Drummer and Nea Jazz Master Billy Hart releases first live album, Multidirectional, with his longtime all-star quartet featuring saxophonist Mark Turner, pianist Ethan Iverson, and bassist Ben Street.
Legendary drummer Billy Hart credits the great Rashied Ali for introducing him to the term “multidirectional” – a descriptor for the elusive, daring approach to the kit that Hart and others of his generation had developed intuitively in response to the increasing freedom and exploration of the era’s jazz experimentation.
“Rashied Ali told me that ‘multidirectional’ was what John Coltrane called this freeform feel, where conventional structure was abandoned and the rhythms could cut in any direction,” he writes in Oceans of Time: The Musical Autobiography…
Category: live
While most bands undergo a number of changes over the course of their careers, few of them experienced a more radical stylistic evolution than Fleetwood Mac. Initially conceived as a hard-edged British blues combo in the late ’60s, the band gradually evolved into an incredibly popular and influential pop/rock act over the course of a decade. Originally, guitarists Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer provided the group with their gutsy psychedelic blues-rock sound, then the band moved toward pop/rock with the addition of keyboardist/songwriter Christine McVie….
Fleetwood Mac Live 1975 captures the incredible electricity of the band’s first tour with the legendary lineup of Stevie Nicks & Lindsey Buckingham joining Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, & Christine McVie.
When MONO first conceived of a live concert backed by an orchestra, it seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime dream of an event that would require a unique set of circumstances, an enormous crew of like-minded and generous contributors, and a titanic amount of luck. At exactly a decade into their career, it was by far their most ambitious undertaking. They flew from their home country of Japan – where, at the time, they were ironically less acclaimed and accomplished than in the United States and Europe – to New York City, where they assembled an orchestra, secured a historic venue near Lincoln Center, and bet on themselves to pull off a truly unforgettable evening. Not only was the concert a rousing success, but it spawned what has become a defining part of MONO’s…
At some point, one might ask which veteran jazz musicians did not play in the “university of jazz” called Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers. Familiar names abound through this review, but so many more go unmentioned. Here we present a short-lived version of a group deep into Blakey’s fourth decade. We associate Blakey’s great records mostly with the ‘50s and ‘60s, but Strasbourg ‘82 (Gearbox) is as worthy as any. These nine tracks comprise around 85 minutes of straight-ahead, glorious jazz.
Branford and Wynton Marsalis arrived in 1980 but were gone by 1982. In their place, also from New Orleans came teenage trumpeter Terence Blanchard upon Wynton’s recommendation. Blanchard’s slightly older buddy, the 25-year-old…
American Aquarium dropped their Live at Red Rocks album and they performed their song about Wichita Falls during the concert.
It was just over a year ago that American Aquarium performed at the Red Rock Amphitheater in Colorado. This was not the band’s first show at this venue, however this one in May of 2024 was recorded for a live album. One song that a lot of folks love here locally is ‘Wichita Falls’. We have a lot of songs that mention or are written about Wichita Falls. Pat Metheny’s album ‘As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls’ is probably the most famous nationally. American Aquarium’s song titled Wichita Falls is probably the most famous here in town. American Aquarium front man BJ Barham wrote the song after a concert in 2013 at The Iron Horse Pub.
…John Belushi’s widow Judy Belushi Pisano recently rediscovered the live album, which features 13 previously unreleased recordings. The musicians backing up “Joliet” Jake E. Blues and Elwood J. Blues (Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, respectively) are the original band members, a who’s who of notable soul men and bluesmen: members of Booker T. and the M.G.’s, the Bar-Kays, Howlin’ Wolf’s band, and the Saturday Night Live band at the time, including Steve Cropper, Donald “Duck” Dunn, Matt Murphy, and Paul Shaffer. The set list includes songs that appeared on the group’s 1978 album, Briefcase Full of Blues.
…It’s the perfect tribute to one of Belushi and Aykroyd’s most enduring projects together: beginning as a warm-up act for tapings of…
Self-described “indie groove” outfit Goose employs a dynamic, genre-blending sound rooted in American traditional rock, jazz, funk, folk, and progressive rock. Drawing inspiration from jam band legends like Phish, Grateful Dead, and Umphrey’s McGee, the band quickly rose through the ranks of the scene, maintaining a prolific live performance schedule and releasing a steady stream of concert albums (2024’s Live at the Greek Theater) and studio efforts (Shenanigans Nite Club (2021), Dripfield (2022), and Chain Yer Dragon (2025).
