News + Reviews

The most exciting and important music news in New Jersey

Mike Greenblatt Mike Greenblatt

Fear Not! Agent Elvis Will Save Democracy!

Longtime Jersey Rocker John Eddie has teamed up with Priscilla Presley to create Agent Elvis. Netflix’s new 10-episode animated series is funny, outrageous, action-packed and already has pissed people off. Movie Star Matthew McConaughey voices the Elvis character while dropping as many F-Bombs as possible.

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Mike Greenblatt Mike Greenblatt

Get Ready For Another Free Woodbridge Concert Series

We have to hand it to Woodbridge Mayor John E. McCormac for instituting the best annual tradition ever in Middlesex County. How about five-nights-a-week of free concerts starting June 3 and continuing all the way to September 20. Unheard of!

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Mike Greenblatt Mike Greenblatt

New Jazz Club Opens In Teaneck

“Live Jazz Every Night” proclaims its website. Open 5:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., Brvsh Cul7ur3 (pronounced Brush Culture), 482 Cedar Lane in Teaneck, will offer dinner, drinks and more affordable prices than Manhattan clubs.

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Mike Greenblatt Mike Greenblatt

Free Shows at the PNC Bank Arts Center

Free shows are rare. But the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel will be presenting British Invasion act Herman’s Hermits and Tommy Roe on June 8. The Soundtrack of Our Lives with Deborah Rennard and Al Sapienza will open. Legendary disc jockey Cousin Brucie will host.

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Mike Greenblatt Mike Greenblatt

Another Major Fest Headed Our Way

Halsey, Demi Lovato, Santana, Alanis Morisette, Stephen Colbert, Jim Gaffigan, Bill Burr, Marisa Monte, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, Brian Fallon, The Smithereens, The B-52s, Natalie Merchant and Jay Wheeler are among the attractions.

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Mike Greenblatt Mike Greenblatt

[CD Review] Makram, Recorded in New Jersey, by Joe Locke

For his 29th album, recorded in Middletown, Little Falls and Paramus, vibraphonist/keyboardist/arranger/composer/producer Joe Locke, 63, leads his quartet—with pianist Jim Ridl, bassist Lorin Cohen and drummer Samvel Sarkisyan—through some acrobatic arrangements, challenging in their complexity.

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Mike Greenblatt Mike Greenblatt

Jazz Legend Wayne Shorter Dies At 89

He charged out of Newark to change the face of modern jazz. Tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, over the course of seven decades, was one of the most influential musicians in history. He died March 2 in Los Angeles.

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Mike Greenblatt Mike Greenblatt

[CD Review] Time Bandits, Recorded in Englewood Cliffs, by John Bailey

Van Gelder Studios in Englewood Cliffs continues to be the place where great jazz is born…and Time Bandits, by trumpeter/composer John Bailey, is no exception. In this one legendary studio, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Freddie Hubbard, Thelonious Monk, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Memphis Slim and hundreds of other greats made their best recordings.

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Mike Greenblatt Mike Greenblatt

[CD Review] Zydeland by The Gumbo Gumbas

New Orleans is a state-of-mind. Every year around this time of year, Mardi Gras is an explosion of joyousness. You don’t have to travel down to Louisiana to feel it. Its spirit resides in Mercer County, in a little town called Ewing, where Joe Grillo leads The Gumbo Gumbas on a Cajun holiday all year round.

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Mike Greenblatt Mike Greenblatt

Stevie Van Zandt Cashes In Big

Stevie Van Zandt has signed a multi-million dollar deal with Primary Wave Music. PWM will now manage his publishing/recording catalog as well as owning the rights to his “name and likeness.”

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