Once again, our obligatory year-end review. The following is an unranked list of albums that caught, and kept, our attention in 2019 . . .
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Of the many improvisers to regularly share a stage with Jerry Garcia, almost none were women. A new archival release from 1973 brings attention to one of Garcia’s least known collaborators, Sarah Fulcher, who was far more than a back-up vocalist during her roughly half-year with Garcia and Merl Saunders’s unnamed club band. By turns mysterious, confusing, and divisive among Grateful Dead tape collectors, Fulcher was a jamming member of a jamming band. And while recordings don’t always capture her voice sympathetically, listened to with more modern ears, Sarah Fulcher is a fearless improviser . . .
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Jazz may have been invented in New Orleans, but you could argue it didn’t take flight until settling in Chicago after the Great Migration. From there, it’s pretty easy to make a case that it didn’t fully achieve lift off until Sonny Blount’s arrival in the city in 1946 and subsequent name change(s). By the time Le Sony'r Ra was leading the Space Trio in ‘52, the entire dynamic of what could be considered Jazz was shifting. After he, then known as Sun Ra, moved the eternally-inspiring Arkestra to New York . . .
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Save the date: March 2020 -- the return of The Districts via their fourth lp, You Know I’m Not Going Anywhere. Gearing up for the release, the Pennsylvania based quartet donned their Santa caps for this month's installment of the Lagniappe Sessions unpacking a bag of covers ranging from OMD, Tusk era Fleetwood Mac, Psychic TV & more . . .
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The Aquarium Drunkard Show. SIRIUS/XM radio ~ Channel 35. Wednesdays / 7pm California time + on-demand . . .
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Experimental artist and composer Eve Maret’s new track and video, “OFO,” is a meditation on being present. The sprawling, instrumental track was recorded live initially as an experiment with a new synth, then during mixing Maret overdubbed processed breaths as a sort of padding that swells throughout . . .
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“You can’t shine if you don’t burn,” read the handwritten note found next to his deathbed -- apropos given that British psychedelic crooner Kevin “Take Me to Tahiti” Ayers often retreated to the tropics whenever the spotlight of fame shone a little too brightly. A new book become a member or log in.
In May, post-punk legends The Raincoats announced a handful of shows across the UK and a performance at Le Guess Who? to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their seminal self-titled debut album. A couple of hours after hearing the news, I began looking at flights-- and on November 10th, I attended the 40th anniversary celebration of The Raincoats at EartH Hackney in East London, the only gig in their hometown. Fresh from . . .
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Though largely instrumental, "A Son" wrestles with the concept of home, the influence of the past and the frightening shifts in American culture and discourse. Nelson spoke to Aquarium Drunkard about his new album, the music and events that shaped it and the challenges of removing clutter from already serene and uncrowded sounds . . .
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For this installment of the lagniappe sessions Marco Benevento takes on Phil Spector's famed Wall of Sound, Jackson Browne and America's favorite Canadians . . .
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Grey on gray. December edition - the Aquarium Drunkard Show. SIRIUS/XM radio ~ Channel 35. Wednesdays / 7pm California time + on-demand . . .
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In 2016, James Blackshaw announced an indefinite hiatus from music. And while it sadly hasn't gotten easier for musicians in 2019, Blackshaw is back with a stunning new cut, "Why Keep Still . . .
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Fingerpickers can't seem to resist uncovering (or just plain inventing) the folk-blues roots of these timeworn melodies. Whatever the motivation, it's always nice to have an alternative to the treacly seasonal music that is inescapable this time of year. Frozen Fingers is playlist of (mostly) acoustic wintry music that'll put a little wonder into the most wonderful time of the year . . .
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The Bay Area convergence of art, technology, drugs, and other disciplines is well-documented, but one mostly forgotten node is the San Francisco Radical Laboratory at 759 Harrison Street. The home base of composer Doug McKechnie and electrical engineer Bruce Hatch . . .
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Bandcamping returns! As the year comes to a close, dig into some more recent/random/recommended offerings via Bandcamp. Put some money in artists’ and labels’ pockets and prepare to have your mind blown . . .
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