Articles by Doug Collette
Lo Steele: Only A Drop
by Doug Collette
Befitting the album title, Only A Drop is a captivating but parsimonious depiction of Lo Steele's musical attributes. As such, it stands as an outline (in practical terms) for future productions with more lavish elements conjuring proportionately potent impact, but also for contemporary soul/r&b singing in general terms. In singing “Greenz," Steele sounds as sultry as the definition of the word ever implied. Meanwhile, she finds a firm foundation for her radiant voice on the backbeat of drummer ...
Continue ReadingCharles Ives: Concordance: 150 Years of Charles Ives
by Doug Collette
As the archiving team at the Owsley Stanley Foundation (including the namesake's offspring) has overseen its wealth of 1500-some recordings, they have done yeoman's work to insure that the reputation of the man nicknamed 'Bear' is inextricably linked to his passion for the best possible sound he could facilitate. In that regard, the range of content that the non-profit has issued is broad enough to dispel any knee-jerk preconceptions about the vocation of the man otherwise known as mentor ...
Continue ReadingClub D'Elf: Loon & Thrush
by Doug Collette
In overseeing Club D'Elf since its inception over 25 years ago, founder-leader-bassist Mike Rivard has maintained a core lineup around which has revolved a colorful cast of collaborators as eclectic as the music they have played. Loon & Thrush is no exception, yet its creation took place in the shadow of the passing of vocalist- multi-instrumentalist Brahim Frigbaine, not just an artistic contributor, but a practical point of reference for the group's exotic pursuits. Much as Rivard collected ...
Continue ReadingRick Vito And Corey Harris, Alvin Youngblood Hart & Guy Davis: Blues Brothers Indeed
by Doug Collette
Not all blues musicians play blues material exclusively. In fact, some of the most notable practitioners in the genre enhance their reputations by traveling far afield for eclectic selections that freshen their fundamental point(s) of reference. Rick Vito's Slidemaster is just such an effort, while by contrast, the triumvirate of Corey Harris, Alvin Youngblood Hart and Guy Davis reaffirms how satisfying is the rediscovery of roots. The unplugged segment in the homestretch of the former's album is only the most ...
Continue ReadingGordon Grdina: Prolific Versatility
by Doug Collette
Gordon Grdina's restless creativity furthers his prolific nature. As a result, in recent years he has issued new albums in twos and threes and this 2026 triad follows couplets of 2021 and 2024 including solo work and efforts with various ensembles he leads such The Marrow and Square Peg. Grdina reaffirms his willingness to experiment and extemporize with this triplicate, all the while demonstrating technique on par with his imagination: clearly he is inspired by his collaborators' sense of adventure ...
Continue ReadingYelena Eckemoff: Rosendals Garden
by Doug Collette
Rosendals Garden is yet another chapter in Yelena Eckemoff's ongoing historical narrative devoted to people and places both real and imagined. Recorded in 2024 at RMV Studio, Stockholm, Sweden, by engineer Linn Final, with mixing and mastering by Stefano Amerio, the audio is as colorful and detailed as the musicianship and the packaging. Remarkably, there has never been a sense of hurry in the playing of keyboardist Eckemoff and her two bandmates. During the luxuriously slow build-up of ...
Continue ReadingRory Gallagher: The Best of Rory Gallagher At The BBC
by Doug Collette
The Best of Rory Gallagher at the BBC is actually a distillation of a 20-disc box, compact disc 15 of which is the second half of this compilation. And, like its larger counterpart, it serves as not only a retrospective on Gallagher's career as a whole (not just at the Beeb), but also reaffirmation of the guitarist's often breathless stage presence. Nephew Daniel Gallagher has now assumed the role of producer from his uncle Donal and his supervision ...
Continue ReadingJon Irabagon: Self-Motivated And Inner-Directed
by Doug Collette
Self-motivated and inner-directed as he is, saxophonist/composer Jon Irabagon has navigated his career path with his very own sense of logic. And, peculiar as that may seem to some, his body of work is like a memorable improvisation, resolving itself at various junctures, just when those various vagaries would seem to preclude such action. So it is with Focus Out and Saturday's Child--while the latter might seem to render the former too conventional for its own good, the duo title ...
Continue ReadingSatoko Fujii: Indefatigable
by Doug Collette
Satoko Fujii's indefatigable artistic versatility may very well be the source of the generally arresting quality of her work. By the same token, no matter the form, her creations may in turn ignite the foundational inspiration for new projects. Witness two titles released within two months of each in 2025, on both of which Fujii returns to previously-conceived alignments--ones she and her collaborators freshen with the additional experience gained in the time since their last incarnation. Ki and Burning Wick ...
Continue ReadingMike Clark and Phil Haynes: Keep Beating The Drum(s)
by Doug Collette
A great drummer is the driving force of any band's performances, whether on stage or in the studio. So, is it any surprise that jazz ensembles led by drummers invariably evince strong collective personalities, even if the members of those groups are as self-motivated and inner-directed as their leader(s)? Each of these bands, led by Mike Clark and Phil Haynes, exhibit a distinct persona, each reflecting the salient virtues of their leaders: a predilection for adventure, a tangible humility, and ...
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