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Will LaymanAbout Will Layman Will Layman is a writer, teacher and musician living in the Washington, DC area. He is a co-editor of OpiumMagazine.com and a regular contributor to YankeePotRoast.org, McSweeney's Internet Tendency and several other web publications. His jazz journalism has appeared in print in Radio and Records and elsewhere on the web. Will plays jazz in the DC area and is a veteran of several DC rock bands, including Avant Gaardvark. His CD Twisted features the song "The Way You Love Me Blues", a runner-up in the jazz category in the 2000 John Lennon International Songwriting contest. Married with two kids, Will named his son (what else?) Miles. Features PopMatters Picks: The Best Music of 2007The Best Jazz of 2007[11.Dec.07] :. In spite of the perception of jazz as an increasingly niche market, the year's best show a style of music that remains ever youthful in its exploration of new territories, expanding its diversity and range of expression. PopMatters Picks: The Best Music of 2007  MusicA Desire to Make Sound: The Arrival of Creative Guitar God Nels Cline[14.Aug.07] :. The jazz guitarist -- with Wilco, his trios, or anyone else -- opens up a conversation about how to keep this music living.  MusicThe Unconscious Realm: An Interview With Medeski, Martin & Wood Drummer Billy Martin[27.Jun.07] :. With the release of Mago, an album of duets with bandmate John Medeski, Billy Martin continues to pursue a personal vision of music without many boundaries, a pop-jazz-avant-garde combination that barely acknowledges the market while still sounding irresistible.  MusicFountains of Wayne: Too Smart to Be a Rock Band, Too Smart to Be Anything Else[16.Apr.07] :. A self-aware songwriter, Adam Schlesinger still finds a way inside everyone else's head. PopMatters talks to the ingenius popsters about their new album and more.  PopMatters Picks: The Best Music of 2006Best Jazz of 2006[11.Dec.06] :. Will Layman's list of the year's best jazz records, a hearty baker's dozen, includes iconoclasts, eccentrics, avant-gardists, and some downright swingers. PopMatters Picks: The Best Music of 2006 Music Metheny / Mehldau -- On the RecordMusic Weather Report: Partly Sunny, Then Showers -- Looking Back on the Fusion SupergroupColumns Jazz TodayDouble Standards[17.Jul.08] :. What does it say about our time and place that our two boldest -- maybe best -- jazz singers, Patricia Barber and Cassandra Wilson, are returning to singing standards again?  Jazz TodaySomething Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue[27.Jun.08] :. Even today there are distinctive characteristics to American and European jazz styles. Which strain of music is most forward-looking? Which suggests the most promising vanguard for a music that seems to lose listeners even as its creativity expands?  Jazz TodayTangled Up in Blue Note[29.May.08] :. "Blue Note" means there's a certain sound to a record, a style that is tight and sharp and funky but also adventurous. If jazz is music to shout about, Blue Note records may be the most shout-worthy of all time.  Jazz TodayR.I.P. Smooth Jazz, 1985-2008?[17.Apr.08] :. With two of the US' major "smooth jazz" radio stations defunct to the fickleness of format change, the time to mourn the cheesy sub-genre is now. But what made Smooth Jazz not really jazz at all?  