It's #Shfl newsletter time! Check out @darkforcesswing.bsky.social on math rock, #JoshuaLevine on proto-punk, #ChrisCatchpole on Conny Plank and reviews from Chris, #RickAnderson and #MeganIacobiniDiFazio, as well as the Robert Hampson piece of mine I mentioned earlier -- and some reviews too! (1/4)

Twenty years ago, Warning released the saddest metal album of all time. Their new follow-up is subtler and more patient but every bit as powerful: open.substack.com/pub/darkforc...

Been thinking more about the current Rush tour (shocker!) and I'm wondering out loud: Has there ever been a more momentous band-member swap in rock history? I'd argue no. I honestly don't believe that anyone has ever subbed in for a player as iconic and beloved as Neil Peart.

Had a blast with one of my oldest pals (and the guy who turned me on to Rush ~35 years ago) at the Rush tour kickoff: darkforcesswing.substack.com/p/a-garden-t...

A pleasure to read - thank you, Mark!

Campaign video for the Sonny Rollins Bridge Please share the video Please sign the petition: www.change.org/p/rename-the... Tag #SonnyRollinsBridge youtu.be/9fo-Lz7lJJw?...

No one album (or 12 or 100!) could ever sum up his greatness but here are some starting points as we begin to take stock of this incalculable loss: www.nytimes.com/2026/05/25/a...

A few thoughts on my surreal visit with Rush in Toronto: open.substack.com/pub/darkforc...

PSA if anyone is in need: Some friends are subletting a room in Brooklyn for the summer (through early fall). Amazing apt/location. Pls fwd to anyone who might be interested newyork.craigslist.org/brk/sub/d/br...

Paid a visit to Toronto in March: www.nytimes.com/2026/04/30/a...

Watch 30 glorious minutes of John Carter and Bobby Bradford dueting and conversing c. 1980 open.substack.com/pub/darkforc...

When I asked Melvin Gibbs's collaborators to describe him as a player and a thinker, they reached for poetic comparisons drawing from science, nature and myth open.substack.com/pub/darkforc...

Spoke to @melvingibbs.bsky.social about the inspirations for /ramifications of his revelatory new book: www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/a...

New weekly jazz listings post is live now. Follow JGI New York and stay tuned! www.instagram.com/p/DU08kRogMz...

In 2008, I got to sit down w/ Walter Becker to discuss his then-new solo album, a bunch of Steely Dan odds and ends, and a lot more for Time Out NY. Big thanks to the venerable Expanding Dan Substack for posting the full audio of the chat: expandingdan.substack.com/p/walter-bec...

Ralph Towner and Sunn O))) are polar guitar opposites: the respective epitomes of acoustic intimacy and amplified sonic weight. But where it counts, maybe they’re some strange sort of kindred. darkforcesswing.substack.com/p/ralph-town...

Had a great time talking with the Sunn O))) guys (and friends) about Seattle lore, recording in the forest and stacking up 180 tracks of guitars: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/a...

I saw more than 100 live shows this year. Here's a rundown of the 25 most memorable ones: darkforcesswing.substack.com/p/best-of-20...

A few words on my favorite reissues and historical releases of the year: darkforcesswing.substack.com/p/best-of-20...

Here are my 10 favorite albums of 2025, with a few words on why that's the case: darkforcesswing.substack.com/p/best-of-20...

Extended 2025 jazz list, with 25 additional favorites from the year beyond the top 10: darkforcesswing.substack.com/p/best-of-20...

Co-sign! One of my fave reads of the year

Such a cool and inspiring story

2025 jazz top 10: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/a...

Jabali at 85. Two more sets at Smoke tonight with @ethaniversonpiano.bsky.social, Mark Turner, Ben Street

New interview with the Messthetics on the humbling and inspiring experience of covering Sonny Sharrock's 'Ask the Ages' in full, which they'll do again on Friday in D.C., along with James Brandon Lewis: darkforcesswing.substack.com/p/like-tryin...

This week's drum-centric newsletter, in which I make the case for why Tyshawn Sorey's phenomenal trio (at the Vanguard this week!) are the best band in jazz, and delve into the genius of @jimwhitedrums.bsky.social, who plays TV Eye on Monday: darkforcesswing.substack.com/p/gig-of-the...

