On Saturday night, January 19th 2013, the Chrome Showroom inside North Las Vegas’ Santa Fe Station Hotel & Casino was the location for a high-voltage performance by contemporary jazz superstar Euge Groove and his sterling assemblage of some of the finest backing musicians residing on the West Coast.

The new Ben Harper album, Get Up!, which is a collaboration with famed blues harpist Charlie Musselwhite, is not just a killer blues album; it’s a killer album period – one of those records that restores any faith in the music industry you might have lost in the past decade or two.

It’s not too much to say that had Skip James been subject to the same sort of drama that made Robert Johnson notorious, we would now be looking to Skip James as the ultimate bluesman rather than Johnson. His fierce playing, his haunting falsetto and his flair for composition are second to none.

More than 50 years ago in the fall of 1961Nina Simone performed at The Village Gate in New York City and delivered a show that arguably ranks as one of the best live recordings in all of history.

One of the most significant and underrated musical figures of the 20th century is finally getting the recognition he deserves. We’re talking Gil Scott-Heron, and with the remastered 3-CD compilation The Revolution Begins -The Flying Dutchman Masters music fans who have come to him lately via the 2010 album I’m New Here can immerse themselves in some of the most meaningful soul/jazz music ever recorded.

The recent Las Vegas concert pairing of superstars Norman Brown and Gerald Brown was everything one could have ever wished for and anticipated. These two titans of contemporary jazz, along with their talented supporting players, provided a splendidly captivating evening of entertainment enjoyment.