Jazz TodayThe Gap: Charles Lloyd[11.Mar.08] :. Saxophonist Charles Lloyd enjoyed periods of critical acclaim, popular celebration, eccentric withdrawal, and general trivialization. He was easy to ignore if you came of jazz fan age after 1970, and that's a shame. Jazz Today The Gap: Bix BeiderbeckeJazz Today The Gap: Paul BleyJazz Today A Laughing Dilemma, RevealedJazz Today Bass ReflectionsJazz Today Swept off My Feet by "Newcomer" James CarneyJazz Today A Critic's Grab-BagJazz Today Playing Pop in the Jazz/Soul ShadowJazz Today The Little Label That Could: An Interview With Cryptogramophone's Jeff GauthierJazz Today Celebrating John Coltrane, PersonallyJazz Today How an Unremarkably Wonderful Work Is the Most Successful Jazz Album, EverJazz Today A Reluctant 'Jazz' Hero: An Interview with Trumpeter, Composer, and Arranger Steven BernsteinReviews BooksCommonwealth[23.Jul.08] :. Blue Gene -- a mullet-sporting, tattoo-covered, monster truck-loving, "Love It Or Leave It" spouting man of the people -- is selling off his childhood action figures at a flea market at the age of 27.  MusicTodd Sickafoose: Tiny Resistors[16.Jul.08] :. A distinctive and generous collection of tunes blending jazz and indie-rock yet doing so without preciousness or pretention.  MusicFieldwork: Door[14.Jul.08] :. A jazz collective mates avant-chamber jazz to power and rhythmic complexity -- but listen with care. Featured Article MusicWillie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis: Two Men with the Blues[10.Jul.08] :. Willie makes a jazz gig, singing blues and standards with his inimitable ease and generosity.  MusicAvishai Cohen Trio: Gently Disturbed[9.Jun.08] :. A grooving and orchestral piano trio fronted by a great bass player -- a stunner. Music Lionel Loueke: KaribuDVDs Get Smart: The Complete SeriesMusic Jason Mraz: We Sing, We Dance, We Steal ThingsMusic JD Allen: I Am I AmDVDs Blue Note: A Story of Modern JazzMusic Alex Sipiagin: Out of the CircleMusic David Buchbinder: Odessa/HavanaMusic Chick Corea and Gary Burton: The New Crystal SilenceMusic Nicholas Payton: Into the BlueMusic Stanley Jordan: State of NatureMusic Cuong Vu: Vu-tetMusic Maceo Parker: Roots and GroovesMusic Miguel Zenon: AwakePopMatters Pick MusicSteven Bernstein: Diaspora Suite[9.Apr.08] :. The fourth of the trumpeter's ingenious transformations of Jewish music, this gorgeous mass of guitars, horns and drums fuses Bitches Brew to the synagogue. Music Steve Lehman Quintet: On MeaningMusic Uri Caine: The Classical VariationsMusic Sonny Fortune: You and the Night and the MusicMusic The Epochs: The EpochsMusic Soft Machine Legacy: SteamMusic Sheryl Crow: DetoursMusic Eliane Elias: Something for YouMusic Wynton Marsalis: Standards and BalladsMusic New York Voices: A Day Like ThisMusic Keith Jarrett: Setting StandardsMusic Pat Metheny Trio: Day TripFeatured Article MusicJoe Jackson: Rain[28.Jan.08] :. The eclectic pianist/songwriter delivers a treat -- ten perfectly crafted pop songs that recall his best work or maybe are his best work. DVDs The Sarah Silverman Program: Season OneMusic Stacey Kent: Breakfast on the Morning TramBooks Gentlemen of the Road by Michael ChabonMusic William Parker / Raining on the Moon: Corn Meal DanceMusic Andy and the Bey Sisters: Round MidnightMusic The Pizzarelli Boys: Sunday at PetesMusic Paul Motian Trio 2000 (Plus Two): Live at the Village VanguardMusic Joe Henderson: Power to the PeopleMusic Michael Blake Sextet: Amor de CosmosMusic Jacky Terrasson: MirrorMusic Christian Scott: AnthemMusic Chris Potter 10: Music for AnyoneFeatured Article MusicChris