The Big Nine

From acclaimed New York Times Magazine author Michael Sokolove, the astonishing inside story of the epic corruption scandal that has rocked the NCAA and exposed the rot and hypocrisy at the heart of big-time college sports.

An unprecedented, behind-the-scenes look at the career of famed former Los Angeles Dodgers general manager (a position also known as "The Big Chair"), whose tenure spanned nine of the most exciting and turbulent years in the franchise's history.

Despite its title, the Ernie Wilkins Orchestra did not become "the big new band of the '60s" and this LP was its only recording. With such an all-star cast (including trumpeters Clark Terry and Charlie Shavers, tenors Zoot Sims and Yusef Lateef, vibraphonist Eddie Costa and guitarist Kenny Burrell) the big band would not have had much of a chance anyway in the 1960s. Wilkins' progressive but swinging arrangements for three of his originals and nine standards are enjoyable but the brevity of the tracks (the longest one is 3½-minutes) and the rather short solos is unfortunate. This LP falls a bit short of its great potential.

When Kendrick Lamar popped up on two tracks from Baby Keem’s The Melodic Blue (“range brothers” and “family ties”), it felt like one of hip-hop’s prophets had descended a mountain to deliver scripture. His verses were stellar, to be sure, but it also just felt like way too much time had passed since we’d heard his voice. He’d helmed 2018’s Black Panther compilation/soundtrack, but his last proper release was 2017’s DAMN. That kind of scarcity in hip-hop can only serve to deify an artist as beloved as Lamar. But if the Compton MC is broadcasting anything across his fifth proper album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, it’s that he’s only human.