…And the Black Feathers

While the ellipsis in front of …And the Black Feathers might immediately draw comparisons to, well, a certain other band that has three dots before its name, that’s essentially where the similarities end. That much is clear from the slow strum of the reverb-drenched guitar on “Evol (Part 1),” the…

The Colorado Music Hall of Fame’s class of 2013

This Friday, November 8, at the Paramount Theatre, the Colorado Music Hall of Fame’s current inductees, which include John Denver, Barry Fey, Harry Tuft, Red Rocks, Flash Cadillac, Sugarloaf, the Astronauts and KIMN radio, will be joined by a brand-new class that includes a peer group of folksingers, including Judy…

Hezekiah Goode

It’s evident from “A Fence of Colorado Stone,” the opening track on Two Billion Acres of Salt, that vocalist Hezekiah Goode has a strong affinity for old-time folk and country — and pedal-steel player Glenn Taylor, banjoist Keith Reed and fiddle player Greg Buergler help him drive this point home…

The best jazz shows in Denver in November

SAT & SUN | HOUSTON PERSON at DAZZLE | 11/30-12/1 While tenor saxophonist Houston Person, who turns 78 on November 10, has recorded a number of soul-jazz albums under his own name since the mid-’60s, he’s also played on platters by Horace Silver, Eddie Harris, Cedar Walton, Charles Brown and…

A custom trumpet shop opens in Denver

While studying trumpet performance at St. Olaf College in Minnesota two decades ago, Jason Harrelson, owner of Harrelson Trumpets, became consumed with learning how the trumpet works and understanding the physics of playing one. In 1993, he began experimenting with trumpet mouthpieces, enlarging throats, backbores and adding mass, and before…

Mike Doughty on revisiting Soul Coughing songs

After years of refusing to play Soul Coughing songs, Mike Doughty, the band’s former frontman is not only performing entire sets of the band’s material, but he also released an album of Soul Coughing tunes reimagined. The title of the disc, issued last month on Doughty’s Snack Bar imprint, is…

The Yawpers

Armed with just two acoustic guitars, a trap kit and Nate Cook’s zealous singing, the Yawpers have been known to kick up a hell of a racket not only on stage, but also in the studio, as heard on last year’s Capon Crusade. That same musical energy is more than…

The Bad Plus at the Oriental Theater, 10/19/13

THE BAD PLUS at THE ORIENTAL THEATER | 10/19/13 After the Bad Plus opened its set with “Pound for Pound” and “Wolf Out,” bassist Reid Anderson told a packed Oriental Theater, “We have to roll out the brand tunes because it’s that time of year,” he said. “The season changes…

Escape Goats

There’s lots of variety to be found on On the Lam, the latest album from Fort Collins’s Escape Goats. The bluesy roots of opener “I’ll See You Again” recall the music of the Band — frontman Joe Schicke’s vocals are similar to Levon Helm’s — while the trio locks into…

The Bad Plus makes good on Made Possible

Throughout the history of jazz, groups have been driven by a single leader. But when the Bad Plus formed thirteen years ago, the trio made it a point to be more of a collective. The approach had worked well for drummer Dave King’s group Happy Apple, which he co-founded four…

The ten best jazz drummers of all time

An integral part of jazz is the swing feel, and drummers are often the ones stoking that fire, helping to propel the song along with the other players involved. While the saxophonists, trumpeters, pianists and guitarists all get their fair share of attention, the importance of a great drummer can’t…

Lucida Tela

With a moniker that means “lucid canvas” in Spanish, the Littleton-based Lucida Tela draws from a varied palette on this self-titled effort. Prog-rock remnants of the band Tryst — some of whose members are now in Lucida Tela — can be heard on cuts like “Temperal Illusion” and the odd-metered…

The Patti Fiasco

On the title track of the Patti Fiasco’s Small Town Lights, which also serves as the album’s opener, the Fort Collins-based quintet starts off fairly tame, with strumming acoustic guitars and a slide resonator guitar that sounds almost like a pedal steel. It’s a bit twangy at first, but in…