Archive Search

Music

New disc and tour celebrate Miles Davis’ Indian influence

By Mark Keresman

Published: May 28, 2008

Miles Davis remains one of the planet's most influential musicians and bandleaders. From the 1940s until his death in 1991, the trumpeter consistently reflected, catalyzed, and instigated cultural...

Reviewed

Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra

Harriet Tubman (Noir)

By Mark Keresman

Published: May 14, 2008

Jazz bassist Marcus Shelby is a composer, bandleader, and Bay Area educator. He combines these talents on the magnum opus Harriet Tubman , a two-CD orchestral tribute to the iconic...

BeatBox

Long Island Rhymes

By Mark Keresman

Published: May 7, 2008

The latest release by Long Island ladies Northern State features a smart mélange of old-school hip-hop (think Public Enemy, whose Chuck D bestows props upon the trio), 1960s girl group...

Hear This

Colin Meloy’s heartfelt approach is Donovan-esque

By Mark Keresman

Published: April 30, 2008

Live performance skills separate the truly talented from those just getting by in a studio or band context. Take Colin Meloy , frontman with the Decemberists, for example. His album Sings Live!...

Night&Day;

Ramsey's Roots

By Mark Keresman

Published: April 30, 2008

If it weren't for the Americana tag, North Carolina's Tyler Ramsey would be almost any record label's marketing nightmare. Heck, even the flexible, wide-ranging "Americana" doesn't do him...

Night&Day;

Giant Sandcastles

By Mark Keresman

Published: April 23, 2008

If one takes a step back for perspective, Howe Gelb is something of a focal point for a great deal of post-1984 Southwestern alterna-rock history. Though born in Pennsylvania, Gelb made his mark...

Reviewed

Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey

Lil Tae Rides Again (Hyena)

By Mark Keresman

Published: April 9, 2008

The lads comprising Tulsa's Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey — none of whom are named Jacob or Fred — are jazz musicians of a generation for whom rock, funk, and electronica are not anathema....

Reviewed

Enon

Grass Geysers ... Carbon Clouds (Touch & Go)

By Mark Keresman

Published: April 9, 2008

Formerly a noise-rock vehicle for John Schmersal, Brooklyn's Enon is now a coed trio mixing shards 'n' sheets of noise with fuzzy production and bittersweet melodies. The shift evokes the...

Night&Day;

Forget Shelter, Gimme Asylum

By Mark Keresman

Published: April 2, 2008

Texas is a cradle of civilization. After all, the Lone Star State gave the world Bob Wills, Wes Anderson, Danny Elfman, the Butthole Surfers, and the Asylum Street Spankers . The Spankers' god...

Hear This

From Russia with Love: Auktyon's avant-rock

By Mark Keresman

Published: March 26, 2008

The latest wave of introspective songsters (Feist, Kate Nash, etc.) sounds so very fastidious, all glaringly shiny-pleasant with studio sheen. So it's incredibly refreshing listening to the latest...

Hear This

Ex-Clash Guitarist Mick Jones Rocks Again with Carbon/Silicon

By Mark Keresman

Published: March 19, 2008

Your first mental image of a band with a name like Black Moth Super Rainbow might be a group of unicorns, wizards, and trolls pumping out long-winded prog rock for hopelessly outdated fans. And...

Night&Day;

Justin Time

By Mark Keresman

Published: March 19, 2008

One of the most poignant scenes in The Godfather Part II is brothers Michael and Fredo Corleone drinking at an outdoor Cuban cafe. Fredo wistfully confides to Michael that he wishes he'd followed...

Listen Up

Producer, Label Honcho, Performer, Journalist

Pat Thomas is San Francisco's musical catalyst.

By Mark Keresman

Published: March 12, 2008

Over the past decade, Pat Thomas has done more for Bay Area music than nearly anyone whose name is not Tom Donahue, Ralph J. Gleason, or Bill Graham. Steve Wynn, founding member of epochal L.A....

Night&Day;

Afro-Cuban-American

By Mark Keresman

Published: March 5, 2008

The latest album from Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba , Avatar , is like some of the most outstanding albums in Blue Note’s illustrious catalogue. Not “sounds like,” in the manner...

Hear This

Danish Garage Rockers Storm the Independent

By Mark Keresman

Published: February 27, 2008

When legendary U.K. space-rockers Spacemen 3 split circa 1991, member Jason Pierce channeled its lysergic drone into the eclectic, song-oriented Spiritualized while Pete Kember, aka Sonic Boom,...

Music

Noise Pop Preview: Quick Picks

By Mark Keresman

Published: February 20, 2008

If it's the end of February, and the clubs are packed with indie darlings from here and abroad, that can only mean one thing: Noise Pop has once again taken over the town. San Francisco's...

Reviewed

Kronos Quartet and Wu Man

Terry Riley: The Cusp of Magic (Nonesuch)

By Mark Keresman

Published: February 20, 2008

San Francisco's Kronos Quartet is globally renowned for championing the works of contemporary classical composers. Though Terry Riley's profile isn't as high as that of colleagues Philip Glass and...

Hear This

Crime pays: OG San Francisco "punks" offer rare live appearance

By Mark Keresman

Published: February 20, 2008

Fishbone is the quintessential hyphenated combo. From its inception in 1979, the spazztastic Los Angeles septet has been mashing genres, pioneering a ska-punk-thrash-funk sound that's as fresh,...

Hear This

Mexican six-string superheroes Rodrigo y Gabriela

By Mark Keresman

Published: February 6, 2008

Berkeley resident Sean Smith and the U.K.'s James Blackshaw are part of the underground acoustic guitar network, descending stylistically from American iconoclast John Fahey. Like Fahey, Smith...

Reviewed

Dengue Fever

Venus on Earth (M80)

By Mark Keresman

Published: January 30, 2008

Los Angeles' Dengue Fever is a truly multicultural rock band ... no, wait, don't skip to the next review. Its members are neither a bunch of PC neohippie purists nor purveyors of cheesy exotica....