Sep 22, 2026 2:55 PM
A John Coltrane Centennial
Editor’s Note: Tomorrow, Sept. 23, is the 100th anniversary of John Coltrane’s birth. In honor of the tenor and…
“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 2:55 PM
Editor’s Note: Tomorrow, Sept. 23, is the 100th anniversary of John Coltrane’s birth. In honor of the tenor and…
Seamus Blake has taken a deep dive into the music of Eddie Harris. “The more that I listened to him, the more I appreciated and recognized the diversity of his kind of talent.”
Aug 25, 2026 12:49 PM
The London-born, Vancouver-raised Seamus Blake, a role model for a generation of aspiring tenor sax players in Canada,…
A drummer’s drummer, Rodney Holmes gigged with everyone from Joe Zawinul and Carlos Santana to Steve Kimock and the Brecker Brothers.
Jul 23, 2026 3:05 PM
Drummer Rodney Holmes, a powerful presence behind the kit who emerged as an in-demand player on the New York scene…
“You cannot quit,” drummer Adonis Rose, right, told vocalist Phillip Manuel. “There’s no way in hell you can stop being a performer, as great as you are.”
May 12, 2026 1:55 PM
As if Grammy-winning drummer, composer, producer and educator Adonis Rose didn’t already have his plate full as…
“If we travel to Europe or if we go play gigs around the States, I call it a ‘playcation,’” says guitarist Steve Masakowski, center, of his family band with daughter Sasha, left, and son Martin.
Apr 28, 2026 12:20 PM
Guitarist, composer and educator Steve Masakowski has racked up an impressive list of credentials in his storied career.…
The super group bassist Martin Wind assembled to play on Stars, from left: drummer Matt Wilson, clarinetist Anat Cohen, Wind and pianist Kenny Barron.
Mar 24, 2026 11:10 AM
From his native Flensburg, Germany, where he was born in 1968, to establishing a lasting presence on the New York jazz…
Roland Kirk circa 1963 (pre-Rahsaan)
Mar 10, 2026 2:41 PM
In DownBeat’s February 2026 issue, we reviewed a fine selection of historical releases from multiple eras of jazz. The…
Lettuce, from left: Eric Coomes, Adam Deitch, Ryan Zoidis, Eric Bloom, Adam Smirnoff and Nigel Hall
Feb 17, 2026 11:33 AM
They were Berklee misfits. Neither jazzy enough for the straightahead crowd at Boston’s highly prestigious College of…
“It’s a positive record for me because I was trying to give some inspiration, more so than anything,” says Dave McMurray of his new album.
Jan 13, 2026 2:08 PM
Detroit saxophonist Dave McMurray still has deeply felt youthful memories of making the pilgrimage to Baker’s Keyboard…
Souvik Dutta calls Abstract Logix his side hustle, one that allows him to work with some of the greatests fusion artists in the world.
Jan 7, 2026 11:16 AM
Growing up in Calcutta, Souvik Dutta had the usual exposure to Indian classical music in his home. “From the time I…
“I stand on the shoulders of some really great people who contributed to this world, musically, and I am passing it on to the next generation,” says multi-instrumentalist Roger Glenn.
Dec 16, 2025 2:01 PM
Like his famous father, Tyree Glenn, who had the unusual double of trombone and vibes during his tenures with Cab…
Souvik Dutta calls Abstract Logix his side hustle, one that allows him to work with some of the greatest fusion artists in the world.
Dec 2, 2025 4:06 PM
Growing up in Calcutta, Souvik Dutta had the usual exposure to Indian classical music in his home. “From the time I…
“Anthony Jackson was one of the most important people to ever pick up and play a bass guitar (correction: as he always said, ‘It’s a six-string contrabass guitar’),” wrote drummer Dave Weckl on Facebook.
Nov 4, 2025 11:38 AM
Bassist Anthony Jackson, a consummate accompanist, renowned virtuoso and ubiquitous session player with more than 500…
“With a really great artist, it’s not actually coming from them, it’s coming from their environment,” said Chris Wood, shown at right with his brother Oliver Wood (center) and Jano Rix (left). “They’re just open to reflecting what’s happening around them, and they just have the ability to intuitively recognize what’s good. It’s the beautiful mystery of the creative process, and we’re just constantly trying to surrender to it.”
Sep 30, 2025 1:21 PM
Through nine studio recordings since 2006, along with two live albums, The Wood Brothers — guitarist Oliver and…
Trumpeter Jeremy Pelt performed new music from his latest album, Woven, with vibraphonist Jalen Baker, drummer Jared Spears, bassist Leighton Harrell and guitarist Misha Mendelenko.
Sep 23, 2025 11:00 AM
It’s hard to imagine a more beautiful setting for an outdoor jazz festival than what Lake George, located in the…
Joe Satriani, left, and Steve Vai are in the midst of an action-packed European tour.
