John Malkin

John Malkin is a musician, journalist, activist, and father who lives in Santa Cruz, California. His writing has been published in many magazines, including The Sun, ascent, Shambhala Sun, Sojourners, Namarupa, adbusters, Punk Planet and Ode. He’s published two books: Sounds of Freedom: Musicians on Social Change & Spirituality (Parallax Press, 2005) and The Only Alternative: Christian Nonviolent Peacemakers in America (Wipf & Stock, 2007). He’s currently completing a book about punk rock, spirituality, and anarchism.

John Malkin

Music Review: The Omnichord Real Book

Music is a transformative force for Grammy Award-winning singer, bass player, an…

Music Review: Touch My Soul

Can you imagine contentment that goes on and on? That’s just what Ivan Neville d…

Music Review: The Record

When a musical trio like boygenius comes together, it’s like the final pieces of…

Music Review: Anarchist Gospel

Sunny War’s third album Anarchist Gospel brings together Americana roots, Delta …

Music Review: Mercy

Mercy, the new album from avant-rock icon John Cale, is chock-full of rumination…

Music Review: Pasado en claro

Poetry and improvisation are the passionate threads that weave through the new i…

Music Review: The New Faith

The New Faith is a beautifully crafted Afrofuturist album by Jake Blount that te…

Music Review: Synesthesia

Sherry Finzer’s new album is a journey of radiant solo flute music that releases…

Music Review: Spiral Rendezvous

The seasoned trio of R. Carlos Nakai, William Eaton, and Will Clipman have relea…

Music Review: Primordial Swamp Beat Live

Primordial Swamp Beat Live is an uplifting 20-minute-long live performance/invoc…

Music Review: Tiyo's Songs of Life

Tiyo Attallah Salah-El was born in 1932 in Pennsylvania. After serving as a tank…

Music Review: Home, Before and After

Regina Spektor's songs have always been quirky, insightful tales that mix the mu…

Music Review: Les Racines

Vieux Farka Toure's new album, Les Racines, was recorded in Bamako, Mali, in his…

Music Review: Breaking the Thermometer

Breaking the Thermometer by Leyla McCalla is an ambitious and rewarding project …

Music Review: Stories Up High

Laney Jones has been to the bottom and back up again. Lucky for us, she has the …

Music Review: Satchel of Songs

Diane Patterson’s sixth studio album, Satchel of Songs, was released on Internat…

Music Review: Life on Earth

Life on Earth is the eighth studio album from Alynda Segarra and their band Hurr…

Music Review: Radio Waves

Joan Osborne’s new album, Radio Waves, is a great idea that wouldn’t have happen…

Music Review: Age of Apathy

AGE OF APATHY is the first studio album in six years from Irish-American singer …

Music Review: SUBA

OMAR SOSA AND SECKOU KEITA’S new album, SUBA, is a peaceful blend of rhythms and…

Music Review: Gone Beyond

DONNA DE LORY’S new album, Gone Beyond, offers the fruits of the singer’s daily …

Book Review: The Shamanic Bones of Zen

THE SHAMANIC BONES OF ZEN by Zenju Earthlyn Manuel is a deep exploration of the …

Music Review: The Jungle Sessions

THE JUNGLE SESSIONS is the third album in a trilogy from sacred singer/guitarist…

Music Review: Music for Film & Theatre

HANIA RANI IS A bright emerging artist whose piano-based compositions are emotio…

Music Review: They’re Calling Me Home

If there’s an upside to the pandemic, it’s that it inspired creative endeavors …

Music Review: We Are

We Are is the powerful new album from pianist/singer Jon Batiste, his first fu…

Music Review: Nocturne: Music for the Native American Flute

Nocturne: Music for the Native American FluteR. Carlos NakaiCANYON RECORDS …

re/VIEW: Indigo Girls

On Look Long, Indigo Girls' May 22 album release, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers cont…

All Together Now

OK Go singer Damian Kulash discovers hope amid the fear of the pandemic.

