Apr 2, 2024 12:59 PM
Saxophonist, Sonic Explorer Casey Benjamin Dies at 45
Casey Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist, keyboardist and producer who stamped his distinctive sounds on the…
“Einstein was a violinist, Max Planck was also a musician and Stefon Alexander plays saxophone,” says Donald Harrison about the relationship between science and music.
(Photo: Courtesy Ropeadope)
Two ECM reissues of historic albums by saxophonist Jan Garbarek, shown here with pianist Keith Jarrett, celebrate his 50 years on the label.
(Photo: Courtesy ECM Records)
The International Jazz Day All-Star Global Concert on April 30 will feature performances by an international roster of artists from all corners of the globe.
(Photo: Courtesy International Jazz Day)
A photo collage of this year’s JJA Jazz Heroes.
(Photo: Courtesy JJA)
The Lemon Bucket Orchestra dives into the crowd at the Ottawa Jazz Festival.
(Photo: Chris Parker)
Crowds pack downtown Ottawa for the festival.
(Photo: Chris Parker)
Rome’s Casa del Jazz delivers a tremendous outdoor summer season from one of the city’s beautiful locales.
(Photo: Courtesy Casa Del Jazz)
One of three beachside stages at the Rio das Ostras Jazz & Blues Festival.
(Photo: Cezar Fernandez)
Roscoe Mitchell’s performance will be a cornerstone of this year’s festival. “Seeing as it’s the 40th edition of the festival, it was important to me to invite a few artists who have long been associated with the event,” said Scott Thomson, the fest’s new director.
(Photo: Martin Morissette)
Nicholas Payton, left and Tim Warfield, performing at last year’s Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, demonstrate the event’s dedication to great jazz.
(Photo: Joey Kennedy)
Henry Threadgill performs with Zooid at Big Ears in Knoxville, Tennessee.
(Photo: Cora Wagoner)
2024 NEA Jazz Masters Amina Claudine Myers, Gary Bartz, Terence Blanchard and Willard Jenkins.
(Photo: Crystal Blake (Myers), Alan Nahigian (Bartz), Cedric Angeles (Blanchard), Jati Lindsay (Jenkins))
Duane Davis (left), Oscar Hernandez and Terri Lyne Carrington at this year’s JEN Conference in New Orleans.
(Photo: Frances Scanlon)
Albert “Tootie” Heath (1935–2024) followed in the tradition of drummer Kenny Clarke, his idol.
(Photo: Michael Jackson)
Benjamin possessed a fluid, round sound on the alto saxophone, and he was often most recognizable by the layers of electronic effects that he put onto the instrument.
(Photo: Bill Douthart)
David Murray and his trio mates engage in a visceral yet sensitive blowout at this year’s Vossa Jazz Festival.
(Photo: Martin Brattvåg Dahl/Vossa Jazz)
Exhibitions showcasing Bennett’s historic collection will be mounted at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco April 8–10 and the Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame in New York April 10–16, leading up to the April 18–19 gala and auction.
(Photo: Herman Leonard Photography LLC)
The three-LP set marks the first time Rollins’ complete recorded performances at the Village Vanguard on Nov. 3, 1957, will be made available in a single vinyl package. The collection is also available as a two-CD set and on all digital formats.
(Photo: Courtesy Blue Note Records)
“I’m also at a point in my life where I don’t feel like I have anything to prove, like at all,” Akinmusire says about his art.
(Photo: James Adams)
On The Hidden World Of Piloo, Rovatti pays tribute to her father.
(Photo: Courtesy Ada Rovatti)
Marsalis will perform three shows with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and three shows with the Future of Jazz Septet at New York’s Blue Note in June.
(Photo: Piper Ferguson)
Samara Joy and her trio are scheduled to take the stage at 7 p.m. on May 29.
(Photo: Meredith Truax/Courtesy of Samara Joy)
“He is always growing, always learning, always moving forward,” said John Zorn of Smith.
(Photo: M. Rodrigues)
Pianist Sullivan Fortner, who performed at the Old Church with bassist Tyrone Allen and drummer Kayvon Gordon, leads a clinic during the PDX Jazz Festival.
(Photo: Courtesy Portland Jazz Festival)
“I’m not rich financially, but rich in spirit,” says Miguel Atwood-Ferguson about the expense of making his new recording, Les Jardins Mystiques.
(Photo: Hannah Arista)
Grateful Dead founding member Bob Weir (above) will collaborate with JFA Music Director Steve Jordan at this year’s “A Great Night in Harlem” gala concert.