On June 28, 2025, Goose made their debut at the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, with a sold-out performance exceeding four hours. This limited-edition box set…
‘Aqualung Live’ is a recording of Jethro Tull performing their classic album ‘Aqualung’ in full, originally released in 2005 and now newly remastered.
Each era of rock music has had its own craftily marketed phenomenon — it was the “live album” in the ’70s, “unplugged” recordings in the ’90s, and since the late ’80s through the present day, the “tribute album.” But the early 21st century saw another addition — veteran bands revisiting classic albums and performing them in their entirety. Jethro Tull’s most enduring release is largely agreed to be 1971’s classic Aqualung, and in late 2004 Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, and their latest Tull mates dusted off the album once more in front of a small audience for XM Radio’s…
Sunset Blvd 1969: One of the most sought after live recordings from British rock icons, Humble Pie! This historic show documents the first ever US tour by HP’s founding members line-up including vocalist Steve Marriott, guitarist Peter Frampton, bassist Greg Ridley and drummer Jerry Shirley! Although consisting of only 5 songs, several of these performances get extended into improvised blues rock masterpieces conjured by some of the greatest musicians of the ’70s classic rock era!
A showcase for former Small Faces’ frontman Steve Marriott and one-time Herd guitar virtuoso Peter Frampton, the hard rock outfit Humble Pie formed in Essex, England in 1969. Also featuring ex-Spooky Tooth bassist Greg Ridley along with drummer Jerry Shirley, the fledgling group…
This live set compiles the best performances and unique recordings that were all part of our big Flood celebration tour across the US over the last few years, presented in alphabetical order.
The selections include the live-in-reverse stelluB followed by the reversed version of the same performance, as well as the unique recordings of the songs They Might Be Giants and Hearing Aid that were featured in the video material of the live show.
This album was a pleasure to put together, and everyone in the band really shines.
Special thanks to A&R man Marty Beller and mixing engineer Scott Bozack for their eternal patience, and a hearty hat tip to Robert Vosgien for mastering.
You can take the musician out of New Orleans but you can’t…well, you know the rest. That’s the impression behind Dr. John’s Live at The Village Gate, a riveting show finally released November 21.
It’s logical to assume any artist as closely associated with New Orleans’ culture as Dr. John would work with those born and raised in the most richly musical of American cities. And while that was true for much of his career, this performance from 1988 features a seven-piece band consisting of New York City pros.
Mac Rebennack (aka Dr. John) had moved from his Big Easy home to NYC, on the advice of his manager, in order to expand his income choices. During that time he booked a residency at the Village Gate club with top-flight local…
…Available on four CDs, Alive! features the original double album along with two more complete shows (plus some relevant rehearsal audio and an excerpt of a third) that were, with a few post-production tweaks, used to create the landmark Alive! These overdub-free recordings have been newly mixed by the album’s original engineer, Eddie Kramer, who’s also done mixes of the original album in Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround on the accompanying Blu-ray.
The timing of Alive! could not have been more fortuitous. KISS was desperate to break through, and their label Casablanca Records desperately needed a hit after sinking a major investment in an underselling record of clips from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
It has been announced that YMO 1979 Trans Atlantic Tour Live Anthology, the first live box set to compile audio and video recordings from the five concerts held in four cities during Yellow Magic Orchestra’s 1979 world tour, will released on April 2025.
In 1978, Yellow Magic Orchestra made their debut on Alfa Records (as it was then known) with the album Yellow Magic Orchestra. The following August, they performed their first overseas concert at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, where the show was recorded live and filmed. Later that fall, they embarked on the Trans Atlantic Tour, becoming the first Japanese band to undertake such a world tour. Transporting more than 1.5 tons of equipment, they performed seven shows across three countries- the UK, France, and the East Coast of the United States-true to the tour’s name, “Trans Atlantic.” Live recordings were made at their performances at The Venue in London (two shows), Theatre Le Palace in Paris, and The Bottom Line in New York.
