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...
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...
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...
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...
Ron Carter is a champion of the culture of jazz
Ron Carter is a champion of the culture of jazz. His playing is an amalgam of experiences, music-making adventures, and influences of...
Geoffrey Keezer’s playing is descriptive and engaging
Geoffrey Keezer’s soundscape is signatured with a deceptively gentle determination as he traverses the piano keyboard. He explores many genres that so...
Robin McKelle has the enchantment of a storyteller
Some of the enchantment of the storyteller’s magic is the way they tell the story — how they make it come alive...
Rigmor Gustafsson speaks with melody
The singer was a guitarist first — an instrument that is so often the foundation and all-in-one rhythm section of the player-singer...
Gary Burton is a great charmer of the vibraphone
When you think of the mechanics and the organics of the vibraphone, you may be readily excused for assuming they are less...
Peter Bernstein represents the richest of jazz’s eras
The words of a master about a new player blazing a trail into the ranks with many of the best are words...
Samara Joy deserves to be mononymous
I love this quote: “Samara Joy makes her case to join the likes of Sarah, Ella, and Billie as the next mononymous...