Walt Weiskopf Harmless Addiction

One of the most innovative exponents of the art of playing the vibraphone, Philadelphian Walt Dickerson made his recording debut in 1961 and made a dozen or so LP's for various labels in the 60's, culminating in a date for MGM in 1965 (A Patch of Blue) featuring Sun Ra on piano. After that he did not venture into the studio again until some ten years later when Masahiko Yuh recorded Tell Us The Beautiful Things - the first of two for his Why Not label. This, the elusive second recording of Walt Dickerson has never been available before outside Japan. It features Wilbur Ware on bass and Edgar Bateman's drums along with Jamaaladeen Tacuma on electric bass on one track and shows Dickerson at his very best.

On this inclement collaborative mini-album, Mary Lattimore teams up with Weyes Blood's Walt McClements, who plays electronically-enhanced accordion against Lattimore's signature looped harp flourishes. Gorgeous stuff - one for fans of the West Coast new age scene, for sure.

Jane's Addiction were one of the most hotly pursued rock bands when they gained notice in Los Angeles in the mid-'80s, with record companies at their feet. Flamboyant frontman Perry Farrell, formerly of the band Psi Com, had an undeniable charisma and an interest in provocative art (he designed the band's album covers), and Jane's Addiction played a hybrid of rock music: metal with strains of punk, folk, and jazz. The quartet, comprised of Farrell, bassist Eric Avery, drummer Stephen Perkins, and guitarist Dave Navarro, had already released its debut album as well, in the form of a live recording from the Roxy in Hollywood. Finally, Warner Bros. won the bidding war and released Nothing's Shocking in 1988. The band's abrasive sound and aggressive attitude (typified by the nude sculpture on the cover) led to some resistance, but Jane's Addiction began to break through to an audience – the album spent 35 weeks on the charts.