Years ago, while discussing music at a cocktail party, a friend of mine who is a master chef asserted that good dinner music can make or break a party faster than the food,…

The most recent issue of Jazziz magazine contained an article by Michelle Mercer entitled "The Fire Down Below." In the article Ms. Mercer writes about taking novice jazz listeners to see the Mingus Big Band and one woman’s surprised sexual arousal from the music. Ms. Mercer comes to the conclusion that listening a jazz show in a New York club today is "a singularly existential listening experience, so if you get your freak on there, it’s all yours." In plainspeak, you are probably the …

The mood in and around Calahan Funeral Home on the South side of Chicago was at once somber, respectful, and celebratory. Outside the funeral home people smoked cigarettes, adjusted their ties, and traded their funniest stories of the deceased with each other, nodding their heads to everyone entering the building. Inside, I approached one of the ushers, exchanged pleasantries, asked each other how we knew the deceased, and picked up a funeral program. I briefly glanced at the booklet, folded it …

The social and political climate has changed considerably in the time between Ozomatli’s 2001 long-player Embrace the Chaos and this year’s Street Signs, but to listen to guitarist/vocalist Raul "El Bully" Pacheco explain the band’s approach to music remains the same. "This group’s existence is about freedom", Pacheco explained in a recent phone interview. "Musically and lyrically we have such a wide range of influences and styles that it’s important to find …

His voice is a gift from above to music aficionado’s everywhere- ranging from a ringing tenor to an impossibly high falsetto, cloaked in a vibrato that rises and falls like a dragonfly in the dog days of August. That this voice comes from such an imposing frame makes fans of the voice appreciate it even more. Such is the contradiction of Aaron Neville. You hear that voice, see it come from such a huge man and you turn your head for a bit wondering if that voice is really coming from him. …