Music Is My Salvation

Sacred Singer Jai Uttal Releases Guitar Songs During Pandemic.

Prayer in Action: Klee Benally

A musician and activist on the front lines of Navajo Nation

Music Review: Sacrament

Sacrament is an album of ritual music with a Native American flavor by mult…

Music Review: Thanks for the Dance

Thanks for the Dance is a quintessential mix of Leonard Cohen’s melancholy humor…

Music Review: Bloom

Areni Agabian fuses unusual influences to create an album that is sparse, spacio…

Music Review: Patty Griffin

Patty Griffin's latest album contains 13 songs of self-reflection, spiritual att…

Rosa Parks: Pure Love: An Oratorio of Seven Songs

"'She was an activist long before the incident of the bus and the boycott,' Smit…

Music Review: The Prophet Speaks

Could it be that the answers we seek are right in front of us, but our ears have…

Music Review: The Cut of the Warrior

The Cut of the Warrior is an album about slicing through the ego and opening to …

5 Questions with Philip Glass

Composer Philip Glass culminated almost two decades of exploring sacred indigeno…

Music Review: Holler

Amy Ray’s sixth solo album, Holler, explores a range of topics like addiction, i…

Music Review: The Spirit of the Earth

The new two-CD album from Philip Glass—The Spirit of the Earth—is a …

Music Review: Magic Ship

One secret ingredient of the new album Magic Ship by Mountain Man are the amazin…

Music Review: Deva

Deva Premal and Miten have been making music together for almost 30 years. Their…

Music Review: Down Come the Walls

DOWN COME THE WALLS is a heart-opening album about personal transformation and r…

Music Review: Here in Heaven

DONNA DE LORY’S new album, Here in Heaven, begins with percussive vocals that br…

Music Review: Tree of Forgiveness

SEVENTY-ONE-YEAR-OLD John Prine has successfully beat cancer—twice. One th…

Music Review: The Prodigal Son

THE PRODIGAL SON is Ry Cooder’s first solo album in six years—and it’s abo…

Music Review: Landfall

LANDFALL is an exquisite musical story of loss that’s been sumptuously crafted i…

Music Review: No Mercy in This Land

BEN HARPER AND Charlie Musselwhite are definitely on a roll. Their latest album&…

Music Review: My Name Is Bear

“We all must find our own way home.” This phrase rests on the booklet cover insi…

Music Review: Wilder Shores

Belinda Carlisle’s new album, Wilder Shores, has the former Go-Go’s singer blend…

Music Review: Solo

“Most people would never realize that I am closer to Thelonious Monk than to any…

Music Review: Komitas

Komitas (1869–1935) was a poet, priest, singer, and composer whose music us…

Music Review: Wonderville

Adam Bauer began his musical career as a bass player in a reggae band in Massach…

Music Review: ​Songversation: Medicine

Eric Garner’s dying words—“I can’t breathe”—were caught on video in …

Music Review: Clean

Paul Jones is an accomplished jazz saxophonist, and for his second album—C…

Music Review: Power of Peace

Power of Peace is a joyful album that fulfills a wish of Carlos Santana to colla…

Music Review: Truth Is a Beautiful Thing

London Grammar’s Hannah Reid has a stunning vocal range, and her two bandmates h…

Music Review: Binary

Ani DiFranco is now in her fourth decade of producing high-energy music with lyr…

Music Review: Pure Comedy

Pure Comedy by Father John Misty is a striking blues album that’s funny and…

Music Review: Requiem

Tigran Mansurian’s Requiem, dedicated to the memory of the victims of the A…

Music Review: Radiance Mixes: Tibetan Bowls with the Mantras of Deva Premal

Paul Temple, the artist who goes by the name RadianceMatrix, is a practitioner o…

Music Review: Future Politics

Future PoliticsAustraDomino Recording CompanyElectronic pop band Austra was foun…

Music Review: Freedom Highway

Freedom HighwayRhiannon GiddensNonesuch RecordsFreedom Highway is the new album …

