Jan 21, 2025 7:54 PM
Southern California Fires Hit the Jazz Community
Roy McCurdy and his wife had just finished eating dinner and were relaxing over coffee in their Altadena home, when he…
Gerald and John Clayton at the family home in Altadena during a photo shoot for the June 2022 cover of DownBeat. The house was lost during the Los Angeles fires.
Jan 21, 2025 7:54 PM
Roy McCurdy and his wife had just finished eating dinner and were relaxing over coffee in their Altadena home, when he…
The new Bad Plus, from left, Chris Speed, Reid Anderson, Dave King and Ben Monder.
Jan 21, 2025 7:48 PM
Especially by the fickle standards of jazz band shelf lives, The Bad Plus has enjoyed a very good run. With the release…
The Old Country: More From The Deer Head Inn arrives 30 years after ECM issued the Keith Jarret Trio live album At The Deer Head Inn.
Jan 21, 2025 7:38 PM
Last November, Keith Jarrett, who has not played publicly since suffering two strokes in 2018, greenlighted ECM to drop…
“It’s not older music. It’s our music,” says James Inglehart, who plays Louis Armstrong in a new musical on Broadway.
Jan 21, 2025 7:27 PM
Louis Armstrong’s career was long, diverse and full of the unexpected — both on stage and off. DownBeat often…
“The first recording I owned with Brazilian music on it was Wayne Shorter’s Native Dancer,” says Renee Rosnes. “And then I just started to go down the rabbit hole.”
Jan 16, 2025 2:02 PM
In her four-decade career, Renee Rosnes has been recognized as a singular voice, both as a jazz composer and a…
Strata-East co-founder Charles Tolliver performing at LPR during Winter Jazzfest 2025.
Jan 16, 2025 1:53 PM
The digital-only anthology Strata-East: The Legacy Begins, available Feb. 21 on all platforms, celebrates the…
“I’m a composer who needs a deadline and a project — a recording or a gig — to really start actively writing,” says Ryan Keberle.
Jan 16, 2025 1:38 PM
The remarkably productive, restlessly creative trombonist, keyboardist, composer and educator Ryan Keberle recently…
This year’s NAMM Show is scheduled to go on as planned Jan. 21–25 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Southern California.
Jan 16, 2025 1:32 PM
In response to the wildfires that continue to burn in areas of Southern California, the National Association of Music…
“The hymns are at the core of my musical self,” says pianist Tord Gustavsen. “They are my ‘standards’ as a European ‘jazz’ musician.”
Jan 9, 2025 12:50 PM
ECM Records has long enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with Norwegian jazz. The tradition dates back to its early years…
Charles Lloyd’s Sangam featuring Zakir Hussain and Eric Harland will perform at this year’s Big Ears Festival.
Jan 9, 2025 12:17 PM
Knoxville, Tennessee’s Big Ears Festival has announced the daily schedule for its 12th edition, which runs March…