In studying The Jazz, one will often come across discussions of a musician’s “conception.” What does this mean? Many a critical theorist has deployed the term, and Eric Nisenson, for example, in his studies of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and… Read More ›

Miles Davis
Natural Jazz, Natural Wine
I do not wish to wade into “natural” waters per se, but I will say that I understand why the term both is and isn’t important; when it comes to wine, or anything else. There is, of course, the argument… Read More ›
Things I’m Thankful For …
I am an admittedly idiosyncratic traditionalist, in that I am rarely much for traditional traditions, but am conversely rather boffo for my own rather less-than-traditional iterations thereof; which makes it all the more of a personal revolution in the offing… Read More ›
Classics: The Gospels of Pauls — Part II — THE BIG REVEAL!
For a thorough refresher on Part I, please click here. As to a summary, it was the 3rd anniversary of our blog going live. And it was the birthday of the late, great jazz bassist Paul Chambers. To celebrate, a… Read More ›
Classics: The Gospels of Pauls (3rd Anniversary Wine Bloggers Tasting at Ridge Vineyards!)
Classics: The Gospels of Pauls The following summary of our recent and very special Wine Bloggers Tasting is broken up into two parts: in Part I, I run down a description of how the tasting was constructed, and in Part… Read More ›
Ain’t No Strangers To The Rangers, Gots The Rhones In Our Bones!
March 24-25, it’s on. It’s a rockin’ Rhone time it’s blow your dome time, baby The Rhone Rangers descend on San Francisco next weekend, and none shall be the same ever again. The 24th? Winemaker’s Dinner. Who shall be there? Ridge… Read More ›
Folk Art, Folk Wine: A Thief In The House Of The Grape
Wine, done well, is a folk art. Just as Robert Johnson osmosized the best of Son House and Charley Patton in the service of crafting his own transcendent contributions to the country blues; just as Jack Kerouac bubbled, toiled, and troubled… Read More ›