Email Author Rick Mason

2009 Stories by Rick Mason

• Ex-Drive-By Trucker Jason Isbell embarks on promising solo career

  published April 15, 2009

  When old Truckers leave the big rig behind, they apparently wind up in the loony bin—or at least the namesake for one, as in the case of... More >>

• Sara Watkins

  published April 15, 2009

  With Nickel Creek on the dreaded "indefinite hiatus" after some two decades that carried her from childhood to world renown, Sara Watkins released... More >>

• Fred Wesley & the New JB's

  published April 15, 2009

  Indisputably one of the funkiest human beings on the planet, trombonist Fred Wesley played seminal roles in forging sounds that became synonymous... More >>

• Andrew Bird

  published April 8, 2009

  Andrew Bird's abundant eccentricities can be daunting if you don't give his insidious cleverness ample time or latitude to seep in. He's used... More >>

• Art Garfunkel

  published April 8, 2009

  Indelibly linked to his Queens childhood pal, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel has pursued a moderately successful career as a solo artist and actor... More >>

• Lionel Loueke

  published April 8, 2009

  A native of the West African nation of Benin, Lionel Loueke is a virtuoso guitarist who plays a sublime and innovative blend of Afro-pop,... More >>

• John Scofield's Piety Street Band

  published April 8, 2009

  Only in New Orleans could Piety be a scant block away from Desire. And Tennessee Williams isn't the only artist to seize on the peculiarly... More >>

• Greg Skaff

  published April 1, 2009

  A Wichita native now based in New York, Greg Skaff is a talented guitarist and composer versatile enough to have played sessions with the likes of... More >>

• Judy Collins

  published April 1, 2009

  On the brink of her 70th birthday, Judy Collins retains the remarkable, crystalline soprano that is her dazzling voice, serving her so well... More >>

• Los Campesinos!

  published April 1, 2009

  Barely six months after releasing their full-length debut, Hold On Now, Youngster, this giddily depressed septet of Welsh pseudo siblings... More >>

• Eleni Mandell

  published March 25, 2009

  Often identified as an L.A. hipster, singer-songwriter Eleni Mandell, an actual protégée of Chuck E. Weiss (of "Chuck E's in Love"... More >>

• Blue Note Records 70th Anniversary

  published March 25, 2009

  Of all the thousands of labels that have operated since the advent of recorded music, only a handful can be considered truly iconic. Blue Note,... More >>

• Porter Batiste Stoltz

  published March 25, 2009

  Like everything from New Orleans, Crescent City funk is full of quirky twists that give it unique character. The Meters were the seminal... More >>

• Lo Cor de la Plana

  published March 25, 2009

  Hailing from Marseille, a notoriously wide-open port historically teeming with immigrants from all over the Mediterranean and far beyond, Lo... More >>

• Occidental Brothers Dance Band International

  published March 18, 2009

  Although based in Chicago, OBDBI specialize in Afropop, encompassing a vast array of styles from areas roughly stretching from West Africa... More >>

• Hawaiian Treasures Celebration

  published March 18, 2009

  What's generally considered traditional Hawaiian music is actually a mix of influences from outside the islands, brought by sailors, immigrants,... More >>

• Aakash Mittal Quartet

  published March 18, 2009

  They may be a little lost amid the Joshua Redmans and Tierney Suttons on the Dakota's calendar, but interesting things are going on late in the... More >>

• Honeyboy Edwards

  published March 18, 2009

  In 2004 a Grammy-winning album documented the extraordinary live summit among Honeyboy Edwards, Pinetop Perkins, Robert Lockwood Jr., and Henry... More >>

• Rory Block

  published March 18, 2009

  When Manhattan-bred Rory Block met Mississippi native Son House at age 15, the Delta blues icon was nearly a half-century her senior, but the pair... More >>

• Madeleine Peyroux

  published March 11, 2009

  For better or worse (and the jury is definitely on the side of the former), Billie Holiday is intrinsically linked to Madeleine Peyroux. A pair of... More >>

• Pistolera

  published March 11, 2009

  Although based in Brooklyn and infused with the alt/indie spirit of bands from that borough, Pistolera's sound comes from a source a lot farther... More >>

• The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma

  published March 11, 2009

  World-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, fresh from a performance at the Obama inauguration, may be most closely identified with Western classical music,... More >>

• Juan de Marcos & the Afro-Cuban All Stars

  published March 11, 2009

  A multigenerational, 15-plus-piece orchestra, the Afro-Cuban All Stars cover the wide gamut of quintessential Cuban music, keeping things vital by... More >>

• Todd Snider

  published March 4, 2009

  With characteristic perversity, Todd Snider waited until the final throes of Dubya's inglorious incumbency to deliver a lacerating rebuke to the... More >>

• SF Jazz Collective

  published March 4, 2009

  An all-star jazz repertory company whose mission is to celebrate the masters of modern jazz as well as forge ahead with new material, the SF Jazz... More >>