Full Show Friday: Art Hirahara Trio - Live 9/22/22 @ Bird and Beckett Books SF, CA

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...Art Hirahara Trio! 

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.

We wrap up Jazzy January with a trip to the west coast back in 2022. The Art Hirahara Trio (Art Hirahara, piano, John Wiitala, bass, Tim Bulkley, drums) play a small book shop in San Fran for your pleasure. 

Thanks for hanging out this month, next month it is back to normal programming. 

Archived livestream. Enjoy:

Album Review: Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble - Groove In The Face of Adversity

Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble

Groove In The Face of Adversity

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

For his newest project Don Was assembled a crack team from Detroit, titling the outfit the Pan-Detroit Ensemble as he states "we are on a mission to promulgate the music of our hometown". Groove In The Face of Adversity allows the laid back musicianship of all involved to shine through. 

New Single from Marco Benevento "Frizzante"

Talented keyboardist Marco Benevento shares his newest single, "Frizzante" on Big Crown Records.

Check out the jazzy, retro soul instrumental below:

Album Review: Colossus Brass Band: Sing On

Colossus Brass Band

Sing On

**** out of *****

The debut release, titled Sing On, from the newly formed Colossus Brass Band is a hefty slice of traditional hymns and original music steeped in the vibrant history of New Orleans Brass Band's and the city's unique Second Line culture. The album mixes older classics and new originals that fit right into the brass band tradition. Released on the Old Saw Music label, the album is chockful of musical veterans and is a must own for any fans of New Orleans traditional sound.  

New Single from Saxophonist Nicole McCabe "Hues"

The Los Angeles based saxophonist & composer Nicole McCabe has a new album out in February, Color Theory, and the first single, "Hues" is out now.  

About the tune McCabe states:

Album Review Art Pepper - Surf Ride (Remastered)

Art Pepper

Surf Ride (Remastered)

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

As part of Craft Recordings Original Jazz Classics series, Art Pepper's 1959 album Surf Ride gets a remastered release. These twelve tracks, originally recorded for the Savoy label, display Pepper in some of his earliest sessions as a band leader and the results are electric. 

Dylan Cover #716 The Gene Norman Group "Subterranean Homesick Blues"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a cover by The Gene Norman Group playing "Subterranean Homesick Blues" 

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 posted a cover version of this tune:
One of the most iconic songs from Dylan's most famous period and a very early showing of how powerful a music video could be. Dylan nods to beat poetry, current events, Chuck Berry's "No More Monkey Business", paranoia, and the Vietnam War all in around two minutes of linked lyrics over one of his earliest electric recordings. There is also the sly sense of humor which Dylan never gets enough credit for, while raging against the proverbial machine. A classic '60's tune in all respects and one non-Dylan fans usually love as well.

Cover:

Thoughts on Cover Artist:
This is the first time RtBE has come across The Gene Norman Group and honestly there isn't much out there on them. The players on this album were: Jim Horn - saxophone, flute, Glen Campbell - guitar, Al De Lory - piano, Lyle Ritz - bass, Hal Blaine - drums.

Thoughts on Cover:

This is such a strange cover, it has almost zero connection to the original. It isn't bad, but as a huge Dylan fan, I am not sure I would even know what the song was if I heard it blind. 

I am kind of fascinated by it and a little upset we found this album so late in the month. Maybe next year we will cover this weird album in full for Jazzy Januarys. Until then, thanks for listening and next month will return to regularly scheduled programming.   

Full Show Friday: Olivia Trummer Trio - CUBO Live 8/31/2022

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...Olivia Trummer Trio! 

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 it is the Olivia Trummer Trio live in CUBO, 20222. 

Pro shot, pro sound. Enjoy!

Album Review: Nicholas Payton - TRIUNE

Nicholas Payton

TRIUNE

*** out of *****

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. 

Album Review: DTF - Another Side of the Sound

DTF

Another Side of Sound

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

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. 

New Single from Lawson Rollins "High Line Passage"

The San Francisco, CA based jazz guitarist Lawson Rollins has a new single out "High Line Passage"

Full Show Friday: James Brandon Lewis Quartet - 10/26/25 Amsterdam, Netherlands

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. 

Pro shot, pro sound. Enjoy:

Album Review: John Zorn - Prolegomena

John Zorn 

Prolegomena

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

NYC based avant-garde jazz artist/composer John Zorn's Prolegomena 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.

Album Review: Theon Cross - Affirmations (Live At Blue Note New York)

Theon Cross

Affirmations (Live At Blue Note New York)

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

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. 

Album Review: Širom - In the Wind of Night, Hard-Fallen Incantations Whisper

Širom

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. 

Dylan Cover #715 Eric Bibb "Masters of War"

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.

Full Show Friday: Terri Lyne Carrington - 8/29/22 Live at Paste Studio on the Road: Boston

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...Terri Lyne Carrington! 

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 head up to Boston, back in 2022 for Terri Lyne Carrington. Full band is: Kris Davis - keys, Linda May Han Oh - bass, Milena Casado - flugelhorn, Veronica Leahy - alto, flute, Devon Gates - voice Terri Lyne Carrington - drums, voice.

Pro shot, pro sound. Enjoy!

Album Review: Ches Smith - Clone Row

Ches Smith

Clone Row

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

The newest offering from Brooklyn based percussionist Ches Smith, is the dynamic Clone Row. The album is vibrantly alive with avant-garde jazz phrasing, club ready beats and dynamics that can be mind altering; do not operate heavy machinery while listening. 

Album Review: Hal-Mel - Alone Together

Hal-Mel

Alone Together

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

One of 2025's releases from Tipitina's Record Club was the reissue of Hal-Mel's Alone Together, a partnership between Harold Battiste and Melvin Lastie. The luxurious smokey gray vinyl contains jazzy/funky instrumental outings, finding the two men playing all the parts themselves. 

Album Review: Harold López-Nussa - Nueva Timba

Harold López-Nussa

Nueva Timba

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

The Cuban born and based jazz pianist Harold López-Nussa's newest full length offering from Blue Note Records, Nueva Timba continues his families musical tradition of keeping the Cuban sound alive while also exploring it's future.