For his most recent album Nicholas Payton recruited a rhythm section he originally worked with back in 2010, delivering a smooth slice of modern jazz on TRIUNE. The cosmopolitan, tranquil outings contained on the record are easy on the ears, as the players deliver refined tunes.
The debut offering from the new organ based trio DTF is a throwback to jazzy/funky instrumental outings from the 60's as Another Side of Sound is retro in all the right ways. Even the album cover screams wood paneling in basements and ashtrays in McDonalds before the tunes kick off.
The state of Alaska may be one of the last in the union that you would equate with zydeco music, but Corey Ledet Zydeco and Black Magic decided to capture their new album, Live in Alaska, during their set at the Anchorage Folk Festival in February 2025. The spritely recording showcases a tight band and energetic crowd, both getting down with joyous freedom.
This is a tradition here at RtBE. While we are including this in our Monday Dylan series, this is a necessary break from the routine.
We here at RtBE have lots of heroes and most stem from America's hard fought bloody and disturbing past. We have talked about the godfather of this site, we will probably touch on Lincoln at some point, but the man who we celebrate today is right up there with both of them. Martin Luther King Jr. is an American who deserves to be honored right alongside the greatest our country has ever produced.
We are happy to dedicate this Monday to him. To help celebrate the day we will post Bob Dylan singing "Only A Pawn In Their Game" from the1963 March on Washington DC.
Have a great day and make sure to watch this, MLK's last prophetic public words:
It is still so incredibly moving.
The full speech is located here and worth listening to as well and you can read this amazing writing which unfortunately is still relevant today from King:
We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing). This week...James Brandon Lewis Quartet!
It's Jazzy January again here at RtBE, so get ready to kick off 2026 with some different styled shows every Friday. For this series we skew into new (or more recent) jazz lands. Keeping it current proves there is amazing live jazz still being performed no matter what Ken Burns says.
Today we travel just back to October and over to Amsterdam for the James Brandon Lewis Quartet. The band are: James Brandon Lewis tenor saxophone, Aruán Ortiz piano, Brad Jones double bass, Chad Taylor drums.
NYC based avant-garde jazz artist/composer John Zorn'sProlegomena was written at the beginning of the Covid-19 lockdown but recorded and released in 2025. The two tracks, under a half hour of music, deliver sonic madness, contemplative passages and a sense of wonderous unknown with layers of string work.
The New Orleans based Suplecsare releasing their first album in 15 years next month, Hymns Under A Blood Moon Sky. Now they released their newest single, "I See You".
The metal/rock outfit are back raring to go, with the fuzzed up screeching stoner rock sounding "I See You"
It is of Dry Cleaning's newest offering, Secret Love. A nice post-punk offering that is produced by Cate Le Bon, who is simply one of the best in the business right now.
For his NYC debut, London based tuba player Theon Cross recorded this live album, Affirmations (Live At Blue Note New York). The collection of tunes from this night show an exciting musician leading a band who mixes and matches genres and flavors.
In the Wind of Night, Hard-Fallen Incantations Whisper
***and1/2 out of *****
The fifth album from the Slovenian avant-folk outfit Širom is an engaging mix of jazzy space, rustic interludes and expansive outings. In the Wind of Night, Hard-Fallen Incantations Whisper breathes with a sense of nature as the unique sounds and flowing passages ease out.
The Brighton, UK based experimental pop duoMEMORIALS, consists of Verity Susman (Electrelane) and Matthew Simms (Wire / It Hugs Back) and they have a new single/video out, "Cut Glass Hammer".
The pulsing, electro track has dream like qualities coursing through the crackling sound. Check it out below:
In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a cover by Eric Bibb playing "Masters of War"
Jazzy January has invade Mondays! All this month we will check out various artists covering Dylan with a jazz vibe.
Thoughts on Original: From the first time we tackled a cover of this tune: Ranking as one of his most accusatory and cutting tracks Dylan condemns the whole "war machine" on this classic and vital song (the "hope that you die" line is so facking cold, it is brutal). Often misrepresented as an attack on war itself (Dylan always said he wasn't a pacifist) this track calls out the government for using war-as-business (the Cold War in particular) and business-as-war models when lives are put on the line for meaningless reasons. As alive and burning now as it was in 1962 when he wrote it. Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist:
This is RtBE's first time hearing Eric Bibb who is an NYC based singer.
Thoughts on Cover:
A stripped down dramatic cover that uses stark guitar, light bass and a harmonica that is distorted to sound like a trumpet and more. A cool, eerie cover that unfortunately is just as relevant today with regime change and worldwide tensions in the headlines.