Potter Underground: Follow the Red Line[14.Dec.07] :. A fired-up quartet of architectural jazz-funk fills the legendary jazz basement with sonic silver. PopMatters Pick MusicDee Dee Bridgewater: Red Earth[11.Dec.07] :. An American jazz singer ventures to Mali and achieves an African/jazz meld of the first order. Music Frode Haltli: Passing ImagesMusic Charlie Hunter: MisticoMusic Emerson, Lake, and Palmer: Brain Salad SurgeryMusic Thelonious Monk: Live at the 1964 Monterey Jazz FestivalMusic Sarah Vaughan: Live at the 1971 Monterey Jazz FestivalBooks In the Know by Nancy MacDonellMusic Charlie Hunter and Bobby Previte as Groundtruther Plus John Medeski: AltitudeMusic Dave Brubeck: Indian SummerMusic Diana Krall: The Very Best of Diana KrallFeatured Article MusicMeshell Ndegeocello: The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams[1.Nov.07] :. The iconoclastic bassist/singer/songwriter returns with her most complete, accessible and daring recording in a decade. Music Queen Latifah: Travlin LightMusic Kenny Burrell: 75th Birthday Bash Live!Books Ultra-Talk by David KirbyPopMatters Pick MusicBillie Holiday: Lady Day[5.Oct.07] :. Some of the finest small-group swing ever, accompanying the finest body of vocal performances in jazz history. PopMatters Pick MusicHerbie Hancock: River[4.Oct.07] :. The great jazz pianist, with Wayne Shorter at his elbow and a list of sympathetic guest singers, makes a stunning Joni Mitchell tribute. Music The Claudia Quintet: ForMusic Joni Mitchell: ShinePopMatters Pick MusicJoe Henry: Civilians[19.Sep.07] :. A gorgeous feat of sonic story-telling from a songwriter deserving much wider recognition. Music Esbjorn Svensson Trio (E.S.T.): Tuesday WonderlandMusic Bruce Hornsby: Camp MeetingMusic Turtle Island Quartet: A Love SupremePopMatters Pick MusicLyle Lovett and His Large Band: Its Not Big, Its Large[28.Aug.07] :. Lovett cements his status as one of our best and offers further proof that popular American songcraft is a thriving art. This seamless album is one for the ages. Music Tord Gustavsen Trio: Being ThereFeatured Article MusicJames Carney Group: Green-Wood[22.Aug.07] :. Jazz "fusion" for this exact moment -- electric, bold, funked-out, loose-as-a-goose terrific Music Bobby Hutcherson: For Sentimental ReasonsMusic Trio of Doom: Trio of Doom LivePopMatters Pick MusicTerence Blanchard: A Tale of Gods Will[15.Aug.07] :. The New Orleans trumpeter's lyrical meditation on disaster. Music Joe Lovano and Hank Jones: KidsMusic Monks Music Trio: Monk on MondaysMusic William Parker & Hamid Drake: Volume 1: First Communion and Piercing the Veil; Volume 2: Summer SnowDVDs The Chicago Underground Trio: Chronicle [DVD]Featured Article MusicCharles Mingus Sextet: Cornell 1964[20.Jul.07] :. A truly great band at a definitive moment in the music's history -- and never heard before. Featured Article MusicKenny Werner: Lawn Chair Society[19.Jul.07] :. Fully integrated electro-acoustic jazz from a journeyman pianist -- a revelation. Music Martin Sexton: SeedsMusic Page McConnell: Page McConnellMusic Alvin Batiste: Alvin BatisteMusic Kartet: The Bay WindowMusic Boz Scaggs: Silk DegreesMusic Allison Krauss: A Hundred Miles or MoreFeatured Article DVDsMary Hartman, Mary Hartman - Volume 1[3.May.07] :. The never-forgotten '70s soap send-up emerges for the first time for home viewing -- a welcome reminder of a certain kind of glory day DVDs mnThe Decemberists: The Decemberists [DVD]Music Pat Martino: El HombrePopMatters