I don’t recall hearing nursery rhymes as a kid. The sing-song hits of Cat Stevens, however, were integral components of the soundtrack of my childhood. “Wild World” and “Peace Train” are among the ditties that helped shape my worldview at an impressionable age. The Laughing Apple is rightfully billed as a return to form for the man who now goes by Yusuf Islam. I can’t resist the nostalgic charm of guileless songs like ”See What Love Did To Me” and “You Can Do (Whatever)”.
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I reviewed Melissa Etheridge’s concert with the Kansas City Symphony at Helzberg Hall.
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Thundercat gave me hope last week. My notes about his revelatory concert in Lawrence are at Plastic Sax.
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I celebrated the reunion of Hadacol on KCUR’s Up To Date.
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I write weekly concert previews for The Kansas City Star.
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Charles Bradley has died.
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Souljazz Orchestra’s spectacular Under Burning Skies sounds like Awesome Tapes From Africa come to life. Here’s ”Dog Eat Dog”.
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Will Downing’s Soul Survivor is RIYL Charlie Wilson, romance, Joe. Here’s ”I’m Feeling the Love Again”.
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Riser, the debut album of the London based guitarist Rob Luft, is so startlingly imaginative that it makes the majority of jazz musicians seem like dullards. RIYL: Lionel Loueke, unorthodoxy, David Binney.
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I take the Christian rapper Lecrae seriously. That’s why I’m disappointed by the wildly inconsistent All Things Work Together. Here’s ”Blessings”.
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Joe McPhee makes an unholy racket with Damon Smith and Alvin Fielder on Six Situations. RIYL: skronk, Anthony Braxton, room-clearing jazz.
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Young Martha, the four-song EP that pairs the eccentric rapper Young Thug with the left-of-center producer Carnage, is correspondingly freaky.
(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)