With continual creativity and finesse Acoustic Hot Tuna sets out touring across the United States July, August and September. Masters in their field, Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady’s joy in playing unfiltered riffs, swapping notes and smiles, has delighted them and thrilled their audiences for seven decades!
Hot Tuna has brought a wealth of emotions to their music through deep perceptions and tremendous talent. Members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Grammy recipients, they are always injecting fresh energy into their sound with constant improvisation taking their musical horizons further. Every note is a unique expression of that very moment.
Jorma enthuses, “Focus on the things you love, listen with an open heart, and the music will…
December 28th, 1990, at The Marquee was an interesting time and place for Phish. After making its NYC debut in the spring of 1988, the band bounced around various rooms — including eight shows at the legendary Wetlands Preserve — before making its debut at The Marquee for the band’s 13th career show in New York City. Phish would play The Marquee two more times in 1991, before continuing its climb up the ladder of NYC venues, to The Academy, Mariott Marquis, Roseland Ballroom, and Lonestar Roadhouse before making it to the Beacon Theatre in April ’94 and finally to Madison Square Garden later that year — almost four years exactly from the Marquee gig.
In extensive liner notes on LivePhish, an archivist writes that advanced tickets to…
Over the years, West Virginian Charles Wesley Godwin has built up a reputation for delivering excellent live shows. He’s supported artists such as Luke Combs and Zach Bryan and is at present out on the road with Eric Church. Live from the Steel City is a 23-track album that displays Godwin’s expertise and showcases his expansive catalogue of road-tested material and the prowess of The Allegheny High. Godwin describes Live from the Steel City as a recording of “a live show the boys and I have curated in bars, clubs, theatres, amphitheatres, arenas and stadiums over the last several years”. The speakers sound stacked for this sold-out gig at the AE Outdoor stage in Pittsburgh. Recorded in September 2024, the day before the Pittsburgh Steelers played…
Recorded live in their hometown of Nottingham on 30th November 2024 to a sold-out crowd, this incredible show was part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the iconic Bodega venue. It’s rare for Sleaford Mods to perform for such a small crowd, which made this show feel even more intimate and memorable.
Combining the revolutionary fury of punk and hip-hop with the bleakness of austerity-era Great Britain, Sleaford Mods capture the spirit of their time with blunt eloquence. Andrew Fearn’s minimalistic, intentionally cheap-sounding loops, guitars, and keyboards provide a fitting backdrop as Jason Williamson rants about politics, injustice, and pop culture with outrage, scathing humor, and occasionally, rough-edged poignancy.
All That Remains is a collection of live performances captured on the road, live and in living color.
Austin, Texas roots rockers the Band of Heathens play music that filters contemporary singer/songwriter and alt-country flavors through the guiding influence of dusty 1970s soft rock. Founded by three songwriters, the group specialize in tales with a distinct Southern flavor and characters with a taste for misadventure, buoyed by tasteful arrangements and harmonies.
Formed in Austin, the Band of Heathens became a group totally by accident. Songwriters Colin Brooks, Gordy Quist, and Ed Jurdi were all doing regular sets at Momo’s in Austin when they began sitting in with each other, eventually making the whole…
It’s been more than two years since Jethro Tull released an expanded version of “The Broadsword And The Beast” before letting their reissue programme stumble chronologically, with unexpected emergence of “Bursting Out” box set followed by the “Christmas Album” and “Living In The Past” repackages. All this means another go at 1984’s “Under Wraps” is long overdue, yet it might be closer than everyone thinks, or farther, depending on what a fans’ take on the band’s digital-only offering of a concert from that platter’s promotional tour will be.
Restricted to streaming, Live In Berlin 1985 may seem strange, as it doesn’t contain a single cut from the group’s then-latest record, but the special performance – featuring the temporarily…
…Oasis have released a 25th anniversary reissue of their Wembley Stadium live album ‘Familiar to Millions’. The recording of their iconic July 21 2000 show at the London venue was released in November of that year, marking their first ever official live album. Now, the record is being reissued in limited edition formats in both 2CD and 3LP formats.
The Gallagher brothers’ boundless, boorish, boasting bluster and blather only felt like brazen British working class moxie as long as they made great records that backed up their obnoxious arrogance. So when the songwriting fell off the last six years, on the bloated Be Here Now and Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, it was like watching helium hiss out of an overstuffed…