Patty Waters’ Sings: Descend into madness this Valentine’s Day

Over saturated black and white portrait of Patty Waters in center

Patty Waters’ Sings: Descend into madness this Valentine’s Day

By Bridget Holt Music Journalist What starts as an at-first-glance unassuming collection of love ballads, Patti Waters’ 1966 debut Sings explores themes of infatuation, desire, and yearning through the guise of an estranged lover’s descent into self-immolation– a woman with a broken heart tethered to a shadow, spinning into hilarity. A gloomy, yet gorgeous free-jazz record that builds until it collapses– taking a staggering shift from serene, melancholic melodies to […]

February 10, 2025 215 3 4

A trumpet lays on top of an old looking record sleeve as one of the records peeks out

3

Music

Samara Joy Says Jazz is Not Dead

By Michael Ybarra Music Journalist The recording academy made some interesting decisions on the biggest night for music, but they may have gotten something right which has bigger implications than anyone has realized. 64 years after the first black woman won Best Individual Jazz Performance and Best Female Vocal Performance at the first ever Grammy Awards, Samara Joy took home the title of Best New Artist. She shattered the […]

March 3, 2023 2061 3

Image featuring notable keyboardist Chick Corea

Music

Honoring the Life of Chick Corea

Sarah GrunauMusic Journalist Chick Corea, an elemental key to the evolution of jazz and jazz fusion has passed from a rare form of cancer at the age of 79. Corea strongly impacted the scope of jazz and introduced an improvisational element to the new arise of jazz fusion. Corea’s sudden passing was confirmed by family members on the Chick Corea facebook page on Thursday, February 11th. Corea has left an […]

February 26, 2021 93

Shiloh Dynasty: The Vibe that has defined my college learning “I’m not a look, I’m a feeling”

6

Features

Shiloh Dynasty: The Vibe that has Defined My College Learning

By Jason ArlineMusic Journalist Whenever there has been a time when I needed to study I often play music softly in the background to help calm my mood and prepare my mind for learning. I find that both jazz and lo-fi music allow room for thought since they usually don’t have lyrics in their songs. However, since studying usually takes hours of my time, most music playlists don’t last the […]

September 30, 2020 37632 6

The self-portrait is taken of the author of this article. The author is posing with a ‘Eddie Durham Jazz Celebration’ concert flyer that showcases a graphic image of Eddie Durhan on the cover; the author took this picture while posing in front of the Evans Auditorium stage, post-concert.

Interviews

Eddie Durham: Jazz for the Texan Soul

By Claudia RuizMusic Journalist Although quarantine may have put a dent in all of our 2020 plans, especially those of us in the performing arts and general music scene, we choose to embrace the memories we’ve made in live shows and concerts and remind ourselves why we find music so comforting, especially in these trying times. The local music scene of San Marcos, in particular, can take credit for one […]

August 23, 2020 128

The album cover appears to be a man who is only a head in a forest with pink eyes

Music

Album Review: “Slow Burn” by Blumoon

By Nicholas Volpe Local Music Journalist Artist: Blumoon Album: Slow Burn Release Date: Feb. 22, 2019 Website: https://blumoon.bandcamp.com/ Crossover jazz-influenced music seems to be making a huge splash in both the popular and underground music scenes today. Just a quick listen to KTSW’s radio station will likely give you evidence of this recent trend. And while Austin and other larger cities in Texas may be home to a few notable names […]

March 26, 2019 63

Culture

An Interview With Mr. San Marvelous

By Holly Henrichsen Assistant Web Content Manager Josh (aka Mr. San Marvelous) brings old time swing and jazz to the KTSW forefront from 6-8 p.m. every Tuesday with his show, San Marvelous. “It’s the oldies,” Josh said about the music he plays on San Marvelous. “It’s as old as it can get. And I like to enjoy the music from the original recording where it’s super terrible in a tin […]

April 10, 2017 115

Music

Thundercat: Drunk Review

By Troy Vita Music Journalist Artist: Thundercat Album: Drunk Label: Brainfeeder Release Date: February 24, 2017 Website: http://brainfeeder.net/thundercat/ Alongside being an accomplished studio musician, bassist, singer, Flying Lotus collaborator and one of the creative forces behind Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, Thundercat creates eclectic music that combines funk, jazz fusion, soul and electronic sounds. Drunk finds Thundercat at his weirdest and most genius. This is his busiest album yet, […]

March 29, 2017 80

Music

Trumpets and Turntables: An Introduction to Electro Swing

By Hannah Wisterman Music Journalist In 2013, Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby hit theaters. Almost immediately, the “Roaring 20s” theme spread like wildfire from event to event. Fringe dresses, flapper-style headbands, and fonts to replicate vintage typography ran rampant. Among the fads, was a genre of music that had previously only gotten a brief spotlight in one-off TV commercials and background tracks: electro swing. Electro swing is basically what it says […]

March 9, 2017 233

Jazz