Dives Into the Future
By Phillip Lutz
Stefon Harris — vibraphonist, visionary, veritable force of nature — worked in harmony with computer generated chords and images at the Apollo Theater in February, fashioning a singularly empathetic testimonial to collective invention with his band, Blackout. Over the course of the evening the group introduced a potentially transformative tool to the jazz arsenal: artificial intelligence.
By Ashley Kahn
By Dan Ouellette
By Frank Alkyer
By DownBeat
Italy’s Umbria Jazz Winter is one of those rare annual festivals that not only coincides with a major holiday — climaxing with New Year’s Eve — but also presents its feature artists multiple times in various venues during its five-day span. This year’s edition marked its 30th year, and Cécile McLorin Salvant performed four times with her current quintet of pianist Sullivan Fortner, guitarist Marvin Sewell, bassist Yasushi Nakamura, drummer Keita Ogawa. She also performed with Alexa Tarantino on alto saxophone and flute (who broke away to headline her own set.) In the context of the small, picturesque town of Orvieto, Salvant’s shows were intimate and relaxed, each concert markedly different in energy and material. On her one day off, she bravely took a chair in front of more than 50 local music fans at the city’s historic Palazzo del Popolo and participated in her first Blindfold Test.
