San Francisco Nites (and Days)

the hippies were here first, or most prominently @ least. They say the spirit now is angst, as extreme wealth and similarly extreme poverty sit uneasily on the same bench. Who’s to say what may come next, but the city is pulsing – big swaths of empty spaces rising up periodically. Good coffee. Always goodContinue reading “San Francisco Nites (and Days)”

Got live if you want it

Live albums are always a dicey proposition. The allure of a concert is that the experience can’t be reproduced. Otherwise why be inconvenienced by travel and interaction with a host of unpleasantness?  However, there are a number of live albums which so successfully capture musicians in rare moments of supreme creativity that they are indispensable.Continue reading “Got live if you want it”

Try to make the magic last

By now anyone paying even the remotest attention here and elsewhere in the Brown Brothers universe knows our predilection for physical over virtual media.  Here’s another entry in that swimming-upstream effort.  Back in 2008 Elvis Costello released a solid-if-unspectacular album called Momofuku.  One gorgeous highlight is the song Flutter and Wow, one of his mostContinue reading “Try to make the magic last”

New York Times, New York History

Jazz-Ageddon started out as a hazy idea in Steve Mandel’s apartment in Summer, 2017.  It evolved into one of the most bitterly disputed executions in label history.  But over 3 nights in January 2018 it took on a life of its own.  Thanks to the glue of modern day BBR, the world class vibraphonist WarrenContinue reading “New York Times, New York History”

Brown Brothers 2017 Year in Review Part 2

It’s been a year of seismic change on planet Brown Brothers.  The Co-Op lp earned us our second consecutive group of rave reviews after label debut and critically lauded Gold Sounds, live shows were booked, cancelled and viciously fought over and my brother Arvin Suback came on board as my writing colleague for BBR missives.Continue reading “Brown Brothers 2017 Year in Review Part 2”

Grassroots revolution

Outcome determinative. It’s one of the most deadly phrases in the English language. It started in the legal profession as a way for federal courts to decide whether they should show deference to state law in federal cases where state law should control.  But, it has morphed into a way of thinking so pervasive thatContinue reading “Grassroots revolution”