Thirty years ago, I read an album review, published in a DIY fanzine, that changed the course of my life. In recent days, I got to hold it in my hands - and thank the people who brought it into the world open.substack.com/pub/darkforc...

Gig of the Week, 11/3/25: darkforcesswing.substack.com/p/gig-of-the...

A bit more on the infinity of Jack DeJohnette: darkforcesswing.substack.com/p/the-infini...

Jack DeJohnette's art will live forever: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/a...

Every Thursday on Substack, I highlight one NYC gig for the coming week that I'm excited about, recap one from the prior week I loved and recommend dozens of other upcoming shows. It would mean a lot to me if you check it out and, if you like what you see, subscribe: darkforcesswing.substack.com

Gig of the Week post for 9/8/25 - recommend shows plus recent happenings including a new piece on Wayne Shorter's public archives: darkforcesswing.substack.com/p/gig-of-the...

DFSBP Gig of the Week (Joe Farnsworth live, RIP Brent Hinds and more) open.substack.com/pub/darkforc...

On the upcoming return of progressive post-hardcore masters Dazzling Killmen, and why the band has kept me fascinated for 30 years and counting: darkforcesswing.substack.com/p/beauty-in-...

Many of my most enjoyable NYC live-music experiences in the past few years have one factor in common: Joe Farnsworth -- some thoughts and a new NYT profile: darkforcesswing.substack.com/p/joe-farnsw...

Quick PSA: No new music released in the past ~15 years has hit me harder emotionally than the output of Patrick Walker, the U.K. singer-songwriter who records under the name 40 Watt Sun. He’s playing a rare NYC solo show at the Meadows on Sat., July 12th, and there are still tix available. (1/2)

PSA: If you're contacted by anyone on any social media claiming to be me, & promising coverage in exchange for $, this is (obviously!) a scam. Pls report, block, etc. Latest fraudulent account — actively trying to get it deactivated but could take a while www.tiktok.com/@hank_shteamer

I’ll be thinking about the final Ozzy/Sabbath show for a long while, but here’s some of what’s on my mind one day later, after streaming it from start to finish: open.substack.com/pub/darkforc...

I’ve been a fan of Brandee Younger for a while, so it was an honor to profile her ahead of her new album - which I absolutely love - out Friday: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/a...

Peter Evans’s Being & Becoming // @roulettenyc.bsky.social // Long Play Festival // May 2 Fantastic set. Dense, heady and at times (like here!) extremely hard-grooving. Joel Ross, Nick Joz, Tyshawn Sorey

Some thoughts on the intergenerational refuge of so-called screamo -- a.k.a., how did all these kids end up at the Saetia show? darkforcesswing.substack.com/p/saetia-is-...

I doubt there’s another writer alive who would think to compare Otis Redding and Keiji Haino. Just one among dozens of reasons why a new Ben Ratliff book is always a gift. ‘Run the Song’ is Ratliff at his most undiluted. Rambling by design (befitting its theme), it’s also startlingly lucid.

A marvelous experience to finally behold one of my greatest drumming heroes live. Absolute poetry; the sound and feel add up to an unmistakable fingerprint. (Damon Che / Yesness / Mercury Lounge, NYC / April 25, 2025)

Excited to see my name among the 2025 contenders for the Jazz Journalists Association's Robert Palmer–Helen Oakley Dance Award: jjajazzawards.org/2025-nominee.... Many of the greatest in the field have won or been nominated in the past, and it's a real honor to be in the running

One for Jabali, ahead of his great new ECM album, out tmrw www.nytimes.com/2025/02/27/a...

Really enjoyed this one. Captures the chronology and important background context but also, crucially, the spirit of the subject. Made me feel the enormity of his loss all over again and sent me back to the music (lately: ‘Song Sentimentale’) with a fresh appreciation of his singular greatness

One of the best things I've ever read not just on Garth but on the Band, period. Look forward to multiple re-reads. Music writing of this caliber really gives me hope. (Thanks to @jonbern.bsky.social for the heads-up.)

My 10 favorite albums of 2024, all genres in play: darkforcesswing.substack.com/p/best-of-20...