Pick MusicRobert Glasper: In My Element[12.Apr.07] :. A genuinely new sound for a jazz trio -- swing plus hip-hop brings something powerfully new. Music Jonatha Brooke: Careful What You Wish ForDVDs U2: Achtung Baby [DVD]DVDs The Oscar Peterson Trio: The Berlin Concert [DVD]Music Brad Shepik Trio: Places You GoMusic Stryker/Slagle Band: Latest OutlookPopMatters Pick MusicThe Paul Carlon Octet: Other Tongues[9.Mar.07] :. Jazz at the top of its modern game -- Latin, tight, tasty, and modern. Music Katharine McPhee: Katharine McPheeMusic Steve Kuhn Trio: Live at BirdlandMusic Charles Tolliver Big Band: With LoveMusic Rickie Lee Jones: The Sermon on Exposition BoulevardMusic Tahiti 80: FosburyMusic Nickel Creek: Reasons WhyMusic The Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri Project: SimpaticoMusic The Microscopic Septet: Seven Men in Neckties/Surrealistic SwingMusic Erin McKeown: Sing You SinnersDVDs NRBQ and the Whole Wheat Horns: Derbytown [DVD]DVDs Get Smart The Complete CollectionMusic John Gorka: Writing in the MarginsMusic Rudresh Mahanthappa: CodebookMusic Richard Bona: TikiFeatured Article MusicMark Helias and Open Loose: Atomic Clock[11.Dec.06] :. Tenor-bass-drums play every which way jazz can go in a session to match the best of 2006. Music Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane: The Complete 1957 Riverside RecordingsMusic Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood: Out LouderMusic David Krakauer and Socalled with Klezmer Madness: BubbemeisesMusic Branford Marsalis Quartet: BraggtownMusic Nanci Griffith: Rubys TorchDVDs Steely Dan: Classic Albums [DVD]Music Mark Feldman: What ExitMusic Jeff Lang: Prepare Me WellMusic Sarah Vaughan: Send in the ClownsMusic Roy Haynes and the Fountain of Youth Band: WhereasPopMatters Pick MusicFats Waller: If Youve Got To Ask, You Aint Got It[20.Oct.06] :. Three discs of old-time bliss -- one of the greats at his greatest. Music Randy Brecker with Michael Brecker: Some Skunk FunkMusic The Brecker Brothers: Sneakin Up Behind YouMusic Keith Jarrett: The Carnegie Hall ConcertMusic Geri Allen: Timeless Portraits and DreamsMusic Early Day Miners: OffshoreMusic Dave Holland Quintet: Critical MassMusic Jason Moran: Artist in ResidenceMusic Chris Thile: How to Grow a Woman From the GroundMusic Anne Ducros: PIANO, pianoMusic Bobby Previte: Coalition of the WillingMusic John Pizzarelli: Dear Mr. SinatraMusic Sex Mob: SexoticaMusic Liquid Soul: One Two PunchMusic Joe Lovano: Streams of ExpressionMusic Brian Bromberg: Wood IIMusic Edgar Meyer: Edgar MeyerMusic Jason Kao Hwang: EdgeMusic Liberty Ellman: Ophiuchus ButterflyPopMatters Pick MusicSteven Bernsteins Millennial Territory Orchestra: MTO Volume 1[16.Aug.06] :. A hairy nine-piece romp from the '20s to the '90s -- living proof that great American music has no categories. Music Christian McBride: Live at TonicFeatured Article MusicWayne Horvitz Gravitas Quartet: Way Out East[11.Aug.06] :. Chamber jazz of the highest order, for quartet (trumpet, bassoon, cello, piano) -- a perfect mix of composition and improvisation Music Janis Siegel: A Thousand Beautiful ThingsMusic Medeski, Martin & Wood: Note BleuMusic Terry Smith: Fall OutMusic George Benson: The Essential George BensonMusic Karrin Allyson: FootprintsMusic Some Girls: Crushing LoveMusic The Derek Trucks Band: SonglinesMusic Trey Anastasio: ShineMusic Nick Lachey: What's Left of MeFeatured Article MusicMiles Davis: The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions[30.Jun.06] :. Four