(Photo: Courtesy Bob Weir)
“Both of us are quite grounded in the craft, the tradition and the harmonic sense,” Rosenwinkel said of his experience playing with Allen. “Yet I felt we shared something mystical as well.”
(Photo: Michael Jackson)
Blade will lead multiple performances during this year’s Detroit Jazz Festival.
(Photo: Courtesy Detroit Jazz Festival)
Vijay Iyer (left) and Nicole Mitchell perform music by Andrew Hill at Harlem Stage’s Gatehouse on March 1.
(Photo: Marc Millman)
On The Secret World Of Piloo, Rovatti pays tribute to her late father.
(Photo: Ada Rovatti)
Robert Glasper will helm The Black Radio Experience celebration in Napa, California, on Labor Day weekend.
(Photo: Courtesy Blue Note Jazz Festival)
Graham Haynes will serve as FourOneOne’s artist-in-residence from March 12 to April 15.
(Photo: David Kaufman)
New titles in the Original Jazz Classics reissue series from Craft Recordings.
(Photo: Courtesy Craft Recordings)
First-place winner Conor McMillen, 16, in performance March 2 at the Litchfield Community Center.
(Photo: Courtesy Litchfield Performing Arts)
“He’s constructing intelligent musical sentences that connect seamlessly, which is the most important part of linear playing,” Charles McPherson said of alto saxophonist Sonny Red.
(Photo: Antonio Porcar Cano)
Gerald Cannon pays tribute to two former bosses: McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones.
(Photo: Eva Kapanadze)
“I think a lot of people think this still sounds like me, but they’ll also know it’s something different,” says Yuhan Su about her latest recording. “I am proud of that.”
(Photo: Te Fan Wang)
“We’re trying … to be true to his intention, but give it space to breathe in today’s world,” Lara Downes says about her and Edmar Colon’s reimagining of Gershwin’s classic piece.
(Photo: Ebru Yildiz)
Larry Goldings’ versatility keeps him in high demand as a leader, collaborator and sideman.
(Photo: Mark Sheldon)
“I’m a father, mentor, teacher, bandleader and activist,” says Keyon Harrold. “All of these things are happening at once. We all need some kind of barometer to help us stay grounded.”
(Photo: Kwafu Alston)
“I love the idea of articulating our dreams and wishes and in a way ‘shouting’ them in our mind — the same way the great Dizzy Gillespie talks about hearing the melodies loudly,” says guitarist Rotem Sivan.
(Photo: Dani Barbieri)
“I do march to the beat of my own drum,” says Ross Pederson, and that drum has led him to release Identity on his own label.
(Photo: Will Adamy)
A deluge of posthumous Chick Corea releases focuses both on his Elektric Band forays as well as his classical leanings.
(Photo: Steven Sussman)
The full cast of the centennial celebration for Max Roach, held Jan. 26 at New Jersey Performing Arts Center.
(Photo: Herb Boyd)
“I think a lot of people think this still sounds like me, but they’ll also know it’s something different,” says Yuhan Su about her latest recording. “I am proud of that.”
(Photo: Te Fan Wang)
“I put my head down and make the art that I want to make and then see what happens,” says guitarist, singer and songwriter Jonah Tolchin.
(Photo: Joe Del Tufo)
Berklee Jazz Camper Tamina Cirilli
(Photo: Kelly Davidson)
Looking toward the city side of learning, campers at the Summer Jazz Workshop of Fordham College at Lincoln Center performed in New York’s Times Square.
(Photo: Courtesy Fordham College)
Symphonic Swing, one of the groups at the Charleston Jazz Academy, performs.
(Photo: JB McCabe Photography)
Jarred Sims directs the West Virginia University Mountaineer Honor Jazz Band during rehearsal.
(Photo: Courtesy of West Virginia University)
Jazz Girls Day, a program spearheaded by Colleen Clark, assistant professor of jazz studies at the University of South Carolina (far right), has held five events over the past two years and is expanding the program to several other states.
(Photo: Courtesy University of South Carolina)
“I think most jazz musicians exist in a space where the unknown is actually pretty thrilling,” said Sara Gazarek about putting together the new jazz vocal program at Eastman School of Music.
(Photo: Lauren Desberg)
“I listened to players like Ben Webster and Wayne Shorter, two opposites, who spoke to me profoundly about saying a whole lot with less,” Osby says.
(Photo: Eddy Westveer)
Mary Halvorson expanded her hollowbody guitar to match her imaginative foot-pedal-assisted forays at this year’s NYC Winter Jazzfest.
