Brian Charette • You Don't Know Jack

 

Review from DownBeat (by Michael J. West):
With the Hammond organ riding a wave of visibility it hasn't seen since late-'60s soul jazz, what better stratagem than a tribute to one of the avatars of that sound? Brian Charette first established himself in New York playing at a Harlem club on an organ that once belonged to "Brother" (or "Captain") Jack McDuff, whose vinegary sound and soulful licks Charette successfully channels and extends on You Don't Know Jack! It's not an album of McDuff's music, per se; only two of his tunes, the blues "Jolly Black Giant" and the bossa nova "6:30 In The Morning," stand against originals by Charette (and one by tenor saxophonist Cory Weeds, who also produced the album in Vancouver). But it groks the sound and style that made McDuff tick, compositionally -- place Charette's opening "Early America" next to McDuff's 1969 "Theme From An Electric Surfboard" and see if they're not congruent -- and improvisationally. "Microcosmic Orbit" might sound like a title from a Sun Ra record, but it's a vehicle for the kind of punctilious, singsong phrasings that McDuff loved. (Not to mention his weirdly scratchy organ timbre; I don't know how the hell McDuff made that sound, but Charette does.) All that is not to say that there's no originality on You Don't Know Jack! The title track, oddly enough, features Charette playing a hiccup-y blues line that Jack would probably never touch. And while Weeds and guitarist Dave Sikula easily evoke the greasy, gritsy feel of down-home soul jazz, neither conjures the sound of any instrumentalist in particular. (As for drummer John Lee, he simply and tastefully swings: What else is there?) What's more, Weeds' "Have You Met Joan?" is a Bird-style bebop head that, for its six-minute length, recontextualizes the whole affair.
https://downbeat.com/reviews/detail/you-dont-know-jack

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Resena de DownBeat (por Michael J. West):
Con el organo Hammond cabalgando una ola de visibilidad que no habia visto desde el soul jazz de finales de los 60, que mejor estrategia que un tributo a uno de los avatares de ese sonido? Brian Charette se establecio por primera vez en Nueva York tocando en un club de Harlem en un organo que una vez pertencio al "Brother" (o "Captain") Jack McDuff, cuyo sonido avinagrado y sus licks llenos de alma Charette canaliza y extiende exitosamente en You Don't Know Jack! No es un album de la musica de McDuff, per se; solo dos de sus temas, el blues "Jolly Black Giant" y la bossa nova "6:30 In The Morning", se enfrentan a los originales de Charette (y uno del saxofonista tenor Cory Weeds, quien tambien produjo el album en Vancouver). Pero capta el sonido y el estilo que hacia funcionar a McDuff, composicionalmente -- coloca el "Early America" de apertura de Charette junto al "Theme From An Electric Surfboard" de McDuff de 1969 y comprueba si no son congruentes -- e improvisacionalmente. "Microcosmic Orbit" podria sonar como un titulo de un disco de Sun Ra, pero es un vehiculo para el tipo de fraseados meticulosos y cantarines que McDuff amaba. (Sin mencionar su extranamente aspero timbre de organo; no se como diablos McDuff lograba ese sonido, pero Charette si lo sabe.) Todo eso no quiere decir que no haya originalidad en You Don't Know Jack! El tema titular, curiosamente, presenta a Charette tocando una linea de blues sincopada que Jack probablemente nunca tocaria. Y si bien Weeds y el guitarrista Dave Sikula evocan facilmente el sabor grasiento y rasposo del soul jazz de barrio, ninguno conjura el sonido de ningun instrumentista en particular. (En cuanto al baterista John Lee, simplemente swingea con buen gusto: que mas hay que decir?) Ademas, "Have You Met Joan?" de Weeds es un head de bebop al estilo de Bird que, en sus seis minutos de duracion, recontextualiza todo el asunto.
https://downbeat.com/reviews/detail/you-dont-know-jack

Eddie Kirkland • Man of Stone

 

Review from eCoustics (by Glen Strauss):
Craft Recordings' Bluesville series continues to make the case that blues deserves the same serious reissue treatment usually reserved for jazz titles. Originally released in 1962 on Bluesville, Kirkland's album returned on June 12, 2026 with AAA remastering from the original analog tapes by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab, 180 gram vinyl pressed at Quality Record Pressings, a tip on jacket, obi strip, and new notes by Scott Billington.

It's the Blues Man! arrived in 1962 on Tru-Sound, the short-lived Prestige imprint, and it sounds like a record made by someone who had already put in the miles. Rudy Van Gelder engineered the session, and the presence of King Curtis and his band gives the album its shape: tight, swinging, and grounded in R&B without losing its blues center. There is no museum dust here, and thankfully no attempt to make Kirkland sound more respectable than necessary. The album moves with real range. "Train Done Gone" has forward motion, "Man of Stone" digs into a tougher groove, and its later appearance in John Mayall's world says something about how far Kirkland's writing carried. The slower material, including "I'm Gonna Forget You" and "Have Mercy on Me," shows that Kirkland did not need volume or stage theatrics to make the songs land.