Jul 15, 2025 12:16 PM
They are the offspring of Jimi Hendrix, forever changed by hearing “Purple Haze” and “Voodoo Child (Slight…
“I was playing under a tree one day and then for a Beatle the next day,” Robin Nolan says of his friendship with the late George Harrison.
Jul 8, 2025 7:39 AM
It was through a masterstroke of serendipity that Dutch guitarist Robin Nolan came to meet ex-Beatle George Harrison…
“As much as I may want to get away from the legacy of The Meters, it’s such a fundamental part of my musical upbringing that I’ll always have that,” says George Porter Jr.
May 13, 2025 12:47 PM
Any discussion of the origins of funk music would necessarily begin with James Brown but must also include The Meters,…
Nels Cline issues his jazziest Blue Note offering yet with Consentrik Quartet: from left, Ingrid Laubrock, Cline, Tom Rainey and Chris Lightcap.
May 13, 2025 12:46 PM
There has been no more fervent a champion of guitar, in all of its myriad colors and expressions, over the past 20 years…
“This is one of the great gifts that Coltrane gave us — he gave us a key to the cosmos in this recording,” says John McLaughlin.
Mar 18, 2025 3:07 PM
In his original liner notes to A Love Supreme, John Coltrane wrote: “Yes, it is true — ‘seek and ye shall…
“Not in a million years, man,” said saxophonist Jeff Coffin about imagining if he’d be inducted into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame. He was last year.
Mar 11, 2025 3:51 PM
If the DownBeat Critics Poll had categories for “most eclectic musician” and “working-est man in show biz,”…
“She said, ‘A lot of people are going to try and stop you,’” Sheryl Bailey recalls of the advice she received from jazz guitarist Emily Remler (1957–’90). “‘They’re going to say you slept with somebody, you’re a dyke, you’re this and that and the other. Don’t listen to them, and just keep playing.’”
Feb 4, 2025 12:07 AM
In the April 1982 issue of People magazine, under the heading “Lookout: A Guide To The Up and Coming,” jazz…
“I’m a composer who needs a deadline and a project — a recording or a gig — to really start actively writing,” says Ryan Keberle.
Jan 16, 2025 2:08 PM
The remarkably productive, restlessly creative trombonist, keyboardist, composer and educator Ryan Keberle recently…
“Watching people like Max Roach or Elvin Jones and seeing how they utilize the whole drum kit in a very rhythmic and melodic way and how they stretched time — that was a huge inspiration to me,” Hussain said in DownBeat.
Dec 17, 2024 1:22 PM
Tabla master Ustad Zakir Hussain, one of India’s reigning cultural ambassadors and a revered figure worldwide renowned…
“She knows so many films and the lyrics to all the songs, so it was her idea to select these tunes,” Javon Jackson said of his muse, poet Nikki Giovanni.
Nov 5, 2024 1:03 AM
An unlikely partnership was struck on 2022’s The Gospel According To Nikki Giovanni between tenor…
“The musical mission remains the same as it did 25 years ago: to make the best music possible in the given moment,” says drummer Jim Black of working again with trumpeter Natsuki Tamura.
Oct 15, 2024 1:55 PM
It was back in 1999 that volcanic forces were unleashed on White & Blue (Dutch Buzz Records), the second release by…
“What happens when we put special people with other special people?” asks Immanuel Wilkins, who seeks to cross-pollinate the arts.
Sep 17, 2024 4:11 PM
After bursting onto the scene with his acclaimed 2020 debut, Omega, Immanuel Wilkins announced his arrival as a talent…
The June 19 Town Hall celebration of Michael Brecker was the culmination of the 10-night Peperoncino Jazz Festival.
Aug 7, 2024 2:47 PM
Although it’s been 17 years since tenor titan Michael Brecker passed away, the memories of his towering instrumental…
From left, BDR’s Cody Davies, Tyreek Jackson and Mike LaBombard. “There’s a long history and precedent for what we do,” says drummer and bandleader Joe Pignato.
Jul 16, 2024 2:58 PM
In a prior lifetime, back in the 1990s, Joe Pignato was a dedicated record company guy, first as the U.S. rep for Kurt…
From left, BDR’s Cody Davies, Tyreek Jackson and Mike LaBombard. “There’s a long history and precedent for what we do,” says drummer/bandleader Joe Pignato.
Jul 10, 2024 10:20 AM
In a prior lifetime, back in the 1990s, Joe Pignato was a dedicated record company guy, first as the U.S. rep for Kurt…
“It’s not like Bach, where you had better play the notes correctly,” Fleck says. “In the case of Rhapsody, it had been done so many ways and with the blessing of [Gershwin].”
Apr 30, 2024 1:32 PM
Over the course of his remarkably eclectic, multiple-Grammy-winning career — one that stretches across four decades…
On The Hidden World Of Piloo, Rovatti pays tribute to her father.
Mar 26, 2024 12:54 PM
It’s been 20 years since the release of Under The Hat, Ada Rovatti’s confidently swinging 2003 debut featuring guest…
On The Secret World Of Piloo, Rovatti pays tribute to her late father.