discs of the greatest American music there is. Feast. Music Out There/Eric Dolphy Out There [Rudy Van Gelder Remasters]Music Paul Shapiro: Its in the TwilightMusic Joey DeFrancesco: Organic VibesMusic Steve Khan: The Green FieldMusic Monty Alexander: Concrete Jungle: The Music of Bob MarleyMusic Mimi Fox: Perpetually HipMusic Manu Katche: NeighorhoodMusic Jason Miles: Whats Going On: Songs of Marvin GayeMusic Duduka Da Fonseca Quintet: Samba Jazz in Black & WhiteMusic Take Six: Feels GoodMusic Bonnie Bramlett: Roots, Blues & JazzMusic The Kronos Quartet / Terry Riley: Cadenza on the Night PlainMusic Sean Watkins: Blinders OnMusic Donald Fagen: Morph the CatMusic Carmen Lundy: Jazz and the New SongbookMusic Garrison Starr: The Sound of You and MeMusic Sam Bardfeld: Periodic Trespasses [The Saul Cycle]Music Herbie Hancock: The Essential Herbie HancockMusic Odyssey the Band: Back in TimeMusic John McNeil: East Coast CoolMusic Tom Scott: Bebop UnitedMusic Edsel Gomez: Cubist MusicMusic Andrew Hill: Time LinesMusic Chick Corea: The Ultimate AdventureMusic The Advantage: Elf-TitledMusic Chris Thile and Mike Marshall: Live DuetsMusic Charlie Hunter Trio: CopperopolisFeatured Article MusicRay Davies: Other People's Lives[3.Feb.06] :. The first true full-length studio album from the legendary leader of The Kinks is spectacular. Music Some Girls: Heaven's Pregnant TeensMusic Todd Rundgren: Best of Todd Rundgren LiveMusic Bill Frisell: East/West / Further East/Further WestMusic Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey: The Sameness of DifferenceMusic Dave Liebman, Steve Smith, Eydin Esen, Anthony Jackson: FlashpointMusic Craig Wedren: LaplandMusic Javon Jackson: Have You HeardMusic Mat Maneri: PentagonMusic Bobo Stenson: GoodbyeMusic Jenny Scheinman: 12 SongsPopMatters Pick MusicThe Roots: Home Grown! The Beginners Guide to Understanding The Roots[29.Nov.05] :. Spectacular hip-hop from A to Z, a collection of depth and wonder from Philly's hometown heroes -- beats, rhymes and riffs to end the discussion of how 'musical' rap really is. Music Marc Johnson: Shades of JadeMusic Toshi Reagon: Have You HeardMusic Digable Planets: Beyond the Spectrum: The Creamy Spy ChroniclesMusic Bill Withers: Just As I Am [DualDisc]Music Jamie Cullum: Catching TalesMusic Mark O'Connor & Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg: Double Violin ConcertoFeatured Article MusicShemekia Copeland: The Soul Truth[25.Oct.05] :. A blast of blues-drenched soul -- when has that ever hurt a person?" Music Uri Caine & Bedrock: Shelf-LifeMusic Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra: Not in Our NameMusic Tim Ries: The Rolling Stones ProjectFeatured Article MusicRickie Lee Jones: The Duchess of Coolsville: An Anthology[14.Oct.05] :. One of the most idiosyncratic and powerful voices in pop sums it all up. Music Sonny Rollins: Without a SongMusic Tim O'Brien: Fiddler's Green / Cornbread NationMusic Billy Martin and Socket: January 14 & 15 2005, Live at TonicMusic Herbie Hancock: PossibilitiesMusic Alison Moyet: VoiceMusic Miles Davis: The Cellar Door Sessions 1970Music Bill Charlap and Sandy Stewart: Love Is Here to StayMusic Gerald Veasley: At the Jazz Base!Music Lee Ritenour: OvertimeMusic Horace Silver: Silver's BlueMusic Dizzy Gillespie & Charlie Parker: Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945Music Greg Osby: Channel ThreeMusic Tierney Sutton: I'm With the BandMusic Esther Phillips: Jazz