Email Author Rick Mason

2007 Stories by Rick Mason

• Meshell Ndegeocello

  published November 14, 2007

  Never an artist prone to complacency or taking the easy path to pop stardom, Meshell Ndegeocello has outdone herself on her stunning new album,... More >>

• Kinsmen/ Svajanam

  published November 14, 2007

  With similar roots in southern India and a common fascination with both jazz and classical Indian music, Rudresh Mahanthappa and Kadri Gopalnath,... More >>

• Tim Ries' Rolling Stones Project

  published November 7, 2007

  The versatile Tim Ries is a serious jazz hound usually found wailing away on tenor or soprano sax. But he can handle all the woodwinds, as well as... More >>

• Neil Young

  published November 7, 2007

  The long, strange, utterly memorable trip Neil Young has navigated since Buffalo Springfield in the mid-'60s has had more tangents than a graduate... More >>

• Frode Haltli Quartet Featuring Maja Ratkje

  published November 7, 2007

  Although Norwegian Frode Haltli plays accordion, he's unlikely to ever be mistaken for Lawrence Welk, or even Clifton Chenier. Haltli coaxes an... More >>

• Bruce Springsteen

  published October 31, 2007

  Bruce Springsteen has always believed in the power of redemption, whether through love, or rock 'n' roll, or the resilient national spirit at... More >>

• Architecture in Helsinki

  published October 24, 2007

  The quirky pop band Architecture in Helsinki originated in Australia. But its members are now reportedly scattered far and wide, a diaspora... More >>

• Bill Frisell Trio: Musical Portraits from Heber Springs

  published October 24, 2007

  Both eccentrics and outsiders in their own way, guitarist Bill Frisell and photographer Mike Disfarmer were made for one another. An idiosyncratic... More >>

• David Sanchez

  published October 24, 2007

  Multiple Grammy nominee and Latin Grammy winner David Sánchez is a prodigious tenor saxophonist whose technical agility and big sound have... More >>

• The Pine Leaf Boys

  published October 24, 2007

  The fabulous Pine Leaf Boys hail from the soggy prairies and bayous of southwest Louisiana and play the traditional Cajun and Creole music of that... More >>

• The Mountain Goats; Bowerbirds

  published October 24, 2007

  This is the quirky neo-folkie gig of the week, matching a pair of fascinating, eccentric outfits. Around since the early '90s, the Mountain Goats... More >>

• Gov't Mule

  published October 24, 2007

  At heart a classic hard-rock band with a strong blues core, Gov't Mule favor heavy bottom rhythms and grand-gesture riffs predominantly built... More >>

• John Abercrombie Quartet

  published October 24, 2007

  For 30 years, indelible jazz guitarist John Abercrombie has been a cornerstone of Manfred Eicher's ECM label, whose signature penchant for... More >>

• Robyn Hitchcock

  published October 24, 2007

  Rabid eccentric Robyn Hitchcock is obsessed—at least in his songwriting—with the standard litany of sex, food, death, tarantulas... More >>

• Zap Mama

  published October 17, 2007

  Zap Mama has undergone a dramatic evolution since its initial incarnation as an all-female a cappella quintet that knit a heady mix of African and... More >>

• Dave Mason & John Mayall

  published October 17, 2007

  This doubleheader features a pair of still very active, highly influential icons of the late '60s/'70s. A blues-oriented singer, harmonica player,... More >>

• Drive-By Truckers

  published October 17, 2007

  Nouveau Southern rockers Drive-By Truckers have released a string of albums that grapple with the enduring enigma that is the American South.... More >>

• Wilco

  published October 10, 2007

  Diffidence and uncertainty hover over much of Sky Blue Sky, Wilco's latest album. On song after song, Jeff Tweedy struggles with... More >>

• Dee Dee Bridgewater

  published October 10, 2007

  In search of her ancestral homeland, jazz chanteuse Dee Dee Bridgewater discovered a strong spiritual connection to Mali, whose traditional music... More >>

• Raul Midon

  published October 10, 2007

  The first thing that strikes you about Raul Midón is the supple soulfulness of his voice, which sometimes bears a striking resemblance to... More >>

• Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

  published October 10, 2007

  The pride of Bloomfield, New Jersey, the indefatigable Ted Leo plays sinewy post-punk loaded with urgent hooks and punctuated with gnarly electric... More >>

• The New Pornographers

  published October 10, 2007

  Perpetual power-pop persuaders, the New Pornographers emerged from deepest Canada as a super collective side project obsessed with the prevailing... More >>

• Spoon

  published October 10, 2007

  Spoon's celebrated indie-rock sound belongs to the less-is-more school of pop. The Texas quartet's terse writing, efficient arrangements, and... More >>

• Mary Wilson

  published October 3, 2007

  Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and the late Florence Ballard were the original Primettes, who, morphed into the Supremes, became one of the iconic... More >>

• Magic Slim & the Teardrops

  published October 3, 2007

  The feral blues of Magic Slim comes straight from the Delta via Chicago, where the now-70-year-old guitar icon cut his teeth during the Windy... More >>