Van Morrison, “Moving on Skiffle.” Van Morrison wasn’t around when skiffle music first originated in the U.S. in the early 1900s, blending jazz, blues, bluegrass and folk, often played on handmade instruments like washboards, jugs and cigar-box fiddles in addition to guitars and banjos. But growing up in Northern…

Van Morrison, “Latest Record Project Volume 1.” Van Morrison is back, for a 42nd go-around, and the downtime brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic apparently gave him plenty of time to gripe about things through song. Latest Record Project Volume 1 Van Morrison Exile/BMG, May 7 7/10 But that…

Van Morrison performs in 2018; courtesy. I’ve invented a moment in musical history that I like to envision over and over again: It’s New York, late summer, 1969 in the penthouse of A & R Recording studios. Producer Lewis Merenstein is at the board with a couple of engineers.…

Van Morrison, “The Prophet Speaks.” After 39 studio albums, Van Morrison manages to blend jazzy covers and soulful originals for his latest offering, The Prophet Speaks. Where roughly half of the album is an ode to classic artists like J.D. Harris and Sam Cooke, the rest takes Van Morrison back…