Tom Moon

Pat Metheny And John Zorn: A Vivid Sound World

Tom Moon — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:43:00 +0000

Guitarist Pat Metheny is revered for his bright, accessible modern jazz. Saxophonist and composer John Zorn is associated with much knottier, often dissonant experiments. Metheny's new Tap: John Zorn's Book of Angels, Vol.

Dawes' Story Gets A Fine New Chapter

Tom Moon — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 20:49:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH8Jjz6PRYk

Atoms For Peace: Thom Yorke's Electronic Shadow-World

Tom Moon — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 23:22:00 +0000
When singer Thom Yorke stepped away from his influential rock band Radiohead in 2006 to release The Eraser, many thought the quirky electronic project was a one-off. Not so, it turns out. Yorke and producer Nigel Godrich called on rock-star friends for a tour, and since then, the group has convened occasionally in the studio.

Jim James: On A Spiritual Quest In The Digital Age

Tom Moon — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 21:20:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsvTfaAAVBg

Is Fleetwood Mac's Expanded 'Rumours' A Bit Much?

Tom Moon — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 21:46:00 +0000
An expanded version of Fleetwood Mac's 1977 album Rumours comes out this week, to mark the 35th anniversary of one of the top-selling albums of the '70s. The deluxe set includes demos, outtakes from the recording sessions, live recordings and a documentary DVD, along with a vinyl pressing of the original album.
The original 11 songs of the pop-rock classic Rumours can be experienced easily in one sitting. Apparently, that's just not enough anymore.

A 1969 Bootleg Unearths Miles Davis' 'Lost' Quintet

Tom Moon — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 20:27:00 +0000
After a slew of multidisc sets devoted to key points in the career of Miles Davis, you'd think Columbia Records would have unearthed every speck of consequential music by now. But not quite.
This week, Columbia brings out Live in Europe 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol.

Bruno Mars Goes Anyplace And Everyplace On 'Jukebox'

Tom Moon — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 20:13:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-fA-gBCkj0

Neil Young Still Vital On 'Psychedelic Pill'

Tom Moon — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 18:03:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bemz-7fofcs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCbEOT4PTDc

Elina Duni: Love, Lust And Albanian Folk Songs

Tom Moon — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 19:13:00 +0000
The spread of formal jazz education has created a new breed of global musician: one who uses improvisation, and other devices associated with jazz, to transform folk and traditional music. The Albanian singer Elina Duni is part of this rising class. Her latest release, Matane Malit ("Beyond the Mountain"), offers a transfixing balance of old and new.
When Duni was growing up, the singer and composer says she didn't pay much attention to the folk music loved by her grandparents.

Lianne La Havas: A Cool Antidote For Late Summer's Heat

Tom Moon — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 20:27:00 +0000
It's gotten to that point in the dog days of August where the air is stale and nothing seems to be moving. But sometimes all it takes to snap me out of a late-summer heat coma is the sound of a new and electrifying voice — like that of Lianne La Havas.
The first thing that grabbed me about the 22-year-old British singer was a curious moment halfway through a song called "Lost & Found" on her debut record, Is Your Love Big Enough? The music is moving at a stately, confessional pace. She's sharing a lot, maybe too much, about being hurt by a lover.

A Posthumous Masterpiece Adds To E.S.T.'s Legacy

Tom Moon — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 20:10:00 +0000
When the pianist Esbjorn Svensson died in a scuba accident in 2008, many fans of his group, the Swedish trio known as E.S.T., wondered if there might be some unreleased experiments lurking in a studio vault. There were. Just out is a disc called 301, which was recorded in 2008 during sessions for the group's final album.
Usually the posthumous album is a downer, a collection of scraps that don't add much to a legacy, but that's not the case with 301.

Melody Gardot Aims For The Space Between Notes

Tom Moon — Thu, 31 May 2012 20:01:00 +0000
The other day, I had a conversation with Melody Gardot about space. Not outer space, but the space between notes in her music. These days, there's lots of it.
When she began making her new album, The Absence, Gardot says the thing she wanted most was a clean, uncluttered sound — something resembling Brazil's beloved bossa nova from the 1960s. She came up with coy, understated melodies and set them to rhythms that feel as natural as an ocean breeze.

Dr. John: Swamp Grooves From The Bayou Underworld

Tom Moon — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 19:10:00 +0000
Right now, Dan Auerbach is living a rock-star moment, with his hard-hitting blues-rock duo The Black Keys selling out arenas all over the country. Lots of people want him on their records. So what does he do? He seeks out the 71-year-old Dr.

