Larry Birnbaum, Phil Brett, Thomas Conrad

ill Ware and The Club Bird All Stars: Martian Sunset; JD Allen: Love Letters (The Ballad Sessions); Pat Bianchi: Confluence; Melissa Errico: I Can Dream, Can't I? (Illusions and Conversations from the Great American Songbook); Joel Ross: Gospel Music.

In the April 2024 issue of this magazine, a piece by Editor Jim Austin appeared in the "As We See It" space. It was titled "On assessing sonic illusions," and it has haunted me for more than a year. Jim's thesis was that a music recording is a "synthetic, whole-cloth creation ... a complete fabrication."

Dave Pietro: Satori; Simón Willson: Feel Love; George Coleman: George Coleman with Strings; Patricia Brennan: Of the Near and Far.