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A Disappointing Return for Sade
REVIEW - Sade – Soldier of Love
June 16, 2010 – There’s always been an understated value to everything that Sade does and sameness to her entire repertoire. That quality of old wine has served the singer/band well… until now. Unlike Norah Jones who has, at least, tried to mix-up-the-pot, Sade really needs to stop wearing the same dress to every party.

Not to be taken lightly, Sade, the lady and band, has only released 6 albums of original music but stand as one of the most successful musical outlets of the last 25 years. Staying power is rare but Sade certainly has it and her voice, even on this album, is the stuff of angels. Still haunting, peaceful and distinctive, it's a quality that's truly rare in music and it's as captivating as the sirens song.

The album kicks off with “The Moon and the Sky” which, without comparisons to the past, sounds like a garden-variety album track from a generic Smooth Jazz vocalist but it’s still drop-dead boring and gloomy at that. More

REVIEW - Mindi Abair – In Hi-Fi Stereo
Heads Up International (www.mindiabair.com)
May 26, 2010 – Well, one things for sure, Mindi Abair is not shopping on Main Street anymore. As they say, “run away from the past and eventually it will run into you.”

Abair just isn’t pretty anymore, musically that is. On ‘In Hi-Fi Stereo’ she’s taking the elevator to the basement where everything started. It’s not only her musical foundation but also a place we’ve all been before. It’s the room where the backbone of many inspirations first started – the golden age of R&B, Soul and Funk.

‘In Hi-Fi Stereo’ displays a musician almost channelling mid-to-early eighties David Sanborn and that ain’t a bad thing. Sure, I can hear the purists saying it’s derivative but Abair serves up a sense of cool and it’s a smart career choice that still fits in Smooth Jazz and the more traditional outlets will probably taste-test as well. Watch this trend expand as more Smooth Jazz musicians fight to escape the box that’s been built around them and sometimes by them. More

Review - Ann Sweeten - Just This Side of Spring

March 24, 2010 - Were I allowed to use only one word to describe pianist Ann Sweeten’s new album, Just This Side of Spring, it would be, plain and simple, “lovely.” But, since I’m not restricted to using this lone word, I’ll elaborate.

Instrumental—particularly classical—music doesn’t always get the credit it deserves. We live in a fast-paced world where everything we encounter battles for our attention, and since classical music tends not to have the hard-hitting, electro-backed feel that sends listeners into auditory overload, it’s a genre that sometimes gets overlooked.

However, Ann Sweeten is a classical artist that fans of every genre should not hesitate to listen to. As I stated earlier, Just This Side of Spring is absolutely lovely. Sweeten’s melodies vary from slightly dream-like and whimsical, to heavier with an air of sadness to them. Both effects are accomplished effortlessly, which makes for a very enjoyable listening experience.

Sweeten is a superb pianist whose talents easily rival those of another contemporary pianist, Lorie Line. However, there are two qualities to the songs on Just This Side of Spring that I would say take Sweeten’s music above and beyond what one might expect from a classical album. More

Review – Bill Wren - One day in a Life – by John P. Olsen

March 24, 2010 - It’s pretty easy to get sidetracked from doing what we really want to do everyday, and a 25 year departure from songwriting was longer than what this musician had in mind, but his migration back to composing have many people moving to new heights.

Bill Wren is often referred to as the Rare Texas Songbird, in a declaration I thought appropriate having the surname Wren, yet it uniquely describes his musical aspirations and return flight to perfection. First playing bass in a Rock band, Bill realized after one stellar show in front of a crowd gone wild audience, music was his final destination.

One day in a Life is his release already gathering attention, having many songs winding up #1 or in the Top 10 at SoundClick.com & Broadjam.com, with songwriting awards in Indie & International Song Writing Contests. Reading everything I could on Bill Wren, I also learned that lifelong friends played a major role leading to an early formation of his musical biography that endures even to this day.

One day in a Life is like a beautiful bird of paradise and where Bill Wren excels the most, in heartfelt compositions that exhibit the very essence for each characteristic style given by every performing musician on the album he calls a friend. More

REVIEW - Ken Navarro – Dreaming of Trains

Reviewed by Phil Traynor
http://www.philtraynor.com

March 13, 2010 - The new CD “Dreaming of Trains” by Ken Navarro (releasing nationally on March 16th 2010) is a dazzling display of multiple talents by the versatile guitarist. Navarro’s 19th release in a prolific and acclaimed career sparkles with innovation and delight at every turn.

What struck me almost immediately, and kept on striking me throughout the disc, is a fearless sense of movement. Navarro leaps from tone center to tone center with joyous abandon, changes meter with deft ebullience, changes tempo midstream, shuffles mode at will. What might seem to the casual listener to be an overly cerebral, self-absorbed tactic, it is really nothing of the sort; to me, it is a gleeful statement of personal ideas that invites you to follow along; and rewards your tenacity with dimension, harmonic complexity, and textured nuance. More

BOOK REVIEW - Why I Am a Buddhist - No-Nonsense Buddhism With Red Meat and Whiskey by Stephen T Asma

March 11, 2010 - Why I Am a Buddhist: No-Nonsense Buddhism with Red Meat and Whiskey" by Stephen T. Asma is an entertaining and interesting look at the author's journey into the practice of Buddhism that sheds light on much of what the practice can offer. It's definitely not like most Buddhism books you'll find on the shelf. At times, those more familiar with traditional texts will scratch their heads and ponder, "Did he really just say that?" And that's one of the things I really liked about this book. It offers a realistic approach, because it is the approach taken by Asma. It's worked for him, and you may just find that it is okay to practice as you seem fit, not as others tell you, and it can work for you.

The book actually contains many traditional lessons and is well researched in that aspect. For the reader who knows nothing about Buddhism, there is a lot of information here to assist with knowing the differences between types of Buddhism practices and the basic teachings that are taught in these schools. However, the real meat of the text, which I like that the author says you can practice Buddhism and still eat meat, is the author's personal journey and his reflections on how a person can live as a Buddhist in today's society. More

BOOK REVIEW - Riding the Ox Home by John Daido Loori
By Alain Burrese 

March 11, 2010 - I first learned of the Ox Herding Pictures while living in Korea. A Korean friend, who had once lived in a monastery when contemplating becoming a monk, shared the pictures and their meaning to me as we visited a Buddhist temple near where we lived. The pictures represent a spiritual path of self-study. They are good reminders of the journey. When I saw this book, I looked forward to learning more about the pictures, the journey they represent, and other's interpretations of their meaning.

"Riding the Ox Home" by John Daido Loori is a small gem of a book. It can be read quickly, for it is not that long, but studied deeply because the message is a guide toward self-discovery. Loori is abbot of the Zen Mountain Monastery in Mount Tremper, New York, and founder and director of the Mountains and Rivers Order, an organization of associated Zen Buddhist temples, practice centers, and meditation groups from around the United States and abroad. His experience and guidance shines through in the passages that accompany the pictures. More