(Photo: Melanie Mor)
From left: Mike Bindraban from Good Music Company moderates a panel on the universality of jazz with Nduduzo Makhathini, esperanza spalding and Shabaka during Jazz Congress.
(Photo: Gilberto Tadday)
Tony Cedras: 1952–2024
(Photo: Tania Keinhans)
“My dad is always going to be a part of me and my music, especially since I still have so many manuscripts of his to explore,” says Johnathan Blake, who notes that he too has much more to explore.
(Photo: David Ellis)
“I like to just click on songs that touched me and see if I could do them in a personal way — especially if it’s a well-known song,” Alpert said about selecting material for his new album.
(Photo: Dewey Nicks)
“Everybody thought I was smooth when I was growing up, so they called me ‘silky,’” Sean Mason says. The Southern Suite, his new album, proves it.
(Photo: EBAR)
Steven Lugerner and Ross Eustis put their experience in the non-profit world into creating Slow & Steady Records.
(Photo: Don Dixon)
“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.
(Photo: Dana Distortion)
Emmet Cohen, right, with one of his heroes, Houston Person.
(Photo: Gabriela Gabrielaa)
“Jazz Icons: A Fine Romance” will present world premieres by renowned choreographers Jessica Lang and Dwight Rhoden.
(Photo: Courtesy The Washington Ballet)
Opening night featured the duo of Miami native Cécile McLorin Salvant and Sullivan Fortner.
(Photo: Courtesy South Beach Jazz Festival)
Samara Joy performing at the 2023 Monterey Jazz Festival.
(Photo: Nic Coury)
The Black Men of Labor Club leads a second line parade, from the documentary City of a Million Dreams.
(Photo: Courtesy City of a Million Dreams)
Billy Mohler’s Ultraviolet was inspired by Sonny Rollins’ A Night At The Village Vanguard and Ornette Coleman’s The Shape Of Jazz To Come.
(Photo: Robbie Jeffries)
Seeking to create a vibe similar to New York’s Village Vanguard, Paul Solomon (left) and David Robaire have made L.A.-based Sam First an artist-friendly club with its own record label.
(Photo: Nick Calapine)
The Blue Note Quintet includes Gerald Clayton, Immanuel Wilkins, Joel Ross, Kendrick Scott and Matt Brewer. The all-star collective embarks on a North American tour this month.
(Photo: Courtesy Blue Note Records)
Shabaka, previously known as Shabaka Hutchings, is the artist-in-residence at this year’s NYC Winter Jazzfest.
(Photo: Courtesy of Shabaka)
“I feel honored to have been a part of this legacy and tradition,” Jackson says of his years at the helm of the Monterey Jazz Festival. “I’m proud of the work that I did.”
(Photo: RR Jones)
“He knew how to administer to the needs of a beginner, and had the skill set and patience to teach somebody young,” says saxophonist Greg Osby of his first music teacher, Fred Irby III.
(Photo: Courtesy Kennedy Center Opera House)
“I don’t think there’s anything better than seeing kids grow as human beings,” Gaesser said.
(Photo: Folsom High Music Boosters)
“I mortgaged my house a couple of times, but it was worth it,” Muscarella says of working to establish Jazzschool and California Jazz Conservatory.
(Photo: Courtesy California Jazz Conservatory)
McCann’s deep roots in gospel and the blues gave his music a gritty, earthy quality and a large supply of soulful licks.
(Photo: C. Andrew Hovan)
“I really respect people who could learn this vocabulary and find a way to express it in a way that is so unique,” Nduduzo Makhathini said of the late pianist Don Pullen during his live Blindfold Test.
(Photo: Mark Sheldon)
“No matter what you produce or do in your life, the thing you’ll be remembered for is rescuing all that Blue Note material,” Woody Shaw once said of Michael Cuscuna, and Cuscuna is fine with that.
(Photo: Jimmy Katz)
Calligram founders Geof Bradfield (left) and Chad McCullough are dedicated to putting out physical product.
(Photo: Michael Jackson)
Pops at home in Corona, Queens.
(Photo: Jack Bradley)
The Here to Stay exhibit.
(Photo: Courtesy Louis Armstrong Center)
Armstrong’s trumpets on display.
(Photo: Courtesy Louis Armstrong Center)
Birthday wishes from President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
(Photo: Courtesy Louis Armstrong Center)
The facade of the new center.
(Photo: Courtesy Louis Armstrong Center)
Davis says, “I wouldn’t call myself a jazz musician; my music is more about crossing boundaries.” Her band Alula, from left: Chris Tordini, Davis, Tyshawn Sorey and Val Jeanty.