Mar 12, 2024 12:02 PM
It’s been 20 years since the release of Under The Hat, Ada Rovatti’s confidently swinging 2003 debut featuring guest…
A deluge of posthumous Chick Corea releases focuses both on his Elektric Band forays as well as his classical leanings.
Feb 13, 2024 3:27 PM
If Armando Anthony “Chick” Corea had done nothing more that what he produced during the 1970s, he would still be a…
“One of the first things I checked out heavily when I got serious about playing music was Weather Report’s Heavy Weather,” Payton says of his early influences.
Jan 23, 2024 1:06 PM
There was a time, back in the mid-’90s, when trumpeter Nicholas Payton was being hyped as a Young Lion on the scene.…
“The first Blues Deluxe album took seven days to finish, this one took five,” Joe Bonamassa says of Time Clocks, a tribute to, and continuation of, his first hit album 20 years ago.
Dec 12, 2023 1:46 PM
Perhaps the highest-profile blues guitarist on the planet today, Joe Bonamassa has packed iconic venues all over the…
Naya Baaz is guitarist Rez Abbasi, left, and sitarist Josh Feinberg.
Nov 28, 2023 12:39 PM
Since moving to New York City in 1987, veteran guitarist-composer Rez Abbasi has been a boundary-pushing presence on the…
Michael Blake’s Chroma Nova, from left, Guilherme Monteiro, Skye Steele, Michael Bates, Mauro Refosco, Michael Blake, Christopher Hoffman and Rogerio Boccato.
Nov 14, 2023 11:41 AM
Over the course of four decades, from his early-’90s stint with the Lounge Lizards, subsequent recordings with the…
Garzone and Daly keep the spirit of New York’s 52nd Street alive during a CD release party at Dizzy’s on Sept. 15.
Nov 6, 2023 2:03 PM
Following a string of tribute recordings — 2008’s Rahsaan Roland Kirk project Rah! Rah!, 2011’s Mary Joyce…
Ceramic Dog is, from right, Shahzad Ismaily, Ches Smith and Ribot.
Sep 12, 2023 2:14 PM
There’s an unrepentant snarl to Marc Ribot’s voice on twisted tunes like “Subsidiary,” “Soldiers In The Army…
Since moving to New York in 2012, Houston-born drummer Jeremy Dutton has been highly in-demand.
Aug 22, 2023 12:43 PM
He’s played on Blue Note recordings by pianist James Francies and vibraphonist Joel Ross while also making sideman…
“My work is the intersection between spiritual practice and Black aesthetics,” said Wilkins. “The two symbols I draw from are John Coltrane and the Black church.”
Jul 27, 2023 2:30 PM
It was clear from the opening track of Immanuel Wilkins’ stunning sophomore outing for Blue Note, The 7th Hand, that…
Shakti celebrates its 50th anniversary with a new album and tour.
Jul 11, 2023 1:15 PM
There was a moment in 2017, following what was billed as his farewell tour in the States, that guitar avatar John…
“Writing strong melodies is key for me,” said Klein, shown here with his trio mates Haggai Cohen-Milo and Amir Bresler.
Jul 5, 2023 3:04 PM
It was 10 years ago that Israeli-born pianist Omer Klein began exploring his intimate, conversational chemistry with…
Wong interviews other guitarists he admires on his Wong Notes podcast.
May 23, 2023 1:28 PM
A modern day practitioner of the “chanking” rhythm guitar method developed by James Brown sideman Jimmy Nolen —…
“When I first emerged on the scene, I was dealing with working with a certain trumpet player who shall remain nameless,” Reed said. “It was very much an indoctrinating, dogmatic point of view, but it was all I knew.”
May 16, 2023 3:38 PM
As a piano-playing prodigy, Philadelphia native Eric Reed performed gospel music in his father’s church at age 5. By…
MoonJune’s Leonardo Pavkovic in Toledo, Spain, the new home for his globe-trotting label.
May 9, 2023 12:32 PM
Ever since being galvanized by rock and prog-rock as a youngster, entrepreneur Leonardo Pavkovic has had a lifelong,…
Xhosa Cole Quartet
Mar 14, 2023 12:02 PM
With the release of his debut album, 2021’s acclaimed K(no)w Them, K(no)w Us (Stoney Lane Records), the…
Silverman said that all proceeds from Drumology Volume III will benefit the Neil Peart Fund for brain cancer research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Mar 7, 2023 12:55 PM
Drummer-entrepreneur Rob Silverman has garnered loads of attention of late for his St. Louis-based label, Autumn Hill…
Shorter performing at the 2015 Earshot Jazz Festival in Seattle.
Mar 2, 2023 5:07 PM
One of the most prodigious composers and singular, harmonically sophisticated improvisers in jazz history, tenor and…
Thumbscrew is, from left, Mary Halvorson, Tomas Fujiwara and Michael Formanek.
