Sep 22, 2026 12:26 PM
Hyde Park Jazz Fest on Chicago’s South Side to Present 20th Edition
The Hyde Park Jazz Festival will take place for the 20th time on the final weekend of September 2026. Beginning half…
The musician was found at his apartment in Sugar Loaf, N.Y., according to a statement from his label, Blind Pig Records. Emergency medical personnel tried to revive Perry, but he died on the way to the hospital, an apparent heart attack victim, although no official cause of death has been determined.
Perry first made his mark in the clubs of New York in the 1980s, when he was spotted by folk-rock singer Richie Havens. Perry spent four years on the road as the featured guitarist in Havens' band. During the same period, he also toured with The Band's Garth Hudson and Levon Helm.
Good friend and labelmate Popa Chubby produced Perry's most recent release, Don't Know Nothin' About Love. "The best thing about Bill was that his talent was effortless," he said. "He was a natural. He could sing the phone book and draw you in. He didn't have a mean or a bad bone in him. I never heard him say a bad word about anyone. He was a brother and I'll miss him dearly."
Perry is survived by his 25-year-old son, Aaron, three brothers and a sister.
A solo concert by saxophonist Joshua Redman will close the first night of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival on Sept. 26.
Sep 22, 2026 12:26 PM
The Hyde Park Jazz Festival will take place for the 20th time on the final weekend of September 2026. Beginning half…
“It was just that suddenly … I could hear it,” Ravi Coltrane said of an epiphany he experienced during his late teens regarding his father’s music. “And it was almost like a calling, like something saying, ‘Hey, man, come on. It’s time to get serious.’ And the first time you really tune in and dial in and focus like that, it can be very life-changing.”
Sep 22, 2026 1:39 PM
Editor’s Note: Tomorrow, Sept. 23, is the 100th anniversary of John Coltrane’s birth. In honor of the tenor and…
Camille Thurman took to the stage alongside bassist Kenny Davis and drummer Tommy Campbell for a rendition of Johnny Mercer’s “I’m An Old Cowhand” that recalled Rollins’ epochal 1957 trio outing Way Out West.
Oct 6, 2026 1:33 PM
As emcee Mark Ruffin noted at the commencement of an epic tribute to saxophonist Sonny Rollins at the Cathedral of Saint…
Kurt Elling, Katherine Russell and Emmet Cohen (host on the 2027 Jazz Cruise) share a laugh at sea.
Sep 8, 2026 11:52 AM
It began in 2001. A travel agent named Anita E. Berry had been booking clients on “partial” jazz cruises that took…
Sep 17, 2026 11:00 AM
The 2027 DownBeat College Guide is an invaluable resource for music students, especially jazz students, to find a school…
