There are live albums that document performances, and others that document a worldview. Songbook belongs firmly in the latter category. Recorded during Allen Toussaint’s residency at Joe’s Pub in New York following Hurricane Katrina, this collection strips his monumental catalog down to voice, piano, memory, and rhythm. The result is less a concert than a guided tour through […]
There comes a point in the lifespan of legacy progressive rock bands where survival alone becomes the headline. Yes, called ‘The World’s Greatest Progressive Rock Band’ by the venerable Yes Music Podcast, has not only survived the deaths of founder Chris Squire and long-serving drummer Alan White, but has also thrived. Part of the band’s […]
Feef Mooney returns with her bold new album, ‘ The Really Real’, out now, which, at first listen, seems to be a cross between Rosie Vela and Martha Wainwright; however, after repeated listening, the album feels genuine and original. Produced by Mooney with journeyman, multi-instrumentalist Fernando Perdomo, Mooney has honed the twelve original compositions into […]
Yes’ penultimate song on 2001’s Magnification started life from an Alan White piano riff. This expertly constructed ballad, while not as adventurous as the preceding “Dreamtime,” is executed with the level of finesse expected from the world’s greatest progressive rock band. Every element fits: White’s piano is elegantly utilized. He frequently uses the piano to compose, with the […]
There’s a difference between revivalism and lived-in soul. Plenty of artists can recreate the textures of old lowrider ballads, rocksteady grooves, and sweet soul harmonies. Joey Quiñones, the lead singer of Thee Sinseers, understands how those sounds actually breathe together because he grew up inside the collision. On Inna Soul Steady Situation, which drops on […]
There’s a fine line between revivalism and reanimation. Plenty of artists know how to recreate the sound of vintage blues-rock, but far fewer know how to make it breathe like it belongs to the present tense. On Let The Night Begin, Troy Mercy doesn’t merely revisit the ghosts of electric blues, garage rock, and late-night […]
Colin Hancock isn’t just a musician; he’s a time traveler with a cornet and a clipboard. On A Texas-Sized Band, his Austin-based Joymakers expand to a ten-piece powerhouse, digging deep into the “territory band” sounds of the 1920s and ’30s. Hancock, hot on the heels of his collaboration with Catherine Russell last year (Colin Hancock’s Jazz Hounds […]
There’s a difference between an album that collects sounds and one that moves through them. Wavelength is the latter—fluid, searching, and quietly ambitious. Shane Sato doesn’t just blend jazz, indie R&B, and soul; he treats them like currents in the same body of water, shifting tempo and temperature without breaking the surface tension. Wavelength finds […]
Preston Frazier: Welcome back to the Slang of Ages.com. We have a very special guest here: Bobby Broom, to discuss his trio’s new album, Notes of Thanks. The album is already out. You can find it on Bandcamp or through Bobby’s website at Bobby Broom Official Website. I think the last time we had you […]
There’s something quietly disarming about Willingness. Paul Kahn doesn’t posture as a late-career revelation—he leans into lived-in truths, letting the songs breathe with the ease of someone who’s done the long walk. With Catherine Russell steering the session, the record feels less like a comeback and more like a gathering of stories, of players, of time itself. The Grammy-nominated Kahn […]
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