Jan 31, 2023 1:36 PM
Through countless gigs and seven studio recordings over the past 10 years, the members of the cooperative trio…
“In the pantheons of guitar players, Jeff was the chosen one,” said Steve Vai of the late Jeff Beck.
Jan 26, 2023 5:06 PM
One of an iconic triumvirate of ’60s rock guitar gods, along with Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck set the…
Levitt described his process for making Upside Down Mountain as “whatever flowed freely from my heart.”
Jan 17, 2023 2:25 PM
There is something so luminous, open-hearted and wholly unique about the music on Yosef Gutman Levitt’s self-produced…
Zenón’s album Música de Las Américas challenges modern notions about who and what America is.
Dec 27, 2022 11:51 AM
While prepping for his latest recording, saxophonist-composer Miguel Zenón had plenty of time to research the history…
“There’s really no point in printing up CDs anymore,” Munro says.
Nov 8, 2022 1:16 PM
After a long stretch of recording for the Chase Music Group, including a pair of potent fusion offerings (1994’s The…
Barber’s method of shaping up the music with fragmented beats, responsive polyrhythms and a surgical precision from behind the kit places him solidly in the ranks of other creative under-40 drummers on the scene today.
Oct 11, 2022 2:48 PM
Drummer Jonathan Barber has had the rare good fortune of being around the same like-minded crew of musicians since…
The William Paterson Jazz Orchestra performs with guest artist Randy Brecker at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Sep 29, 2022 1:34 PM
In anticipation of its 50th anniversary in the spring of 2023, William Paterson University is already gearing up for the…
“My dad saw Hendrix open for the Monkees here in Jacksonville, and he told me it was the first time he had ever dropped acid. Pretty intense,” Trucks said,
Sep 20, 2022 2:56 PM
It is hard to fathom the depth of loss that Derek Trucks must have felt in 2017. First, his uncle Butch Trucks, a…
Giant Step Arts founders Jimmy and Dena Katz
Aug 23, 2022 1:20 PM
While Manhattan was in the throes of the COVID-19 shutdown during 2020, renowned photographer, recording engineer, label…
Jul 19, 2022 2:17 PM
Remarkably comprehensive and exhaustively researched, Philip Watson’s Bill Frisell, Beautiful Dreamer (Faber Books) is…
“Just like my parents who raised me to be who I am today, all my musical influences live inside me, in my bloodstream forever, as if they were my musical moms and dads,” Eli Degibri said.
Jul 12, 2022 1:51 PM
Israeli-born saxophonist Eli Degibri first began turning heads stateside after winning the 1999 Thelonious Monk…
Bounce pioneers Mannie Fresh and Big Freedia and other guests join Galactic on “Act Like You Know.”
May 31, 2022 2:19 PM
Anyone who has spent time in New Orleans knows why it is also known as The City That Care Forgot. Between the music and…
“I want to be able to get things out quicker, where what I’m releasing is closer to what I’m actually working on,” Grdina said.
May 10, 2022 10:54 AM
Vancouver-born guitarist Gordon Grdina remembers the moment, at age 13, that he first heard the sound of the Middle…
Bassist-composer Ron Carter turns 85 on May 4.
May 3, 2022 3:31 PM
On May 10, the iconic bassist-composer Ron Carter will be fêted in an 85th birthday celebration at Carnegie Hall. With…
Charnett Moffett’s smile was an ever-present part of his ebullient persona both on and off the bandstand.
Apr 21, 2022 5:02 PM
I can still recall the image of a young Charnett Moffett, beaming from the other side of the glass in Manhattan’s…
Fiedler and crew return for a second batch of rearranged, reharmonized Sesame Street tunes. From left: Michael Sarin, Sean Conly, Fiedler, Steven Bernstein and Jeff Lederer.
Apr 5, 2022 5:14 PM
With Fuzzy And Blue — his second volume of Sesame Street songs following the 2019 release of Open Sesame —…
Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra recorded four albums of music in four days.
Mar 15, 2022 1:49 PM
As a ubiquitous figure on the New York scene for more than three decades, trumpeter Steven Bernstein has written…
“For me, Roy Hargrove was one of the most dedicated stewards of this music, the Black American tradition,” said trumpeter Theo Croker, who considered Hargrove a mentor.
Jan 25, 2022 12:22 PM
Three years after he passed away on Nov. 2, 2018, at age 49, trumpeter Roy Hargrove enters the DownBeat Hall of Fame. He…
Juilliard’s Aaron Flagg
Sep 21, 2021 1:31 PM
The return of students to college campuses around the New York City area, the mecca of jazz, comes on the heels of an…
John Pizzarelli hit the woodshed, literally, to develop material for his new recording Better Days Ahead: Solo Guitar Takes On Pat Metheny.
Jul 27, 2021 10:55 AM
It was in his darkest hour, during the early stages of the 2020 lockdown, that guitarist-vocalist John Pizzarelli turned…
Stephane Wrembel’s latest album is Django Experiment VI.
