New Single from Sure Fire Soul Ensemble "Las Olas"

The San Diego based Sure Fire Soul Ensemble returns with their new single, "Las Olas". RtBE dig the group, having reviewed them before. 

Check out the funky, soulful tune below:

Full Show Friday: Tigran Hamasyan - Shadow Theater Cité de la musique, Paris (5 September, 2013)

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...Tigran Hamasyan! 

Aremenian piano player Tigran Hamasyan live in 2013 for this full show Friday.

Pro shot, pro sound, enjoy!

2024 Recap: Favorite Albums, Shows, etc.

With all the hectic happenings at the end of the year, things can be missed. This is a catch-up post to point out a few of our favorite things from 2024 that shouldn't go unnoticed.

What a year! Lots of reviews and live shows attended. Thanks for reading and following along on Instagram and Bluesky or wherever

Also thanks to Shane and the whole Glide team for allowing me to continue to write for them, working on a wide variety of reviews.

Now...in case you missed it here are our Best of 2024 series of posts:

• Our picks for favorite album art from the last calendar year.
• Our picks for our favorite archival releases and live albums released last year. 
• Our picks for favorite live shows of the year. 
• Finally our favorite albums of the year. The honorable mentions and top ten list are all lined up. 

If you are looking for more suggestions, we also have our list of the top fifty albums of the past decade which you can check out and yell at us about. 

Feel free to let us know your choices for all of the above in the comments and thanks as always for reading and exploring...as the patron saint of this site stated:

What are those of the known, but to ascend and enter the Unknown? 

New Single from Nicole McCabe "Balloon Race"

Los Angeles, CA based saxophonist Nicole McCabe has a new single out, "Balloon Race".

Check out the skittering/smooth effort below:

Album Review: Miles Davis - Miles '54: The Prestige Recordings Box Set

Miles Davis

Miles '54: The Prestige Recordings Box Set

**** out of *****

Miles '54: The Prestige Recordings Box Set was released in December 2024 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of these recordings on the Prestige label, which capture Miles Davis in a transitional year of his career.  Remastered from the original recordings the sound is crisp and lively as Davis and a rotating cast of players still sound fresh all these years later. 

Live Review: Joe Russo's Almost Dead @ The Capitol Theater 1/17/25

Joe Russo's Almost Dead

The Capitol Theater, Port Chester, NY 1/17/24 

Opening up their three night stand over Martin Luther King Weekend, Joe Russo's Almost Dead welcomed the sold out crowd to the majestic Capitol Theater in Port Chester, NY. The band, Joe Russo on drums, bassist Dave Dreiwitz, keyboardist Marco Benevento, Scott Metzger and Tom Hamilton Jr. guitars have a rabid following in the NYC area as people lined up hours ahead of time to get into the venue. 

Album Review: Delfeayo Marsalis Uptown Jazz Orchestra - Crescent City Jewels

Delfeayo Marsalis Uptown Jazz Orchestra

Crescent City Jewels

***and1/2 out of *****

The newest offering from Delfeayo Marsalis' Uptown Jazz Orchestra finds the big band delivering their takes on original tunes and standards as they mix new and old wonderfully throughout Crescent City Jewels. There is a sense of joy flowing through these efforts as Marsalis and company get down, get funky, and stretch out. 

New Single/Video from OnlyHeaven "In Here"

The New Orleans, LA based rapper OnlyHeaven has a new single/video out, "In Here".

Check out the banging track below:

Album Review: The Weather Station - Humanhood

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'Here!!!

It is of The Weather Station's newest album Humanhood. We enjoyed 2021's Ignorance, it even made our best of the year list. This one is good, and in the same vein, but less pop and more jazz/artsy. The album art fits the sound, with layers and layers of music stitched together and crazy font/writing. 

Support the artist, buy the album, read the review and peep some video below:

MLK Day: March on Washington 1963

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:

Happy 50th Anniversary to Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks

Happy 50th Anniversary to Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks. 

One of the best albums of his storied career, Dylan mined his soul while dealing with a painful separation/divorce, recorded the album at least twice, and in the end produced a masterpiece.

New Single/Video from Silver Synthetic "Yr Gonna Be Happy"

One of RtBE's favorites, Silver Synthetic, have a new tune out, their first single "Yr Gonna Be Happy" off of the upcoming sophomore release Rosalie on Curation Records. 

 

Check out the retro grooving track below:

Full Show Friday: Charles Lloyd, Jason Moran & Eric Harland - Jazz à Porquerolles - ARTE Concert

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...Charles Lloyd! 

Today is Charles Lloyd, Jason Moran & Eric Harland - Jazz à Porquerolles - ARTE Concert from last year.

Pro shot, pro sound, enjoy!

New Single/Video from Caley Conway "Hours In The Day"

The newest single/video from the Milwaukee, WI based indie rocker Caley Conway is the tripped out "Hours In The Day".

Check out the catchy, oddball offering below:

Live Stream: The New Orleans Forever Benefit Concert with PJ Morton, The Soul Rebels and more

We are now heading into the new normal with live music. Live shows will need to be flexible and streaming is a great way to keep music going. Streams have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE.  We will highlight various shows/streams/virtual events for your viewing/listening pleasure. You can check out our weekly Full Show Friday series for concerts from the past and as always, please support the artists any which way you can.

Live Stream: The New Orleans Forever Benefit Concert with PJ Morton The Soul Rebels and more

Tune in tonight and donate to a great cause during the New Orleans Forever Benefit Concert with PJ Morton The Soul Rebels and more live from the Dew Drop Inn. 

To get in the mood here is some music from PJ Morton. 

Album Review: Jon Batiste - Beethoven Blues Vol 1.

Jon Batiste

Beethoven Blues

***and1/2 out of *****

Coming off the back of two major pop releases (World Music Radio, WE ARE) Jon Batiste retreats slightly to his foundations, classical music and the Blues as he mixes up Beethoven with his own style throughout the aptly named Beethoven's Blues Vol 1. 

New Single from Sofia Härdig "Kingdome Come"

 Swedish born multi-instrumentalist and producer Sofia Härdig has a new single out, "Kingdome Come"

Check out the track below:

2025 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival Artists Announced

Yesterday we predicted some artists that might play this years New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. We got a few right, but the full list can be seen here.

Below we chat about some artists we are excited to catch down south in a few months.

Album Review: Brass Queens - Hot Tub Sessions Vol. 1

Brass Queens

Hot Tub Sessions Vol. 1

**** out of *****

The Brooklyn based, brass band outfit, Brass Queens continue their evolution with their first collection of all original tunes titled, Hot Tub Sessions Vol. 1. It is their strongest release so far. 

Lemon Power Release New Single "I'm an Animal"

The London-based duo, Lemon Power, have released their new single "I'm an Animal".

Check out the ripping single below: