Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen commanded the bass
I have often heard non-bass-playing players talk about the bass, saying things like, You have to be able to handle the instrument,...
The music of Harry Connick Jr. is like an outstretched hand
The Great American Songbook and the music of America has a special place with Harry Connick Jr. He gives it a place...
Jane Ira Bloom has a poetic and cosmic artistry
Poetry set to music is a most natural thing. Read aloud, its rhythms and meter make it a very close relation. For...
Art Farmer played with both power and warmth
When an artist speaks of another with admiration and respect, it is without match. These words are from Geoffrey Keezer: “One night...
Lou Donaldson honed a bluesy, soulful signature sound
The trajectory of a career says a lot about the spirit of the artist and the doorways of opportunity that were open...
For Lorraine Desmarais, sound is a painter’s palette
The keyboard before Lorraine Desmarais is like the canvas for the visual artist. Her music making is an experience of colors and...
New York’s famous Hotel Pennsylvania, immortalized by Glenn Miller Orchestra, to be torn down
They’re knocking down New York’s famous Hotel Pennsylvania. For more than 100 years, it was situated just across Seventh Ave. from the...
The soul of Freddie Hubbard never strayed
Influence and experiences are like a stamp leaving an indelible impression. An impression that can be sourced from later in life or...
With Nat King Cole, it’s like seeing for the first time
A piano teacher used to speak often about articulation when talking about how to successfully meet the keys with the fingers. I...
When Denzal Sinclaire sings, he owns time
Once, backstage, I saw him — serene, focused, gathered, and collected. He was not tuned out; he was very tuned in. It...
Record Store Day 2023: Jazz rarities and reissues to add to your vinyl collection
The 16th edition of Record Store Day will take place April 22, 2023, featuring more than 300 special releases. Taking place annually...
Dinah Washington sang directly to the heart
When I hear a Dinah Washington track, I hear my aunties. Many are no longer here with us, but I can plainly...
Simply and purely, Leslie Odom Jr. loves to sing a song
You know why I think he sounds so good? It’s because he loves to sing a song for you. But it’s not...
The musical flavours of Dee Daniels are varied and rich
The musical flavours of Dee Daniels are varied and rich, and they’re as inspiring as her influences. Music is not a just...
In music, Bernie Senensky is the whole package
Imagine a package inside of which you find drive, determination, passion, and keen respect. Every time you open that package, the same...
Matt Wilson plays with the magic and majesty of jazz
Matt Wilson plays drums with a sensibility that is immediate in its connection to the universe and spirit that is jazz music....
Dizzy Gillespie was an international ambassador of jazz
The icon’s influence is without question and has a universality that is like a weave in a fabric. Imagine fabric as culture,...
When Carol Welsman sings a song, once is never enough
Whenever I listen to Carol Welsman I feel like saying, “I wanna hear that again.” One more time is a whole new...
The music of Thelonious Monk demanded attention
I wonder if there would be more room to just let Thelonious Monk be today? Some of us live in a society...
The sensual, emotional voice of Helen Merrill
Helen Merrill’s career has spanned some of the greatest years of jazz, from the early 1940s to the twenty-teens and beyond. Hers...
Year in review: 25 of the best jazz albums of 2022
Looking back on the year in jazz, there was excellence of all kinds. In 2022, we heard breakout albums by rising stars...
Leading the vanguard is the Roxy Coss way
Imagine the lyrical sounds of the tenor sax as sophisticated equally in blue jeans and a tee as all decked out for...
Thompson Egbo-Egbo challenges the standard
Thompson Egbo-Egbo challenges the standard. If jazz as a culture should be about anything, it should be about challenging standards. Its history...