'By Myself' rising

By Myself, the self-released unaccompanied solo LP by Abdul Wadud, is one of my favorite albums of all time, full stop. I'm thrilled that it's finally been reissued, and to have the opportunity to delve into the record and its story for The New York Times.

Antti / Christian

A privilege to spend time — virtually and in-person, respectively — with two musicians I greatly admire:

-Antti Boman, mastermind of Demilich, a longtime obsession of mine, for Bandcamp Daily 

-Christian McBride, bassist and jazz ambassador extraordinaire, for the New York Times

'Emergency!'

Proud to present an in-depth look at Emergency! by the Tony Williams Lifetime, via Pitchfork's Sunday Review. This record means a lot to me. Lifetime looms large in my ongoing Heavy Metal Bebop research — it's come up again and again in the various conversations I've had on the topic of the jazz/metal intersection. In some ways, it represents the birth of that concept: There was no jazz-rock, and then suddenly, with Emergency!, there it was*. 

Beyond its historical significance, the record also just completely kicks ass. I think a lot about the whole "musical time machine" question, i.e., what bygone act would you go back and witness if you had your pick. For me, lately, the original Lifetime — maybe at the October 1969 Ungano's run recalled by Herbie Hancock in the review — tops that list.

For a bit more on Lifetime, check out this John McLaughlin interview from a few years back.

*This phrasing is a bit hyperbolic. There were of course plenty of precursors. One I need to delve into more is Gary Burton — I found an interview where Tony specifically cited him as a genre-blending pioneer, and I've often heard Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell do the same. I don't know this body of work well, but I intend to remedy that!