Jun 29, 2021 2:29 PM
French-born guitarist-composer Stephane Wrembel, a true Django-phile at heart, is that rare artist who gives his…
Eddie Henderson says that during his career he’s had to develop the “maturity of knowing when to play and when not to play.”
Jul 1, 2020 11:18 AM
Trumpeter Eddie Henderson, who turns 80 in October, still is in top form, blowing with passion, intensity and uncommon…
Troy Roberts played multiple instruments on his latest album of original compositions, Stuff I Heard.
May 14, 2020 9:06 AM
Since relocating to New York in 2012, Australian saxophonist Troy Roberts’ edgy, articulate tone and commanding chops…
Dave Liebman’s Earth caps a series of albums inspired by natural elements.
May 7, 2020 3:21 PM
After 37 years of living in the bucolic scenery of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, a stone’s throw from the Deer Head Inn…
Mike Longo (1939–20120)
Mar 27, 2020 8:49 AM
Pianist Mike Longo, best known for his long tenure with Dizzy Gillespie’s band, died on March 22 at Mount Sinai…
McCoy Tyner (1938–2020)
Mar 12, 2020 11:21 AM
A member of the classic John Coltrane quartet of the 1960s, as well as a powerful improviser and potent composer in his…
Jimi Hendrix’s performances on Dec. 31, 1969, and Jan. 1, 1970, at the Fillmore East in New York rank as a unique moment in the guitarist’s career.
Feb 10, 2020 8:05 AM
For a generation of African-American guitarists growing up in the ’60s, Jimi Hendrix’s was revelatory. The album,…
After some health issues, John McLaughlin has returned with a flurry of activity.
Feb 7, 2020 9:08 AM
In an interview published in DownBeat’s November 2017 issue, guitar legend John McLaughlin lamented the fact that a…
New York pianist Jacob Sacks currently is juggling four different groups.
Feb 7, 2020 2:55 PM
It’s been 25 years since pianist and composer Jacob Sacks relocated to the Big Apple from Monroe, Michigan. “I still…
Brian Charette’s latest album is a solo organ project titled Beyond Borderline.
Jul 22, 2020 5:07 PM
While he has supplied conventional, greasy-sounding Hammond B3 organ in straightahead settings—supporting masters like…
Guitarist Nguyên Lê’s latest album is Overseas.
Dec 12, 2019 10:15 AM
Since his crucial 1996 recording, Tales From Viêt-Nam, electric guitar virtuoso Nguyên Lê has married the music of…
The Octave Remastered Series aims to fortify the legacy of pianist Erroll Garner (1921–1977).
Dec 1, 2019 1:41 PM
Fans of pianist Erroll Garner (1923–’77) have rejoiced in recent years, as reissues and new titles have shone a…
Trumpeter Dave Douglas (second from left) convenes a new ensemble for ENGAGE, an album-length meditation on the current political moment.
Nov 21, 2019 1:42 PM
A stellar trumpeter who organically has straddled the inside-outside aesthetic for nearly 30 years, Dave Douglas…
Pianist ELEW and guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel worked together on the solo piano album Cubism.
Oct 21, 2019 7:08 PM
In 2005, Eric Lewis dropped off the straightahead jazz scene to reinvent himself. Adopting the moniker ELEW and…
On Taylor Ho Bynum’s The Ambiguity Manifesto, members of his 9-tette, all respected improvisers and bandleaders, help make the bandleader’s shapeshifting pieces possible.
Sep 18, 2019 10:18 AM
Taylor Ho Bynum has spent his career navigating the intersection of structure and improvisation. “I’ve always been…
John Scofield (left), Jack DeJohnette, Franco Ambrosetti, Uri Caine and Scott Colley at the recording session for Long Waves
Aug 8, 2019 9:20 AM
In a 1987 interview, Miles Davis sat down with a German journalist and discussed the differences between black and white…
Felix Pastorius onstage with Venture in July 2018
Jul 23, 2019 10:01 AM
Seeing Felix Pastorius in action with his band, the Hipster Assassins, it’s impossible not to think of his famous…
Tim Ries, who frequently tours with the Rolling Stones, has a new leader album, Life Changes.
Jul 18, 2019 9:36 AM
Back in 2005, saxophonist Tim Ries garnered acclaim for his jazz-fueled interpretations of Rolling Stones music on The…
George Benson, shown here at the 2016 Detroit Jazz Festival, performs songs written by Fats Domino and Chuck Berry on his new album.
Jun 14, 2019 9:18 AM
For his new album, George Benson turned to the past. On Walking To New Orleans (Provogue), the jazz guitarist/singer…
Dr. John (1941–2019)
Jul 2, 2019 9:49 AM
Mac Rebennack, pianist-guitarist-vocalist, purveyor of funk and voodoo mythology and a true son of New Orleans, died of…
Dr. Lonnie Smith and the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw recently wrapped up a run of late-May shows at New York’s Birdland.
