The phrase “I’m here for you” can sound a bit patronizing. But one of the……...
Spring 2020
Publisher's Letter
Prelude
Bossa nova icon Sergio Mendes has credited the great success he’s enjoyed in his career……...
Not exactly a youngster at age 37, Mel Tormé had long established himself as a……...
Pianist Nduduzo Makhathini doesn’t view his status as the first South African musician to sign……...
At first, alto saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin was ambivalent about recording a Coltrane tribute album, but……...
On March 15, 2018, Charles Lloyd celebrated his 80th birthday with an epic yet intimate……...
By the time Artemis, an all-star ensemble, dug deep into the blues while trading solos……...
Traditions
Just off Barcelona’s bustling commercial strip known as La Rambla sits the Plaza Real, a……...
Contempo
In December, at a private event in Singapore, former President Barack Obama said, “I’m absolutely……...
Blu Notes
Standing on the tiny stage of Manhattan’s Zinc Bar in November, the dozen or so……...
Magazine Features
“I can play all I know in eight bars.” —Charlie Parker “You could look……...
There’s no shortage of commentary proclaiming the significance of the meteoric genius Charlie Parker. Born……...
Vincent Herring’s concept for the live recording Bird at 100 (Smoke Sessions) was simple: gather……...
Apart from a trove of bootlegged live performances, Parker made virtually all of his recordings……...
From 1941, when Charlie Parker’s first commercially recorded solos (“Hootie Blues” and “Jumpin’ the Blues,”……...
Auditions
“Sneha,” a haunting ballad first recorded in Thailand in the mid-1960s, has become an iconic……...
Although the DIVA Jazz Orchestra only began recording for the MCG Jazz label in 2014,……...
In an age of strictly defined stylistic directions in jazz, Dopolarians ventures into decidedly “inside-outside”……...
Dizzy Gillespie’s keen interest in melding 1940s bebop with Afro-Cuban music was spurred by his……...
New York City-born guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg wowed South Florida audiences while attending the University of……...
The 2019 centennial birthday of master drummer Art Blakey has inspired a number of tributes,……...
With Wild Wild East, drummer Sunny Jain — who grew up the son of Indian……...
For pure hipness, the Johnny Griffin-Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis Quintet stands among the jazz elite. They……...
Pat Metheny’s music has always contained a certain spaciousness, perhaps hinting at his Midwestern origins….…...
Having had an impressive career as a back-up singer — with Harry Belafonte, Aretha Franklin……...
Leo Sherman’s debut recording is an evocative collection of fresh originals that renders a sonic……...
Outside of the jazz sphere, many listeners will decide whether or not they like a……...
A release as daring and fulfilling as Alegria, the latest from Bogotá, Colombia, native Samuel……...
Since the release of his 1995 debut recording, Close Your Eyes, vocalist and lyricist Kurt……...
George Burton took his time before releasing his debut recording as a leader in 2016,……...
Russ Lossing Trio, Ways (ezz-thetics/Hat Hut) With dynamics that range from whispery to occasionally riotous,……...
With its deep African-American roots, jazz has branched out to the entire world. Historically, Europeans……...
Lolly Allen’s first audition as a jazz vibraphonist was not propitious. She was a high……...
Coda
When I discovered that saxophonist Jimmy Heath’s daughter, Roslyn, was employed by the same hospital……...