It was one of those nights where I thought OK this is only going to happen in New York. When Becca Stevens played her new show last night at one of the stages at Rockwood Music Hall and she asked bassist and singer Alan Hampton up on stage, I kind of knew that we were…
Three artists to watch out for in 2016: KING, Makaya McCraven, and Terrace Martin. Terrace, best known for his production work on artists like Snoop Dogg, Stevie Wonder, Raphael Saadiq, Charlie Wilson, and of course Kendrick Lamar‘s “To Pimp A Butterfly”, played the sax last night on stage at The Bitter End. And he also was stepping…
Saint Peter’s Church in Midtown Manhattan was the place to be yesterday – Day 1 of the Jazz Connect conference started out with a panel on how editors and programmers decide how to represent jazz in their respective media outlets. Panelists included John Murph from AARP, Natalie Weiner from Billboard Magazine, and Will Friedwald from…
You think it is pretty obvious that Joshua Redman would play the music of a band his father had a pivotal role in the late 70s, but then again the music of Old & New Dreams more or less slipped from the radar. At least from mine. So here is a tenor saxophonist with a band…
It’s travel day today. I’ll be on my way to New York to attend the Jazz Connect Conference, APAP, and Winter Jazzfest, see a lot of live shows and make several interviews. It will be good to see a lot of old friends and colleagues again and make new ones. So starting tomorrow, this blog…
Six films for this year’s Competition have been announced last month and now here come nine more. Celebrating their world premiere in Berlin will be Ivo M. Ferreira‘s “Cartas Da Guerra” (Portugal), the Italian-French documentary “Fuocoammare” by Gianfranco Rosi, “Hele Sa Hiwagang Hapis”, a Philippine/Singapore production by Lav Diaz, the French-German “L’avenir” by Mia Hansen-Love…
The Tucson Jazz Festival goes into its second year with a 10-day extravaganza and the not-to-be-omitted fact that the average high temperature during the 2015 festival was 71.5°. So this year, the Tucson Jazz Institute Ellington Band will feature Jimmy Heath on opening day, January 14th. And Kenny Werner and his trio will revisit Erroll Garner’s…
One of the most talked-about musicians of the past year certainly is Kamasi Washington. With his three-disc opus “The Epic”, also available on vinyl, he also released one of the most interesting sets of the year. Now, where exactly in Europe he broke is ankle only he knows and it’s not supposed to be the main…
He was one of the founding members of The “And The Beat Goes On” Whispers and died at only 71 years old after a long battle with cancer. A new Whispers LP was always something I looked forward to in the 80s and with albums like “Love Is Where You Find It” (1981, with gatefold…
Pianist Paul Bley leaves an amazing amount of work – from his 1953 debut record “Introducing Paul Bley” to his ethereal live solo recording “Play Blue”, recorded in Oslo in 2008, the stylistic diversity of this Montreal-born master is outstanding. Vanessa Bley, his daughter, released an official obituary that said he “died at home with…