Music Review: You Want It Darker

You Want It DarkerLeonard CohenColumbiaJust before the winter settled in, Leonar…

Music Review: America’s National Parks

America’s National ParksWadada Leo SmithCuneiformYosemite, the Grand Canyon, Yel…

Music Review: Keep Me Singing

Keep Me SingingVan MorrisonCaroline InternationalKeep Me Singing is Van Morrison…

Music Review: On Behalf of Nature

On Behalf of NatureMeredith MonkECMOn Behalf of Nature is the latest album from …

Music Review: The Beautiful Not Yet

The Beautiful Not YetCarrie NewcomerAvailable Light RecordsCarrie Newcomer’s soo…

Music Review: Temple at Midnight

Temple at MidnightMitenPrabhu MusicTemple at Midnight is the new solo album from…

Music Review: Shakti Sutra

Shakti Sutra Sheela Bringi New Earth Records With Shakti Sutra Indian-America…

Music Review: The Earth Wants You

The Earth Wants YouRev. Billy & The Stop Shopping ChoirCreative CommonsRev. …

Music Review: Continuum

ContinuumNik BärtschECMLooking for a deep sensory experience? Hang out inside Co…

Music Review: Né So

Né SoRokia TraoréNonesuch From the opening moments of this new album, the Afric…

Music Review: Into the Silence

Into the SilenceAvishai CohenECMMusic can be motivated by new beginnings and ins…

Music Review: Om Land

Om LandDavid Vito GregoliDharmapalaOm Land is the latest offering from award-win…

Music Review: Sanctuary

SanctuaryPhil HaynesCorner Store JazzCymbals, chimes, and drums. Sticks, fingers…

Music Review: The Spirit of Healing

The Spirit of HealingShamanic Journey Musicby Sandra Ingerman & Byron Metcal…

Music Review: Hommage à Eberhard Weber

Hommage à Eberhard Weberwith Pat Metheny, Jan Garbarek, Gary Burton, and the SWR…

Music Review: Kala

KalaTrevor HallVanguard RecordsTrevor Hall’s new album, Kala, was written in Haw…

Music Review: Nomad Songs

Nomad SongsStephan MicusECM RecordsStephan Micus describes himself as a musical …

Music Review: Buy This Fracking Album

Buy This Fracking AlbumFeaturing Meshell Ndegeocello, Natalie Merchant and the F…

Music Review: Crosswinds

Crosswinds: World Flute ConversationsRajendra TeredesaiReal MusicCrosswinds is a…

Music Review: Deuter

DeuterReiki Hands of LoveNEW EARTH RECORDSReiki Hands of Love is a sensitive, me…

Music Review: Rising Appalachia

Rising AppalachiaWider CirclesRISING APPALACHIA A few years ago a friend emaile…

Book Review: Become Ocean

Become OceanJohn Luther AdamsCANTALOUPE MUSICGlobal warming and climate change a…

Music Review: Aquilonis

Aquilonis  Trio Mediaeval ECM RECORDSAquilonis is the sixth ECM New Se…

Music Review: Mbalimaou

MbalimaouBoubacar LUSAFRICA  Boubacar TraorÉ was born in the city of …

Music Review: Winds of Samsara

Winds of SamsaraRicky Kej & Wouter Kellerman Revolution Studios/Kellerm…

Music Review: Singing Lights

Singing LightsTony Duncan & Darrin Yazzie Canyon Records“Music has alwa…

Music Review: Ancient Sufi Invocations & Forgotten Songs from Aleppo

Ancient Sufi Invocations & Forgotten Songs from AleppoNawaElectric Cowb…

Music Review: Cello & Piano Meditations, Music for Relaxation and Healing

Cello & Piano Meditations: Music for Relaxation and HealingDavid Darling an…

Music Review, At the Temple Door

At the Temple Door Ajeet KaurSpirit VoyageAjeet Kaur encountered a spiritua…

Music Review: Incantations

IncantationsSheela Bringi Black SwanSoulful music has probably always bloss…

Music Review: Heartbeats: Music Infused Nights

Heartbeats: Music Infused InsightsMonique RhodesSounds TrueAwakening to the pres…