(Photo: John Rogers)
“They were so in tune with each other, every note just works,” O’Connell said of Bill Evans and Jim Hall’s duo take on “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You.”
(Photo: Courtesy Bill O’Connell)
Henry Threadgill was a major presence at this year’s Jazzfest Berlin.
(Photo: Camille Blake)
Chick Corea’s Elektric Band heads up a stellar group of boxed sets.
(Photo: Courtesy Candid Records)
Vocalist Samara Joy reveals a core of benevolence on A Joyful Holiday.
(Photo: Ambe J. Williams)
The 313 Partnership from Third Man Records and Blue Note Records.
(Photo: Courtesy Third Man/Blue Note Records)
Steve Davis Meets Hank Jones, Vol. 1 on Smoke Sessions Records.
(Photo: Courtesy Smoke Sessions)
Craft Recordings has released a boxed set reissue of Thelonious Monk’s Brilliant Corners.
(Photo: Courtesy Craft Recordings)
“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.
(Photo: Adam Kennedy)
A great Chicago blues night at SPACE, from left, Mike Wheeler, Roosevelt Purifoy, Cleo Cole, Bob Stroger, Billy Boy Arnold, Dave Specter, Sheryl Youngblood, Tad Robinson, Julia Miller, Larry Williams, Dick Shurman and Elbio Barilari.
(Photo: Michael Jackson)
Christmas With You by Norah Jones and Laufey is one of numerous new holiday-themed releases to emerge in celebration of the season.
(Photo: Eli Ritter/Blue Note Records)
Follow the link to check out the 4-, 4.5- and 5-star album reviews published in DownBeat in 2023!
(Photo: DownBeat)
From left, first runner-up Darynn Dean, winner Tyreek McDole and second runner-up Ekep Nkwelle at his year’s “Sassy Awards” on Nov. 19.
(Photo: Steve Susan)
Bill Frisell and writer Ashley Kahn at this year’s North Sea Jazz Fest.
(Photo: Wouter Vellekoop)
A roundup of recent Latin releases celebrates vibrant new music that’s deeply rooted in cultural histories, geographies and legacies.
(Photo: DownBeat)
“I like the idea of being able to sort of daydream a little bit about something for a while,” says bassist Todd Sickafoose about making his new recording, Bear Proof.
(Photo: Shervin Lainez)
An opening-weekend high point came in the form of Chicago drummer Makaya McCraven’s show at the Barbican with the London Contemporary Orchestra.
(Photo: Sulyiman Stokes)
“The more sophisticated the lyric, the easier the melody should be,” Lins offered as a songwriting guideline.
(Photo: Bruno Barata)
“Everything came together like the universe intended,” says Luke Stewart of the members of Irreversible Entanglements, from left, Camae Ayewa, Stewart, Tcheser Holmes, Keir Neuringer and Aquiles Navarro.
(Photo: Bob Sweeney)
“This is not an album for dancing,” Fonseca says about his new recording, La Gran Diversión. “But if you want to move, to dance, you’re welcome.”
(Photo: Alejandro Azcuy)
Benjamin possessed a fluid, round sound on the alto saxophone, and he was often most recognizable by the layers of electronic effects that he put onto the instrument.
Apr 2, 2024 12:59 PM
Casey Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist, keyboardist and producer who stamped his distinctive sounds on the…
“He’s constructing intelligent musical sentences that connect seamlessly, which is the most important part of linear playing,” Charles McPherson said of alto saxophonist Sonny Red.
Feb 27, 2024 1:40 PM
“I might not have felt this way 30 to 40 years ago, but I’ve reached a point where I can hear value in what people…
Albert “Tootie” Heath (1935–2024) followed in the tradition of drummer Kenny Clarke, his idol.
Apr 5, 2024 10:28 AM
Albert “Tootie” Heath, a drummer of impeccable taste and time who was the youngest of three jazz-legend brothers…
“Both of us are quite grounded in the craft, the tradition and the harmonic sense,” Rosenwinkel said of his experience playing with Allen. “Yet I felt we shared something mystical as well.”
Mar 12, 2024 11:42 AM
“There are a few musicians you hear where, as somebody once said, the molecules in the room change. Geri was one of…
Henry Threadgill performs with Zooid at Big Ears in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Apr 9, 2024 11:30 AM
Big Ears, the annual four-day music celebration that first took place in 2009 in Knoxville, Tennessee, could well be…
