I used to like Dustin Cavazos. Then I didn't. But, now I think I'm starting to like him again. Too confusing? Take a look at this simple time line.

2010
The Oak Cliff rapper's first album, I Think In the Shower, I Dream On My Bike, proved him as a major player in local hip-hop. His sobering delivery, with a slight lisp that hangs on to the back of the rhythm like molasses on a pan, touched on his love for the city and his bike. In the words of a former Observer intern when asked if he wanted Jersey Mike's subs: "I can vibe with that." Even more impressive, Cavazos made his own beats, which hit hard -- especially on the Chi-Lites-sampling track "Fresh."
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Welcome to Staff Trax, the weekly feature here on DC9 where we shed some light on the music we've been enjoying of late, regardless of the touring or album release schedules that tend to bear the focus of most of our coverage. Consider it a chance for you readers to get some more insight into our own personal tastes. Maybe you'll find something you like, ya dig?

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Jasper TX -- "Summer"



I first heard Dag Rosenqvist (aka Jasper Tx) on his 2005 debut I'll Be Long Gone Before My Light Reaches You. Intrigued initially just for the fact that a Swedish guy chose a moniker with such negative connotations, I was shocked to find how beautiful the music actually was. Since then, I've liked each and every effort, especially 2007's In a Cool Monsoon. Ambient to be sure, but full of interesting surges of melody, "Summer" is the perfect summation of Rosenqvist's milieu. Like Terry Riley's legendary, neo-classical epic In C, Jasper Tx is perfect music to paint your house by. --Darryl Smyers


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Welcome to Check Out This Jam!!!, the weekly feature here on DC9 where we shed some light on the music we've been enjoying of late, regardless of the touring or album release schedules that tend to bear the focus of most of our coverage. Also, it's a chance for you readders to get more insight into our own personal tastes. Anyway, don't think too much about it. Just go on and check out these jams, already.


Former Dallasite David Karsten Daniels released his last album, Fear of Flying, back in 2008, but, for whatever reason, I set it aside shortly afterward, only happening upon it again recently thanks to the shuffle function on my iPod. Standout track "Martha Ann" is essentially all chorus, building quickly from a lone acoustic guitar and keyboard into a folk-pop cacophony of low, buzzing saxophone, understated violin, and sticky sweet female harmonies that lasts but two minutes and six seconds--which makes it pretty easy to listen to five, 10, or 20 times in a row. --Noah W. Bailey

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Welcome to Check Out This Jam!!!, the weekly feature here on DC9 where we shed some light on the music we've been enjoying of late, regardless of the touring or album release schedules that tend to bear the focus of most of our coverage. Also, it's a chance for you readders to get more insight into our own personal tastes. Anyway, don't think too much about it. Just go on and check out these jams, already.



About a year and a half ago, I caught part of a documentary on KERA that detailed the 1970 South Dallas Pop Festival, which brought together many local funk acts inspired by the likes of James Brown, Kool & the Gang, and The Meters.

The music was tremendous, but the footage and the historical importance of the event, which was the one and only South Dallas Pop Festival, trumped even that. The Apollo Commanders, one of the stars of that event, have stuck with me ever since, reminding of the rich musical lineage that sometimes gets overlooked in our city. --Nic Hernandez

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Welcome to Check Out This Jam!!!, a new weekly feature here on DC9. The idea's pretty simple: It's a chance for us writers to shed some light on the music we've been enjoying of late, regardless of the touring or album release schedules that tend to bear the focus of most of our coverage. Don't think about it too much. Just go on and check out these jams, dude. 

For about a month now--since Vic Chesnutt's death on Christmas Day--I've been quietly obsessing over the amazing "Isadora Duncan" off of 1990's Little. Fitting, I suppose, since Duncan (modern dance's matriarch) also suffered a most tragic death and was a controversial legend underrated in her own time... --Merritt Martin

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