Horace Silver’s surprising Allman Brothers connection

RIP Horace Silver, a jazz giant whose music could be catchy without being simple, whose musical depth is often overlooked and who was a co-founder of the Jazz Messenger with Art Blakey... and who has a surprising Allman Brothers connection. This…

Special gig this Friday June 20 in Maplewood

Saxophonist Dave Loevinger, one of my partners from Beijing's Woodie Alan band will be in town and joining the Big in China band for a very special show. THIS FRIDAY, June 20 at Highland Place Bar and Grill. 8:30 PM 5 Highland Pl, Maplewood. More…

Chocolate Thunder – the Slam interview

Posting the picture of me and Darryl Dawkins in the Shanghai Ritz Carlton lobby in 2007 on Facebook generated a lot of feedback and prompted me to dig this Slam feature out of the archives. I think it's a classic of my oeuvre. It ran in…
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Letters from Oteil and readers – feedback is always welcome

So I saw Oteil behind the Mushroom Stage at Wanee and he gave me a big hug and said, "Thank you for this wonderful book. What a gift to receive it at the end of this chapter of my career. You helped me put the last 17 years of my life in…

Expanded Fillmore East concerts to be released

So the full Fillmore concerts, long rumored, are finally on their way. A new 6-CD set, The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings, will be released on July 29. It includes at least 14 previously unreleased songs. This is the one we've been waiting…

An interview with Triangle mastermind Tex Winter

In honor of Derek Fisher's hiring as the New York Knicks new head coach by Phil Jackson, I present this interview with Tex Winter, the mastermind behind the Triangle Offense, so beautifully executed by Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan and the Chicago…
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Col. Bruce Hampton and the ARU: An Appreciation

This story originally ran in Relix' 40th Anniversary Issue. In February 1992, the reunited Dixie Dregs were coming to New York’s Ritz and I was excited to check them out. Though I had always considered their music sterile if brilliantly…

Allman Brothers’ low point? “Straight From the Heart” on Solid Gold

Pretty much everyone agrees that the Allman Brothers Band's low point was their second album for Arista Records, 1980's Brothers of the Road, and its slight, poppy lead single "Straight From the Heart." The band had fired the great Jaimoe by…

Warren Haynes’ National Anthem

Warren Haynes performs the National Anthem for the National Museum of American History, where the flag that inspired the song is on display. Enjoy: Amazon.com Widgets