By Tony Minvielle One of LA’s best kept musical secrets, Kiefer has been described as a musician who doesn’t play keys with his fingers, but with his soul, which just about sums up in as simple terms as possible the artistry of this truly gifted individual who has re-defined that happy place between jazz improvisation and hip-hop beat-making. His distinctive musical style, which he calls ‘Over The... read more

By Bob Blumenthal It was inevitable that saxophonist Branford Marsalis would be approached with the idea of paying tribute to John Coltrane in centennial celebration of Coltrane’s birth. “I thought it was a great idea” he says,” but I wanted to take a road less travelled.” He was drawn to John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, the 1963 album that is considered among the ultimate examples of singer/ensemble... read more

Nothing about it made sense. With their screaming virtuosity, utterly eerie mindmeld, and shrugging irreverence toward their own astonishing gifts, DOMi & JD BECK seemed beamed in from another dimension, and our familiar existence contorted itself to their presence. The year that they more or less arrived, they bowled over buttoned-up jazz fans with a cover of a Coltrane classic that they renamed “Giant... read more

Tap root in the blues of Mississippi Ears, mind, heart pulled toward the East. Sails unfurled, I navigate the waters in search of One. CL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-961i8IWYU Providence As we tossed around names for the newly formed trio of Charles, Zakir and Eric — Zakir suggested Sangam, “It is the confluence of three rivers,” he explained. “Of course,” Charles interjected,... read more

The first thing that hits you about FATHERS, the self-titled Blue Note debut by an all-star collective of groove-savvy producer-musicians, is how utterly perfect everything sounds. Not perfect as in sterile or clinical or even flawless, but perfect as in completely satisfying — digging into that jazz ideal between the excitement of invention and the comforts of brilliant song... read more