A Conversation With Yoko Ono
Not everyone is a longtime Yoko Ono fan, but after her candid, relaxed interview with Anthony DeCurtis, fence-sitting attendees became fans. On the stump for her new book, Yoko Ono … Read more
Live Show Reviews
John Mayall
John Mayall brought his current band to the City Winery and brought the house down with a performance that justifies his legendary status. The band consists of Mayall, guitarist Rocky … Read more
The James Hunter Six
I brought two Frenchwomen who had never heard of James Hunter to City Winery, and unsurprisingly, by … Read more
A Great Night in Harlem featuring Herbie Hancock, Questlove, Charles Bradley and…
All photos by Derek Meade The motto for the Jazz Foundation of America is “Saving jazz and blues one musician at a time.” For the past 13 years, the … Read more
Henry Butler – Steven Bernstein and the Hot 9
In case you’ve somehow missed him, Henry Butler is perhaps today’s leading practitioner of classic New Orleans piano, that idiosyncratic blend of jazz, blues, boogie-woogie, Caribbean, R&B and on and … Read more
Drive-By Truckers
When the ArtsQuest Center (Musikfest Café’s home) opened three and a half years ago, a friend and I casually speculated, “Hey, maybe they’ll book Drive-By Truckers.” Prior to this gleaming … Read more
Ben Howard / Music Hall of Williamsburg / Brooklyn, NY
The room was packed and the energy high for a performance powerful enough to give Williamsburg a … Read more
The John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band / West Social Center / Green Valley,…
Text and photos by Bob Gottlieb The John Jorgenson Bluegrass Group (John Jorgenson, Herb Pedersen, Jon Randall and Mark Fain) deliver bluegrass with a touch that no one else … Read more
Weezer / Bowery Ballroom / New York, NY
Weezer is a band with a complicated history. They have spent most of their career alternating between … Read more
Top Picks From This Year’s CMJ Music Marathon
As NPR tastemaker Bob Boilen so pithily described CMJ: “60 something bands in five days. Lots of pizza & friends.” Though our tally of CMJ performances may not quite match … Read more
