Steve Wilson Over the past two decades, saxophonist Steve Wilson has earned himself a solid reputation within the jazz community, both as a sideman and a band leader. He is probably best known for his mid-90s work with Chick Corea's Origins ensemble, but he has also made notable appearances with legendary saxophonist Joe Henderson, bassist Avishai Cohen, and clarinetist Don Byron, in addition to a host of others. Over the past several years, the......

The Blind Boys of Alabama The after effects of Hurricane Katrina rarely get headlines these days. A historic presidential election, economic troubles, and other natural disasters have seen to that. Still, the suffering continues for many despite the inattention of the national debate. While artists don't have ability to enact policy changes to save a city on the brink, they can use the stage and microphone to draw attention to this ongoing issue. Thankfully,......

The Faint are playing a sold out show Saturday night with Shy Child and Jaguar Love at the 9:30 Club. Doors open at 8 p.m. Although Bright Eyes became the defining face and sound on Omaha's Saddle Creek Records, arguably it was The Faint who helped first bring the label into the spotlight with their synthy, dance-punk anthems. The Faint not only made people dance, they made people think, with songs like "Agenda Suicide"......

New York's The Flail is a rarity in today's world in that they are an actual jazz band. While most ensembles are collections of musicians under the direction of a leader, or a group given a name solely for marketing purposes, the five members of this group have been a tight unit since their days as students at the Big Apple's New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music. This leads to another rarity in today's......

When Blitzen Trapper's last record, Wild Mountain Nation, burst on the scene in June 2007, it was a breath of fresh air just as the summer heat wave struck. The opening Neil Young guitar peals of the title track and the rollicking campfire singalong "Country Caravan" had the internet going crazy, but the record itself -- for all its jumps in style and frenzied rhythms -- was a slow-burner, rewarding the fans who stuck around......

In recent years, France has been getting a lot of the publicity for electronic music — Daft Punk, Justice, and other Gallic house musicians have been all over. So when we saw that Digitalism, who play DC9 tonight, were from Germany, where minimalist bleeps and bloops dominate, it was a little surprising. They're not Parisians in a cafe, but Hamburg residents who record in a World War II bunker. Jens Moelle, one half of the......

How do you feel about rock? How about songs about The Hobbit? While Black Mountain don't play any obvious ones, they do play rock that's been compared to Tolkien-loving Led Zeppelin. The five British Columbians play thunderous psychedelic (some say stoner) rock that sometimes drops to a whisper, sometimes is toe-tapping, and sometimes is just heavy. And sometimes that's all in the same song, like the 8-minute "Tyrants". Vocals are shared by Steve McBean, who......

It didn’t take long for the local media to catch wind of The Roosevelt (***) after their conception in 2006 and the release of their EP. This hidden gem of the D.C. music scene presented a finely crafted and extremely catchy first album, with comparisons in sound to mainstream acts such as Wilco and Elliot Smith. Although 2007 was met with a few unforeseen circumstances holding them back, Jon Mosher (guitar/vocals), Sam Mitchell (guitar), Scott......