Review: Two New Perspectives On Jazz, Gospel

Tom Moon — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:16:00 +0000
Critic Tom Moon reviews two contrasting perspectives on the intersection of jazz and gospel music. Multi-instrumentalist Don Byron has just released "Love, Peace and Soul" featuring his New Gospel Quintet. Also out is a set of duets between the late pianist Hank Jones and bassist Charlie Haden, titled "Come Sunday." Moon says the two projects reimagine old-time religious tunes in surprisingly different ways.

Gospel Meets Jazz, With Unpredictable Results

Tom Moon — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 19:24:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYeAlAM5gFY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA0co7g-1rI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPoK1lryfh4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kC5AqS3gec
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIX6btGIn8w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj_SXaX9ffY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJgtT1Dr-1I

Heartless Bastards: Rousing Songs, Born On The Road

Tom Moon — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 21:04:00 +0000
It's true that you can still get by in rock 'n' roll on the strength of a unique voice. But it helps if said voice has something interesting to work with.
On the first three records by Heartless Bastards, that wasn't always the case. The Mountain, from 2008, had some terrific songs about a breakup, and a few that got bogged down in a rut.

Dr. Dog: A Standout Among Stereotypes

Tom Moon — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:09:00 +0000
Sometimes I wonder: Do the members of young indie-rock bands know that they're walking stereotypes? There's the scruffy dude who's obsessed with everything vintage and analog, the Pavement-worshiping, whiny-voiced lead singer, the rhythm section that knows its way around every oddity recorded by The Kinks. That's pretty much how I pegged the Philadelphia sextet Dr.

The Roots: A Song Cycle For A Life Cycle

Tom Moon — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:36:00 +0000
The hip-hop band The Roots might currently be the hardest-working band in show business. Five nights a week, it's the house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and is constantly collaborating with other artists. And this week, the band issued its 10th studio album.

Jonathan Wilson: Making Like Thoreau, In Song

Tom Moon — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:00:00 +0000
Record producer Jonathan Wilson recorded his new album Gentle Spirit during little slivers of time when the artists he was working with — among them songwriter Jackson Browne and the rock band Dawes — were on break.

Wilco's New Album: Love The 'Whole' Thing

Tom Moon — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 17:06:00 +0000
Usually, the whispers start after rock groups have been around for a while, as die-hard fans begin to worry about their beloved band getting stale. Despite its incredibly long run, Wilco has escaped that fate, and managed to stay fresh since 1994. It just released its eighth studio album in 17 years, and the first issued on Wilco's own dBpm Records label.

James Farm: Jazz Heavyweights Band Together

Tom Moon — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 19:29:00 +0000
In 2009, four busy jazz musicians — saxophonist Joshua Redman, pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Matt Penman and drummer Eric Harland — gathered on a rare off day to see what they might cook up together. Out of that came a band they call James Farm, and an album of the same name.
New bands don't come along every day in jazz.

My Morning Jacket: Home Again

Tom Moon — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 19:07:00 +0000
There's a song on My Morning Jacket's sixth studio album, Circuital, that will probably make aging rockers smile. It's called "Outta My System," and in it, songwriter Jim James sings with great Buddha warmth about aging out of the Friday-night indulgences of youth.
In one sense, James has lately been doing something similar with his music.

Gretchen Parlato: Master Of Restraint

Tom Moon — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 19:08:00 +0000
Singer Gretchen Parlato is probably best known for her work with the Grammy-winning jazz star Esperanza Spalding. In between recording and touring with Spalding last year, Parlato found time to record her third album.
The Lost and Found sparkles from beginning to end, but one track, "Still," stands out. The words could have been lifted straight from one of those New Age calendars of daily affirmations.

Paul Simon: Old Sounds, New Perspectives

Tom Moon — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 19:45:00 +0000
For a while now, Paul Simon has been shuffling and reshuffling the basic ingredients of his 1986 masterwork Graceland, trying new combinations of exotic, often African rhythms with elements of American blues and roots music. It's a rich area that has led him to some amazing songs, and also some retreads.
Simon's newest album, So Beautiful or So What, opens with "Waiting for Christmas Day," a track that turned out to be my least favorite.

Beady Eye: The Hard-Rocking Sound Of Life After Oasis

Tom Moon — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 19:37:00 +0000
During the slow, tortured decline of the English rock group Oasis, there were constant reports of conflict between Noel Gallagher, the band's guitarist and principal songwriter, and his younger brother Liam, who sang lead vocals. Noel watched Liam's drinking jeopardize countless performances; Liam rebelled against his controlling older sibling.
When their bickering came to a head in 2009, Noel left the group. Undaunted, the remaining members vowed to continue on with Liam at the helm.