Moods / HotMusic Woody Shaw: Stepping StonesMusic Jack DeJohnette: Music from the Hearts of the MastersMusic Paul Brown: The CityMusic Ahmad Jamal: The Legendary Okeh and Epic RecordingsMusic Me'Shell Ndegeocello: The Spirit Music Jamia: Dance of the InfidelsMusic Earl Klugh: Naked GuitarMusic Tony Bennett: Jazz Moods: CoolMusic Nickel Creek: Why Should the Fire Die?Music The Thieves: Tales From the White LineMusic Beth Nielsen Chapman: LookFeatured Article MusicLouis Armstrong: Jazz Moods: Hot[28.Jul.05] :. A selection of 14 tracks from The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings, which is to say a thin slice of one of the sweetest cakes that was ever baked. Music Groundtruther (Bobby Previte and Charlie Hunter with DJ Logic): LongitudeMusic Sara Lazarus: Give Me the Simple LifeMusic Stanley Turrentine: Jazz Moods -- CoolMusic Danilo Perez: Live at the Jazz ShowcaseMusic Ron Blake: Sonic TonicMusic Ted Nash & Odeon: La Espada de la NocheMusic Tord Gustavsen Trio: The GroundMusic Tracy Bonham: Blink the BrightestMusic Walter Beasley: For HerMusic Chet Baker: Career: 1952-1988DVDs Bob James: Live at Montreux [DVD]DVDs Sting: Bring on the Night [DVD]Featured Article MusicWayne Shorter: Beyond the Sound Barrier[17.Jun.05] :. The third release from Shorter's acoustic quartet catches the band at its live best. In three new originals and a diverse selection of classical, film, and older music, the group plays with almost unparalleled democracy and drive. Wayne is back. Boy is he. Music Lizz Wright: Dreaming Wide AwakeMusic Marcia Ball: Live! Down the RoadDVDs X: Live in Los Angeles [CD and DVD]Music Keith Jarrett: RadianceMusic Terence Blanchard: FlowMusic Tord Gustavsen Trio: The GroundFeatured Article MusicDizzy Gillespie: Career: 1937-1992[27.May.05] :. The greatest trumpeter simply didn't make a single great album. By default, then, this compilation is it: your must-have set for the brilliant bebop master. Music The Robert Cray Band: TwentyMusic KEM: Album IIFeatured Article MusicAlison Brown: Stolen Moments[11.May.05] :. This experiment in fusing bluegrass with jazz is the exception -- it really works. When even the dreaded heavy-hitter guest vocalists don't wreck things, you know you're onto something special. Alison Brown, banjo at the ready, is coming to get you. Featured Article MusicAbdullah Ibrahim: A Celebration / Re:Brahim: Abdullah Ibrahim Remixed[11.May.05] :. The South African composer and pianist is properly celebrated in two collections that give him the retrospective treatment and remix treatment that his captivating music deserves. Spectacular. Music Joni Mitchell: Songs of a Prairie GirlMusic Faith Evans: The First LadyMusic Various Artists: The Colors of Latin Jazz: Soul Cookin'Music Marcus Miller: Silver RainMusic Gary Burton: Next GenerationMusic Dave Douglas: Mountain PassagesBlog postsConsuming ConsumablesBillie Holiday: Lady Day: The Master Takes and Singles [$49.98][20.Nov.07] :. For jazz fans, and fans of American music in general, the early recordings of singer Billie Holiday should already be gospel -- essential and cherished source material for the foundational pleasures... Consuming ConsumablesFats Waller: If You've Got to Ask, You Ain't Got It [$34.98][13.Dec.06] :. In jazz, it’s dangerous to your reputation to be too popular; we critics prefer the obscure and the daunting. Particularly since jazz became a self-conscious “art form,” a... |
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