Music Review: The Master

The MasterWarren Cuccurullo and Ustad Sultan KhanSix Degrees RecordsTalk about&n…

Music Review: Spiraling, Ascending with Prayer

Spiraling, Ascending with PrayerLouie GonnieCanyon RecordsSpiraling, Ascending w…

Music Review: Beautiful Love

Beautiful LovePaulinho GarciaJazzmin Records and Shrinktunes MediaBeautiful Love…

Music Review: The Tree of Life

The Tree of LifeLoren Nerell and Mark SeeligProjektThe Tree of Life is a new alb…

Music Review: Ritual

RitualPeter Kater and R. Carlos NakaiMysterium Music Rituals are about presence…

Music Review: River of Light

River of LightAshanaSpirit VoyageAshana’s new River of Light begins with the gen…

Music Review: Tremors

TremorsSohn4ADThe debut album from music producer Sohn is creative, emotionally …

Music Review: Return to Shiva Station

Return to Shiva Station: Kailash ConnectionJai UttalSounds TrueShiva Station is …

Music Review: The Gospel According to the Other Mary

The Gospel According to the Other Mary: A Passion Oratorio in Two ActsJohn Adams…

Music Review: Goodnight Tender

Goodnight TenderAmy RayDaemon RecordsAmy Ray is half of the Indigo Girls with Em…

Music Review: Music for Love and Connection

Yoga Is Love: Music for Love and ConnectionTom CollettiSounds TrueThe multi-inst…

Music Review: Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles

Tales from the Realm of theQueen of PentaclesSuzanne VegaAmanuensis ProductionsF…

Music Review: Senses

SensesOmar SosaOtá RecordsCuban-born pianist Omar Sosa began studying music when…

Jahta Beat: Chanting with Tigers

Jahta Beat: Chanting with TigersDJ DrezBlack Swan SoundsChanting with Tigers is …

Lam La Che (On the Road)

Lam La Che (On the RoadTechungARC Music ProductionsThe latest album from the Tib…

Music Review: Igniting the Beauty

Igniting the BeautyBrenda McMorrowWhite Swan RecordsBrenda McMorrow played folk …

Music Review: Cantus

CantusKunikoLinn RecordsKuniko Kato, a native of Japan, studied piano as a child…

Music Review: The Spiritual Side of Wynton Marsalis

The Spiritual Side of Wynton MarsalisWynton MarsalisColumbia/Sony Classical/Lega…

Music Review: Future Flows

Future FlowsSteve RoachProjekt RecordsTime seems to slow down when you’re listen…

Music Review: The Unchanging

The UnchangingDonna De LoryDe Lory MusicDonna De Lory’s new album, The Unchangin…

Book Review: The Practice of Nada Yoga

The Practice of Nada YogaMeditation on the Inner Sacred SoundBy Baird HerseyInne…

Musician Profile: Donna De Lory

Donna De Lory’s new album The Unchanging brings attention to the sacred and eter…

Music Review: Build a Bridge

Diane PattersonFour Winds MusicDiane Patterson sees herself as a pilgrim and a g…

Music Review: Deep Africa

Deep ForestBig 3 Records“Amber Opening” is a smooth, flowing song that begins th…

Music Review: Charity - Songs of the Native American Church

Kevin YazzieCanyon RecordsFor thousands of years, peyote has been sanctified as …

Music Review: For Now I Am Winter

Ólafur ArnaldsMercury ClassicsAt 28, Ólafur Arnalds is part of a budding musical…

Awakening the Fire

R. Carlos Nakai and Will Clipman Canyon Records Not counting birdsong, cicada …

Bobby McFerrin's SpiritYouAll Honors His Father

(Sony Masterworks)After 30 years of uplifting vocals, a cappella magic, 10 Gramm…

Soul March

Chandrika Krishnamurthy TandonSoul Chants MusicTwo hundred forty miles. That’s t…

