daughters, a dog and a cat (who he himself thinks is a dog). He published in 2020 his first solo original music as well as the EP “Do, Baby ” […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an interview with Jeff Engholm Jeff Engholm has worn many hats as a bassist, singer, songwriter, actor, producer, recording engineer, conductor, and teacher. Instrumentally, he is primarily a jazz and rock bass player, and has played for 20 years in the George Maurer Jazz Group, which performs throughout the […]
Troy Roberts and Tim Jago Best Buddies Toy Robot Music The best buddies referred to in the title are indeed versatile saxophonist Troy Roberts and guitarist Tim Jago, both originally hailing from Down Under where the album was recorded last summer during the pandemic. Not only do these two co-leaders have origins in the same […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Kelly Zirbes of Kelly’s Lot Kelly’s Lot was formed in 1994 by Kelly Zirbes, a folk singer/songwriter with a heart for the blues. With 15 CDs and lots of touring in the USA and Europe, the band celebrates 27 years since the first night the band […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Krista Vilinskis of Tinderbox Music Krista is the Founder and Director of Publicity at Tinderbox Music. She started Tinderbox on October 3rd of 2000. In addition Krista co-runs “Chased by Flying Monkeys” a Music licensing company. She and her business partner help place artist’s music […]
Patti Parks Whole Nother World VizzTone Working nurse and blues belter Patti Parks hails from Buffalo, NY but made the trek to Baton Rouge, LA to record Whole Nother World, her second full-length release, at Kenny Neal’s studio. After hearing Parks at the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge, Kenny Neal signed her to his Booga […]
Lauren Henderson Musa Brontosaurus Bilingual and multi-cultural jazz vocalist Lauren Henderson, who has appeared on these pages before, returns with an album that explores love and relationships in a blend of styles. The traditions that influence her sound, jazz, flamenco, and Afro-Latinx are here in a bigger way than they have been on her seven […]
Tom Kennedy Stories Autumn Hill Bassist/composer Tom Kennedy has been working mostly in the fusion jazz realm for nearly five decades. Stories is his sixth album as leader and provides an opportunity to share his original songs inspired by his many global travels with those he has often played and formed lasting relationships with. Kennedy […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with ELSKA! “Elska”: Old Norse: /ˈɛlska/ – It means to hold something dear, or to fiercely love something or someone. It also has an oddly political meaning as a call to action, in the way that love, like justice, is something worth working for. This intersection between […]
Deb Ryder Memphis Moonlight Vizztone Label Group Deb Ryder got her start when as a teenager she would open for visiting artists at her father’s nightclub. She wound up opening for Etta James, Big Joe Turner, Charlie Musselwhite and Taj Mahal. Ryder recorded her debut album “Might Just Get Lucky” in 2013. Her fifth studio […]
Madre Vaca Elements Madre Vaca We have covered this imaginative quartet Madre Vaca (“Mother Cow”) before on these pages for 2020’s interpretation of Franz Schubert’s Winterreise. Elements is their fourth album and deals with four elements of earth in just four long extended pieces, each composed by a different member of the quartet. Yes, lots […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Bev! From Minneapolis, MN, indie pop/rock artist Bev has been making albums and playing shows since 2010. Previously performing under the name, Niki Becker, she changed her name to Niki Beverly (in honor of her deceased mother) after her divorce in 2018 and began performing under […]
HOME PAGE Making A Scene Presents Gerry Casey’s Interview with The Glycereens! The Glycereens blend their dirty bubblegum aesthetics with garage punk rock tones to create a fuzzed-out sound that is both energetic and super loud. Rising from the ashes of noisy garage heaven in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, The Glycereens continue to spread their fuzzy […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Clint Morgan Americana singer/songwriter and Blues Pianist Clint Morgan, a charter member of the International Blues Foundation, has played in Americana meccas such as Memphis, Tennessee; Clarksdale, Mississippi; and Austin, Texas. He is equally at home pounding out a piano boogie tune as he is an […]
Ches Smith’s We All Break Path of Seven Colors Pyroclastic The music on Path of Seven Colors is likely unlike most anything we have heard. After all, how many of us are familiar with traditional Haitian Vodou music? The octet We All Break, led by forward-thinking drummer Ches Smith, take this foundation, and mix it […]
Szczeciński Zespół Dupa MaMo to Pinokio “The songs were recorded during several sessions in 2020 and 2021 between lockdowns. The idea for the song title was inspired by The Guillotines “BoJo The Clown”. They have their Clown, we have our Pinocchio.” The Polish band Szczeciński Zespół Dupa ,translated as “The Szczecin Asshole Ensemble or Ass Band […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an interview with Kyle Culkin Kyle Culkin is an American songwriter, guitarist, bassist and roots music recording artist. He grew up in Southern California listening to an eclectic mix of Country, Rock, Jazz, Soul, Blues and everything in between. In his early twenties, Culkin hit the road and cut […]
Julian Lage Squint Blue Note Squint is esteemed guitarist Julian Lage’s debut for Blue Note as a leader although he has appeared on the label for Nel Cline’s Lovers (2016) and Nel Cline’s 4 Currents, Constellations (2018). This writer was especially impressed by his performance on Charles Lloyd’s 8: Kindred Spirts (Live from The Lobero) […]
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