The Best Jazz of 2018

The definition of "jazz" has never been broader, and the music has never been brighter. Two PopMatters critics pick their favorites in four modern jazz categories.

                                      
Music
    
        David Murray Teams with Saul Williams on Blues for Memo and Makes His Best Record in Many Years
    
Will Layman

        03 Apr 2018
    
Music
    
        Saul Williams Commands Attention at Summerstage (Photos + Video)
    
Sachyn Mital

        25 Aug 2016
    
Interviews
    
        Laying the Groundwork: An Interview With Saul Williams
    
Sean McCarthy

        24 Jul 2016

Recent

Music

Saul Williams - "The Noise Came From Here" (Singles Going Steady)

Ferguson needs protest anthems, and this is a terrific one.

Events

Afropunk Fest: 24 August 2013 - Brooklyn, NY (Day 1 Photos)

Pictures from Afropunk Fest Day 1, including ones of Saul Williams and the kids of Unlocking the Truth, are here.

Music

Saul Williams: Volcanic Sunlight

Williams actually seems to be moving away from the righteous fury that informed his earliest albums, and has admitted that he set out to make a pop album this time around.

Music

CMJ 2009: Day 2 - Javelin + The xx + Saul Williams/Afro-Punk Tour

The CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival invades New York City this week. Here's the latest from PopMatters' writers on the beat. Words and Pictures by Stephen Stirling

Stephen Stirling

Featured: Top of Home Page

Mercury Rev, Clinic, PAS/CAL...

Music

"The Real is Just as Magical as the Fictitious": An Intimate Talk with Saul Williams

Few people would give their new album away for free online. Fewer would stop a prison brawl by reciting a poem. Fewer still do all this while making a powerful statement about the issue of race in our country today. Saul Williams does all these things.

Reviews

The Dead Emcee Scrolls: The Lost Teachings of Hip-Hop by Saul Williams

Certain things never change: s'mores are still delicious, rainbows are still happy, calculus is still confusing, and Saul Williams is still angry at mainstream hip-hop culture.

Michael Frauenhofer

Reviews

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BROWSE ALL ALBUM REVIEWS

Features

Dancing in the Street: Our 25 Favorite Motown Singles

Old British Films, Boring? Pshaw!

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PM Picks

Collapse Expand Pm Picks

David Murray Teams with Saul Williams on Blues for Memo and Makes His Best Record in Many Years

Saul Williams Commands Attention at Summerstage (Photos + Video)

Laying the Groundwork: An Interview With Saul Williams

Saul Williams - "The Noise Came From Here" (Singles Going Steady)

Ferguson needs protest anthems, and this is a terrific one.

Afropunk Fest: 24 August 2013 - Brooklyn, NY (Day 1 Photos)

Pictures from Afropunk Fest Day 1, including ones of Saul Williams and the kids of Unlocking the Truth, are here.

Saul Williams: Volcanic Sunlight

Williams actually seems to be moving away from the righteous fury that informed his earliest albums, and has admitted that he set out to make a pop album this time around.

Saul Williams + Afro-Punk Tour: 27 October 2009 - Double Door, Chicago

Words by Chris Catania. Pictures by Colleen Catania

CMJ 2009: Day 2 - Javelin + The xx + Saul Williams/Afro-Punk Tour

The CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival invades New York City this week. Here's the latest from PopMatters' writers on the beat. Words and Pictures by Stephen Stirling

Mercury Rev, Clinic, PAS/CAL...

"The Real is Just as Magical as the Fictitious": An Intimate Talk with Saul Williams

Few people would give their new album away for free online. Fewer would stop a prison brawl by reciting a poem. Fewer still do all this while making a powerful statement about the issue of race in our country today. Saul Williams does all these things.

The Dead Emcee Scrolls: The Lost Teachings of Hip-Hop by Saul Williams

Certain things never change: s'mores are still delicious, rainbows are still happy, calculus is still confusing, and Saul Williams is still angry at mainstream hip-hop culture.

Saul Williams: self-titled

Saul Williams: Amethyst Rock Star

Sondre Lerche Rewards 'Patience' with Clever and Sophisticated Indie Pop

Carey Mercer's New Band Soft Plastics Score Big with Debut '5 Dreams'

The Durutti Column's 'Vini Reilly' Is the Post-Punk's Band's Definitive Statement

Teddy Thompson Sings About Love on 'Heartbreaker Please'

Indie Folk's Mt. Joy Believe That Love Will 'Rearrange Us'

Cordelia Strube's 'Misconduct of the Heart' Palpitates with Dysfunction

2011's 'A Different Compilation' and 2014 Album 'The Way' Are a Fitting Full Stop to Buzzcocks Past

Elysia Crampton Creates an Unsettlingly Immersive Experience with 'Ocorara 2010'

Ruben Fleischer's 'Venom' Has No Bite

What Will Come? COVID-19 and the Politics of Economic Depression

Little Protests Everywhere

Old British Films, Boring? Pshaw!

Reaching For the Vibe: Sonic Boom Fears for the Planet on 'All Things Being Equal'

"Without Us? There's No Music": An Interview With Raul Midón

Weird and Sweet, Riotous and Hushed: The Beatles' 'The White Album'