The Best of 25 Years

The Tibetan Healing Music of Nawang KhechogArtist: Nawang Khechog; Produced…

Everything Is Broken

Songs about Things as They AreAlan SenaukeSonic Zen RecordsTake a close look at …

Mala

Devendra BanhartNonesuch RecordsI first heard about singer-songwriter Devendra B…

Tooth & Nail

Billy Bragg Cooking Vinyl Tooth & Nail is Billy Bragg’s first studio album in …

Love Never Comes Too Late

VinxDreamsiclePrimal Pop. That’s the way Vinx  De’Jon Parrette describes hi…

Liquid Mind X: Meditation

Chuck WildReal MusicChuck Wild’s music career has been a wild ride. Back in the …

Healing Mantras

Mantras for Precarious Times; Tibetan Mantras for Turbulent Times (2-disc set)De…

Troubadours on the Rhine

Loreena McKennittQuinlan Road Limited Gently opening my eyes while listenin…

Philip Glass Gets Schooled

It’s a great time to be a Philip Glass fan—last year was the composer’s 75th bir…

Koralations

Foday Musa Suso and Gretchen RoweSUSO MUSICKORALATIONS IS A MEETING of two music…

The Dunrobin Session

Pauline Oliveros and Jesse StewartNUUN RECORDSOliveros has explained deep listen…

Amrita

Prajna Vieira and Ben LeinbachMANTRALOGY RECORDSPrajna Viera has honed …

The Passion of Ramakrishna

Philip GlassORANGE MOUNTAIN MUSIC“It would be hard to overestimate the impact th…

Ancient Future

Ryuichi Sakamoto and Christopher WillitsGhostly InternationalRyuichi Sakamoto is…

Fatou

Fatoumata DiawaraWorld Circuit/NonesuchAfrica is the birthplace of some of the s…

Earth Warrior

Tony DuncanCanyon RecordsEarth Warrior is a celebration of life. This sensitive …

Peace Becomes You

Holly NearCalico Tracks MusicHolly Near is a lovely example of a musical artist …

Emerging Artist: Alisha Zalkin

The music business in Los Angeles is not known for being easy. Alisha Zalkin, a…

Pilgrimage to India with MC Yogi

Bhakti-hop innovator MC Yogi travels to India for an unwitting spiritual chiropractic adjustment—and artistic inspiration for his newest musical offering.

Sound, Silence, and John Cage: Four Musical and Spiritual Ideals to Live By

I’m sitting cross-legged on a downtown sidewalk. My five year-old son is in my l…

Matisyahu: "Spark Seeker"

A young girl with frizzy dreadlock-style hair looks into the camera with a half-…

"Election Special" by Ry Cooder

And now a special message from Ry Cooder: welcome to the reality of money, corru…

"Remixed" by Girish

Opening the CD case for Girish’s Remixed, one discovers a poem by the great Sufi…

"Different Colours" by Marconi Union

"The world's most relaxing song”—that’s how Time magazine (November 28, 201…

"Anastasis" by Dead Can Dance

Rebirth. That’s how fans worldwide of Dead Can Dance must be describing the…

Guitars Without Borders: A Night at a House Concert

I’m reclining on a couch with large, cushy black pillows. Just relaxing. And lis…

Eckhart Tolle's "Music for Inner Stillness"

Music has always been a way to get in touch with emotion, nature, and inner stil…

Music for Social Change

Margaret Mead once said, “A small group of thoughtful people could change the wo…

"Stifters Dinge" by Heiner Goebbels

Soundscape, audio collage, musique concrète, found sound. Those are some of…

"Apollo" by Icebreaker

Imagine life without gravity: weightlessly floating with ease. Images of the ear…

"Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions" by Billy Bragg and Wilco

Fifteen years ago Nora Guthrie, the daughter of political folk legend Woody Guth…

"All Fall Down" by Shawn Colvin

Back in 1987 Shawn Colvin was a backup singer for Suzanne Vega. Look at her now!…