Jun 1, 2019 11:00 AM
In its stateside debut, the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw joined forces with Hammond B-3 organ wizard Dr. Lonnie…
Ben Monder’s new double album features the guitarist in solo and trio settings.
May 30, 2019 9:28 AM
There are few guitarists whose vocabulary on the instrument renders them truly inimitable. Ben Monder is one of them.…
Trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith hosted his third CREATE Festival April 6 and 7 at Firehouse 12 in New Haven, Connecticut.
Feb 15, 2021 6:11 PM
The sheer force of Wadada Leo Smith’s shaman-like charisma filled the room before he even took the stage at Firehouse…
Bassit Carlos Henriquez has recorded The South Bronx Story, both live and in the studio, and RodBros Music is set to issue the material later this year.
Mar 5, 2019 9:38 AM
The tumbao, that basic building block of Afro-Cuban music, is deeply imbedded in bassist Carlos Henriquez’s DNA. Like…
Ralph Peterson teaches at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Dec 13, 2018 9:48 AM
On a hot August afternoon in Boston, Ralph Peterson greets an incoming class of freshmen for orientation week at Berklee…
Brandon Ross (left), J.T. Lewis and Melvin Gibbs have performed in Harriet Tubman for about 20 years.
Nov 17, 2018 1:04 PM
The seismically intense New York-based trio Harriet Tubman has been relying on a combination of skill and instinct since…
Tatiana Eva-Marie and her Avalon Jazz Band explore the connection between Paris and New Orleans Sept. 30 at The McKittrick Hotel during the New York Hot Jazz Festival.
Oct 15, 2018 8:46 PM
The sixth annual New York Hot Jazz Festival, held on Sept. 30, celebrated both the New Orleans Tricentennial and the…
Some of drummer Joey Baron’s most recent recordings have been duo collaborations—Now You Hear Me, a meticulously crafted studio project with percussionist Robyn Schulkowsky, and Live!, a document of spontaneous composition at Zurich’s Unerhört Festival with pioneering Swiss free-jazz pianist Irène Schweizer.
Oct 3, 2018 9:47 AM
Over the course of his career, drummer Joey Baron has shown a knack for bringing just the right touch to any setting:…
Melissa Aldana performs with Artemis on Sunday, Aug. 4 on the Fort Stage at the Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island.
Jan 10, 2019 12:08 PM
An intense and unrelenting rainstorm pummeled Rhode Island all day Saturday, taking some of the luster off the 2018…
Ry Cooder will be on tour this summer promoting his new album, The Prodigal Son.
Jun 14, 2018 5:53 PM
As a follow-up to 2012’s Election Special (Nonesuch)—a biting protest album that critiqued right-wing…
Andrew Hadro is a co-founder of Tone Rogue Records.
Aug 21, 2019 4:22 PM
Baritone saxophonist-composer Andrew Hadro has always bucked the status quo. “I just want to be different,”…
Bassist-composer Mario Pavone (left) led his Dialect Trio, which also includes drummer Tyshawn Sorey and pianist Matt Mitchell, through a pair of sets Friday, May 18 at Firehouse 12 in New Haven, Connecticut.
May 22, 2018 8:33 PM
Bassist-composer and Connecticut’s favorite son Mario Pavone brought his dynamic Dialect Trio—featuring outstanding…
Simba Baumgartner performs May 5 at Town Hall in New York during the 12th Django A GoGo.
May 18, 2018 2:30 PM
In the span of five days in May, two major Django Reinhardt tributes took place in Manhattan, drawing hordes of…
Jimi Hendrix working in the Record Plant Studios in New York on April 21, 1969.
May 10, 2018 6:12 PM
Nearly 50 years after his death, Jimi Hendrix’s legacy is still flourishing. Experience Hendrix—the official family…
When visiting Cerreto Sannita, the village in Italy where his grandfather grew up, guitarist Al Di Meola was greeted with a celebratory dinner in his honor.
Apr 12, 2018 11:31 AM
As he approaches his 64th birthday in July, guitarist Al Di Meola remains a road warrior. Last fall, he went out with…
Saxophonist Joe Lovano (left), bassist Drew Gress, guitarist John Scofield and drummer Adam Nussbaum pay tribute to John Abercrombie at a recent performance in Brooklyn at Roulette.
Apr 30, 2018 12:22 PM
The line at Roulette went out the door, wrapped around the corner of Third Avenue and ran down Atlantic Avenue in…
James Brandon Lewis has released his fifth album as a leader, Radiant Imprints, which pairs the saxophonist with drummer Chad Taylor.
Mar 19, 2018 1:44 PM
Since moving to New York City in 2012, tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis has been creating quite a stir with his…
Steve Cardenas’ new album is a tribute to Charlie Haden and Paul Motian.