Eddie Kirkland was not shaped by classrooms, critics, or anyone's tidy blues origin story. His own account placed his birth in Jamaica in 1923, though the details around his early life have never been perfectly clean, which somehow feels appropriate for a musician who spent most of his career moving. Raised in Alabama, Kirkland learned by doing: church music, street corners, road bands, long nights, bad rooms, better rooms, and whatever passed for opportunity when nobody was handing out invitations. Detroit became one of the important stops. That is where Kirkland spent years working with John Lee Hooker, which was less a job than a nightly lesson in feel, instinct, and how to survive behind a performer who did not always treat rhythm like a posted speed limit. Kirkland absorbed that looseness without becoming a copy. He had his own thing: lean, sharp, direct, and a little rough around the edges in the best possible way.
https://www.ecoustics.com/reviews/eddie-kirkland-blues-man/

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Resena de eCoustics (por Glen Strauss):
La serie Bluesville de Craft Recordings sigue demostrando que el blues merece el mismo tratamiento serio de reedicion usualmente reservado para titulos de jazz. Originalmente publicado en 1962 en Bluesville, el album de Kirkland regreso el 12 de junio de 2026 con remasterizacion AAA de las cintas analogicas originales por Matthew Lutthans en The Mastering Lab, vinil de 180 gramos prensado en Quality Record Pressings, cubierta tip on, obi strip y nuevas notas de Scott Billington.

It's the Blues Man! llego en 1962 a Tru-Sound, el efimero sello de Prestige, y suena como un disco grabado por alguien que ya habia recorrido muchos kilometros. Rudy Van Gelder ingeniero la sesion, y la presencia de King Curtis y su banda le da forma al album: ajustado, swingueante, y arraigado en el R&B sin perder su centro blues. No hay polvo de museo aqui, ni intento de hacer que Kirkland suene mas respetable de lo necesario. El album se mueve con un rango real. "Train Done Gone" tiene movimiento hacia adelante, "Man of Stone" se hunde en un groove mas duro, y su posterior aparicion en el mundo de John Mayall dice algo sobre hasta donde llego la escritura de Kirkland. El material mas lento, incluyendo "I'm Gonna Forget You" y "Have Mercy on Me", muestra que Kirkland no necesitaba volumen ni teatralidad escénica para que las canciones calaran.

Eddie Kirkland no fue moldeado por aulas, criticos ni la historia de origen del blues que a nadie le queda perfecta. Su propio relato situa su nacimiento en Jamaica en 1923, aunque los detalles de su vida temprana nunca han sido perfectamente claros, lo que de alguna manera resulta apropiado para un musico que paso la mayor parte de su carrera moviéndose. Criado en Alabama, Kirkland aprendio haciendo: musica de iglesia, esquinas de calles, bandas de carretera, largas noches, malos locales, mejores locales, y lo que fuera que pasara por oportunidad cuando nadie repartia invitaciones. Detroit fue una de las paradas importantes. Alli fue donde Kirkland paso anos trabajando con John Lee Hooker, lo que era menos un trabajo que una leccion nocturna de feeling, instinto y como sobrevivir detras de un interprete que no siempre trataba el ritmo como un limite de velocidad publicado. Kirkland absorbe esa soltura sin convertirse en una copia. Tenia su propia cosa: delgada, afilada, directa y un poco aspera en los bordes de la mejor manera posible.
https://www.ecoustics.com/reviews/eddie-kirkland-blues-man/

The Mastersounds • Kismet

 

MP3 The Meaning of a Format

 

MP3: The Meaning of a Format recounts the hundred-year history of the world's most common format for recorded audio. Understanding the historical meaning of the MP3 format entails rethinking the place of digital technologies in the larger universe of twentieth-century communication history, from hearing research conducted by the telephone industry in the 1910s, through the mid-century development of perceptual coding (the technology underlying the MP3), to the format's promiscuous social life since the mid 1990s.

MP3s are products of compression, a process that removes sounds unlikely to be heard from recordings. Although media history is often characterized as a progression toward greater definition, fidelity, and truthfulness, MP3: The Meaning of a Format illuminates the crucial role of compression in the development of modern media and sound culture. Taking the history of compression as his point of departure, Jonathan Sterne investigates the relationships among sound, silence, sense, and noise; the commodity status of recorded sound and the economic role of piracy; and the importance of standards in the governance of our emerging media culture. He demonstrates that formats, standards, and infrastructures—and the need for content to fit inside them—are every bit as central to communication as the boxes we call "media."

 

Las muchas vidas de John Lennon

 

 

 

El 8 de diciembre se cumplen treinta años de un hecho que conmocionó al mundo entero: el asesinato de John Lennon. En esta conmemoración no podía faltar la controvertida biografía de Albert Goldman.

En su día, Las muchas vidas de John Lennon fue criticada por desmitificar a Lennon al hablar de sus problemas con las drogas o sus tendencias sexuales. Con el tiempo, Harold Seider, el abogado de Lennon, acabó confirmando muchos de los episodios que Goldman relataba en la biografía. Sin duda, una oportunidad única de conocer el lado más oscuro del gran John Lennon.

Después de entrevistar a más de mil personas y tras seis años de trabajo, Goldman consiguió un retrato de cuerpo entero de un hombre que con sus letras y su música fue el símbolo de una generación que aún se veía capaz de convertir los sueños en realidad.

 

Albert Goldman (Autor)