Miles Davis

The Rocks Off 100: Kristine Mills, Houston's Brassiest Voice

Welcome to the Rocks Off 100, our portrait gallery of the most compelling profiles and personalities in the far-flung Houston music community -- a lot more than just musicians, but of course they're in there too. See the entire Rocks Off 100 at this link. Who? Nobody puts Baby into a corner, and no ... More >>

Frank Zappa and Other Quicksand Artists

Tonight House of Blues will be graced by Zappa Plays Zappa, led by the late Papa Frank's oldest son Dweezil, who inherited some of his father's guitar skills. Zappa Plays Zappa is the preeminent traveling Zappa tribute show going, and Dweezil's love letter to his father's body of work, which has onl ... More >>

Bob Dorough: The Story Behind "Schoolhouse Rock"

By the late '60s, despite a long and varied career that included the albums Devil May Care and Yardbird Suite, associations with Miles Davis and Allen Ginsberg, and perfecting the art of "vocalese" - assigning lyrics to the melodies of instrumental jazz solos - Bob Dorough could see the writing on t ... More >>

Support Staff: 10 Of Pop History's Greatest Backing Bands

Being behind the scenes is what most musicians who don't write songs or sing expect of their lives once they start seriously playing. A career backing someone up can be extremely rewarding, particularly if you are part of a transcendent group of musicians that goes from simply backing up an artist i ... More >>

Geri Allen

Facebook v. Leaky Boob

Houston mom in a FB face-off.

Top 10 Double Albums That Should Have Stayed Single

​Not all double albums should have been double albums, just as some albums had to be double albums in order for their point to be made. Each case is different with each band or artist. The Who's Tommy and Quadrophenia had to be double albums to tell their stories of teenage wastelands and po ... More >>

Queen Bee

Upper Kirby's got a brand-new bag.

"Rape Gaze": Worst Genre Name Ever? Not Quite...

myspace.com/wearecreep​Let's take a moment to think about labels and what they mean to us. Why do people feel the need to label things? The obvious answer is: It's the only way we know what stuff is. To anyone who automatically dismisses the very idea of labeling, just imagine what it would b ... More >>

Live From The Austin City Limits Festival, Day 2

Brittanie Shey: When you go to a festival lit this, you're always looking for the discovery. The one band that either blows you away or causes you to alter all your expectations. Today it was Dan Black, a performer we caught only because there was nothing else going on. As soon as we get home, we' ... More >>

The Top 10 Music-Video Riots

From Agnostic Front's "Riot, Riot Upstart"​Just like the Stones said, "Summer's here and the time is right for fighting in the street, boy." Only the best social insurrections and riots happen in the heat of the summer. It makes us wonder why Houston hasn't had more angry, heat-stoked street ... More >>

Mother Earth Says, "Ha!"

Photo by Yuri Shkoda Want proof of the butterfly effect? Okay, a volcano in Iceland erupts and half-way around the world, Houston arts organizations have to scramble.   Two highly anticipated concerts were forced to change their line-ups and one theatrical piece was rescheduled - tw ... More >>

The Art of Cool

The CAMH features a fascinating, talented and not easily categorized artist.

"Birth of the Cool"

Who knew being cool would be so hot?

Get Lit: Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life By Wynton Marsalis with Geoffrey Ward

​In addition to his long career as one of modern jazz's finest trumpet blowers and composers, Wynton Marsalis has waged a sort of one-man PR campaign for jazz education. He extols the virtues of the music as a current and lively art with a rich history - as opposed to a genre whose best days and p ... More >>

Burnin' for You

Levon Helm Is 69... and Badass

Rocks Off is having a little trouble looking his "2009 Year of the Rhino" wall calendar in the eye this morning. He trusted it implicitly until Tuesday, when a friend pointed out that in saluting Stevie Nicks, Miles Davis and Hank Williams Jr. on their birthday, he left out former Band drummer Levo ... More >>

Blue Notes: Return to Forever's Return to Forever Returns

Return to Forever Return to Forever Returns www.return2forever.comAh, jazz fusion, what a conundrum of musical styles. Too heavily instrumental and dexterous for rock fans, too spacey and electric guitar-based for jazzbos, it has a small but dedicated following all weaned on Miles Davis' Bitches Bre ... More >>

Quincy Troupe

Miles Davis’s co-autobiographer is also a renowned poet

Artful Thursday: Porgy and Bess

The Houston Ebony Opera explains its controversial pick

Be of Good (Blue) Cheer

Indie Rock Rediscovers the Motherland

Kinky Afro

Turtle Island Quartet

The Cool School

Documentary film looks at the beginnings of L.A.’s art scene

“Women in Jazz”

Houston pays homage to “The Divine One”

Another Bump

Ten of the best coke anthems, plus a shortlist for the Cocaine Hall of Fame

Betty Davis

Once too hot to handle, Betty Davis's freaky funk is ripe for rediscovery

Lost Albums

CDs that deserve another listen

A Whole Other Magic

Dianne Reeves's good luck story

Gil Evans

The Complete Pacific Jazz Sessions

Really Good Sax

Ennio Morricone

Crime and Dissonance

Rogue Bosoms, Bouncing Booties and Pac-Man Raps

Looking back on the '04

Village Voices

Irving Penn's iconic, never-before-seen photos of Africa make an exclusive stop at the MFAH

Letters

A Century of Progress

Guitarist Huey Long is from all the eras

Salad Barre

A buffet of dance troupes comes to town

Remember Shakti

Sunday, September 28

Money Mark

Change Is Coming (Emperor Norton Records)

Freeloader

Saturday, December 15

The Rebirth Brass Band

Saturday, December 1

Herbie's World

What does Herbie Hancock think of his own work? His take may surprise you.

32 Jazz: Where To Start

Feeling at Ease

Press Picks

Lee Way

Jazz It Up

Blowing His Own Horn

Live Shots

Live Shots