Mar 12, 2018 4:52 PM
After appearing as a sideman on albums by keyboardist Jon Cowherd (Gateway) and bassist Ben Allison (Quiet Revolution)…
Guitarist Mary Halvorson (left) and cellist Tomeka Reid perform as part of Taylor Ho Bynum’s 9-tette at a Hartford, Connecticut, show on March 2.
Mar 9, 2018 1:03 PM
New Haven-based cornetist-composer Taylor Ho Bynum brought his 9-tette to Real Art Ways in Hartford, Connecticut, on…
Adam Nussbaum’s new Sunnyside release is titled The Lead Belly Project.
Feb 13, 2018 11:26 AM
For four decades, drummer Adam Nussbaum has been a reliably swinging fixture on the scene, providing the syncopated…
Ron Affif (left) and Mark Whitfield perform with Strings Attached at Zinc Bar as a part of Winter JazzFest
Jul 10, 2018 3:27 PM
Just as the Montreal International Jazz Festival, widely acknowledged as one of the biggest and most comprehensive…
Esperanza Spalding’s new album is titled Exposure.
Aug 3, 2018 9:30 AM
Witnessing Esperanza Spalding in concert in September 2006, when she opened for the McCoy Tyner Sextet at Berklee’s…
Alto saxophonist Steve Slagle’s new album is titled Dedication.
Dec 22, 2017 12:56 PM
Saxophonist-composer-educator Steve Slagle named his 2016 album Alto Manhattan because the title had a double meaning,…
Steven Bernstein’s Sexmob performs during Roswell Rudd’s 82nd birthday celebration at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola on Nov. 16. Pictured from left are Mark Helias (subbing for Tony Scherr), Bernstein, Kenny Wollesen and Briggan Krauss.
Nov 28, 2017 12:51 PM
A huge outpouring of love engulfed Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola in New York on Nov. 16 during a celebration of the great…
Saxophonist Lee Konitz is an NEA Jazz Master.
Nov 15, 2017 11:53 AM
It’s a crisp Monday afternoon in October on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, just a few days after saxophone legend Lee…
Guitarists Jimmy Herring (left) and John McLaughlin are on the road for what McLaughlin has said will be his final U.S. tour.
Nov 7, 2017 7:04 PM
The sight of John McLaughlin, 75, looking wistfully out at the adoring Town Hall audience after the guitar hero’s…
Lee Konitz performs at the Blue Note in New York City on Oct. 9. The concert was held in celebration of the saxophonist’s 90th birthday.
Oct 11, 2017 9:20 AM
Lee Konitz, a 2009 NEA Jazz Master and DownBeat Hall of Fame inductee for 2015, brought his empathetic band into the New…
Bria Skonberg (center) performs at the 2017 New York Hot Jazz Festival, held at the McKittrick Hotel in Manhattan on Sept. 24.
Sep 27, 2017 9:12 PM
One of the most enjoyable hangs of the year is the annual celebration of 1920s and 30s swing music presented by the…
Christian McBride (foreground) and Questlove (background) perform in The Philadelphia Experiment at the Newport Jazz Festival on Aug. 6.
Aug 12, 2017 1:19 PM
The annual pilgrimage to Fort Adams State Park, located at the mouth of Newport Harbor, Rhode Island, is a high point of…
Mary Halvorson held a residency at the Village Vanguard in Manhattan from July 18–23.
Jul 26, 2017 9:38 AM
In her first week-long headlining appearance in the hallowed Village Vanguard (she had previously appeared with her…
Rez Abbasi (left), Miles Okazaki and Nels Cline perform at the Greenwich House in New York City on June 30.
Jul 5, 2017 3:14 PM
Some of the most adventurous programming in New York during the span of a week in June took place at the Greenwich House…
Stanton Moore
Jul 13, 2017 7:28 PM
New Orleans-born drummer Stanton Moore has experienced a ton of acclaim and success with Galactic, the popular…
Dr. John (left) and Henry Butler at Town Hall in New York on June 15. The two musicians participated in the first-ever piano summit there.
Jul 23, 2017 4:46 PM
It was like a Mardi Gras party June 15 when two New Orleans piano masters, Dr. John (aka John “Mac” Rebennack) and…
Trumpeter Lee Morgan (left) is the subject of Kasper Collin’s compelling documentary I Called Him Morgan.
Mar 30, 2020 2:11 PM
Following a recent screening in Manhattan of Kasper Collin’s compelling documentary about the life and tragic death of…
John Scofield performed songs from 1976’s Blue Matter and 1996’s Quiet during a retrospective of his work at Jazz at Lincoln Center May 5–6.
May 10, 2017 10:21 PM
While still basking in the glow of his recent Best Jazz Instrumental Album Grammy win for Country For Old Men (Impulse!)…
Pat Metheny was celebrated by likeminded guitarists at the Alternative Guitar Summit in New York City on March 10.
