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…
In addition to producing, DJ Harrison plays keys and bass in Butcher Brown and on his solo projects.
(Photo: Joey Wharton)How has that curiosity, combined with the eclectic, super-individualist nature of the Richmond scene, informed your projects?
From experimenting, you can define what you like and don’t like. In Richmond, it doesn’t matter what kind of music we do; we’re all in the know. We’re all playing at the same venues, going to each other’s shows, having all the genres cross-pollinate. You never know where the inspiration is going to come from.
How have the relationships among Butcher Brown members allowed your sound to evolve?
Those are all my homies; we have fun on the road and in the studio. That translates into the recordings. People can feel that energy, and it’s all about energy—capturing and translating energy.
In terms of energy, you often create samples or sections that don’t seem totally aligned, like a rhythmic rub, which feels very natural.
Quantizing is great, but there has to be the human feel. There’s room not for error, but for imperfection. That applies to life, too. There are small imperfections that make certain things beautiful. Then those imperfections become what defines the song or the feel—they make one thing connect to the next.
Every #KingButch track feels like an answer to a two-part question: What do we do with these sounds that already exist, and how do we evolve them and make them personal?
Within Butcher Brown, there are so many different artists, and we’re listening to so many different records. We just wanna make sure there’s that lineage factor that connects all of that [in our music]. You can relate the album back to another album or production sound, but we’re putting our spin on it, trying new sounds, keeping it current. And it doesn’t matter what genre you call it or where we’re coming from. We just wanna make the music feel good. It’s like making a huge pot of soup. Everyone brings their ingredients and then you create something new altogether. That becomes the new recipe.
What prompted the formation of Jellowstone, and how has having this space allowed for greater autonomy around your artistry?
There have been three iterations of the studio. There’s the den, which is my mother’s house back in Chester. When I was in high school, I started collecting gear and recording. When I graduated from college, I moved into a house in Richmond on Georgia Avenue; we just called that The Georgia House. And it just kept expanding. After The Georgia House, we moved here in 2012. Everyone in the band has lived here. I’m not sure what it is about this house, but there’s an energy/synergy here. With all the gear and all the music that’s been created here, it’s comfortable. And you gotta be comfortable to be able to make good music.
Here, I can make sure the idea sees its full potential. It’s been instrumental—no pun intended—for helping us have a safe space to create. And I don’t question it. It’s like, “This is the vibe. Everyone believes in it, so leave it alone. Keep doing what you’re doing. Let the energy take over.” DB
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…