Mar 13, 2017 3:53 PM
Guitarist Joel Harrison hit on an inspired notion in 2011 when he decided to gather his favorite on-the-fringe and…
Stephane Wrembel performs during a dress rehearsal for “Django A Gogo” at Carnegie Hall on March 3.
Mar 9, 2017 10:56 AM
Gypsy jazz guitarist Stephane Wrembel, a native of Fontainbleau, France, and current resident of Maplewood, New Jersey,…
Alphonse Mouzon (1948–2016)
Feb 6, 2017 5:11 PM
Drummer-producer-entrepreneur Alphonse Mouzon, who died on Dec. 25 after a long illness, will be remembered as a…
The sextet Invocation includes Vijay Iyer (left), Johannes Weidenmeuller, bandleader Rez Abbasi, Rudresh Mahanthappa and Dan Weiss.
Dec 30, 2016 4:03 PM
In a striking example of East-meets-West, Pakistani-born guitarist Rez Abbasi led his Invocation sextet for the premiere…
Chick Corea (left) with John McLaughlin at the Blue Note in New York City on Dec. 11
Dec 16, 2016 12:43 PM
Speculation ran high among fusion fans as to what an encounter between Chick Corea and John McLaughlin—two prominent…
Omar Sosa performs at the Exit Zero Jazz Festival in Cape May, New Jersey, on Nov. 11.
Nov 23, 2016 1:11 PM
Festival producer Michael Kline escaped Hurricane Katrina in 2005, leaving his beloved New Orleans behind and returning…
Cécile McLorin Salvant performs at the Hot Jazz Festival in New York City on Sept. 25
Oct 17, 2016 2:41 PM
Leave it to Michael Katsobashvili, an ebullient impresario from the nation of Georgia, to keep the fires burning New…
Alvester Garnett (left), Charenée Wade and Camille Thurman perform at the Lake George Jazz Festival in New York on Sept. 17.
Oct 17, 2016 9:49 AM
Lake George is a scenic village in upstate New York, located about three hours north of Manhattan on the shores of the…
Pete McCandless performs at Birdland on Sept. 15 as a special guest with the trio Charged Particles.
Feb 28, 2020 2:40 PM
The Bay Area trio Charged Particles, led by drummer Jon Krosnick and featuring keyboardist Murray Low and inventive…
John Zorn
Aug 31, 2016 9:44 AM
With Deborah Gordon now assuming more of the day-to-day duties at the Village Vanguard while her mother—the…
Marc Ribot performs at the Newport Jazz Festival on July 30 in Newport, Rhode Island, leading his band The Young Philadelphians.
Aug 24, 2016 3:09 PM
Fresh off a European tour, guitarist Marc Ribot brought his latest project, The Young Philadelphians, to the banks of…
Anthony Wilson (left) and Joshua Crumbly perform material from Wilson’s new album, Frogtown, at The Django in Manhattan’s Roxy Hotel.
May 18, 2016 12:21 PM
Early on during his May 5 show at The Django, a new room in Manhattan’s Roxy Hotel inspired by Parisian boites of the…
A still from the trailer for Eat That Question: Frank Zappa In His Own Words, a new documentary about the pioneering guitarist-composer-bandleader.
May 18, 2016 11:58 AM
Guitarist, composer, bandleader, filmmaker, satirist, outspoken social commentator, political gadfly, irascible…
David Fiuczynski (seen here in a press photo) performed at Shapeshifter Lab in Brooklyn on April 14.
Apr 27, 2016 12:12 PM
Guitarist-composer-conceptualist David Fiuczynski has been operating on the fringe for decades, first with his…
David Tronzo (left) Larry Campbell, Steven Bernstein and Steve Cardenas of Blue Campfire perform in New York City on March 31. (Photo: Peter Parrella)
Nov 23, 2016 10:45 AM
It is always exciting to witness the birth of a band; exciting for audience members and band members alike. Blue…
Jimmy Heath leads a 17-piece big band at the Blue Note in New York in honor of his 90th birthday
Mar 22, 2016 2:36 PM
When saxophone legend Jimmy Heath appeared at the Blue Note in New York City on March 9 in celebration of his 90th…
Thomas Chapin is the subject of the new documentary Night Bird Song, which chronicles the pioneering reedist’s ascendant career and untimely death.
Mar 7, 2016 5:16 PM
Like Jaco Pastorius, alto saxophonist-flutist Thomas Chapin was a meteor streaking across the night sky. Both were…
Clarinetist David Krakauer plays a fusion of styles in his bands Abraham, Inc. and Ancestral Groove. He performed at (Le) Poisson Rouge in New York on Feb. 4
Feb 16, 2016 5:31 PM
Over the past 30 years, the classically-trained clarinet virtuoso David Krakauer has shown remarkable versatility in…
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Larry Coryell performs at The Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis on May 23, 2015.
Oct 24, 2018 4:45 PM
On Nov. 9, the day after Donald J. Trump shocked the world, Larry Coryell was sitting in his Orlando home, cussing out…
