Aug 26, 2025 1:53 PM
Blindfold Test: Buster Williams
Buster Williams, who at the age of 83 has been on the scene for 65 years, had never done a Blindfold Test. The first…
Ted Nash revisits Bernstein and Sondheim for ‘Somewhere Else: Songs From West Side Story.’
(Photo: Frank Stewart)
Matthew Stevens (left), Terri Lyne Carrington, Debo Ray, Kassa Overall, Morgan Guerin, Aaron Parks all contribute to Carrington’s ‘Waiting Game,’ one of six new albums that earned five stars in DownBeat during 2019.
(Photo: Delphine Diallo)Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society, Mandatory Reality (Eremite)
Claudia Acuña, Turning Pages (Delfin)
Umut Adan, Bahar (Riverboat)
Areni Agbabian, Bloom (ECM)
Yazz Ahmed, Polyhymnia (Ropeadope)
Susan Alcorn/Chris Corsano/Bill Nace, Live At Rotunda (Open Mouth)
Aimée Allen, Wings Uncaged (Azuline)
JD Allen, Barracoon (Savant)
Fabian Almazan Trio, This Land Abounds With Life (Biophilia)
Monty Alexander, Wareika Hill (Rastamonk Vibrations) (MACD Records)
Jacob Anderskov, Mysteries (Kinetics Live In Köln) (ILK)
Gretje Angell, ... In Any Key (Grevlinto)
Masha Art & LRK Trio, Anesthesia (Losen)
Allison Au Quartet, Wander Wonder (Self Release)
Axebreaker, Brutality In Stone (Phage)
The Bad Plus, Activate Infinity (Edition)
Banda Black Rio, O Som Das Américas (The Sound Of The Americas) (Universal Music)
Jon Batiste, Anatomy Of Angels: Live At The Village Vanguard (Verve)
Olcay Bayir, Rüya: Dream For Anatolia (ARC)
Espen Berg Trio, Free To Play (Odin)
Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, The Essentials II (Concord)
Billy Branch & The Sons Of Blues, Roots And Branches: The Songs Of Little Walter (Alligator)
Alan Broadbent Trio, New York Notes (Savant)
Brock/Ulery/Deitemyer, Wonderment (Woolgathering)
Matt Brewer, Ganymede (Criss Cross)
Broken English Club, White Rats II (L.I.E.S.)
Michael Jerome Browne, That’s Where It’s At! (Borealis)
Kevin Burt, Heartland & Soul (Little Village Foundation)
Taylor Ho Bynum 9-Tette, The Ambiguity Manifesto (Firehouse 12)
Etienne Charles, Carnival: The Sound Of A People, Vol. 1 (Culture Shock Inc.)
Avishai Cohen/Yonathan Avishai, Playing The Room (ECM)
Emmet Cohen Trio, Dirty In Detroit (Self Release)
George Colligan, Again With Attitude (Iyouwe)
The Comet Is Coming, Trust In The Lifeforce Of The Deep Mystery (Impulse!)
Chick Corea, Trilogy 2 (Concord Jazz)
Bob Corritore & Friends, Do The Hip-Shake Baby! (SWMAF)
Sylvie Courvoisier/Mark Feldman, Time Gone Out (Intakt)
Roxy Coss, Quintet (Outside In)
Marilyn Crispell, Dream Libretto (Leo)
Stephan Crump’s Rosetta Trio, Outliers (Papillon Sounds)
Caroline Davis & Rob Clearfield’s Persona, Anthems (Sunnyside)
Kris Davis, Diatom Ribbons (Pyroclastic)
Joey DeFrancesco, In The Key Of The Universe (Mack Avenue)
Whit Dickey Tao Quartets, Peace Planet & Box Of Light (AUM Fidelity)
Joyce DiDonato, Songplay (Warner Classics/Erato)
Dave Douglas, UPLIFT: Twelve Pieces For Positive Action In 2018 (Greenleaf Music)
Draksler/Eldh/Lilinger, Punkt.Vrt.Plastik (Intakt)
Mark Dresser Seven, Ain’t Nothing But A Cyber Coup & You (Clean Feed)
EABS, Slavic Spirits (Astigmatic)
Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters, Beyond The Blue Door (Stony Plain)
Elephant9, Psychedelic Backfire I/II (Rune Grammofon)
Harris Eisenstadt, Old Growth Forest II (Astral Spirits)
Elkhorn, Sun Cycle/Elk Jam (Feeding Tube)
Moppa Elliott, Jazz Band/Rock Band/Dance Band (Hot Cup)
Endon, Boy Meets Girl (Thrill Jockey)
Peter Evans/Sam Pluta, Two Live Sets (Carrier)
Ferran Fages, Un Lloc Entre Dos Records (Another Timbre)
Tanja Feichtmair, Omnixus + Solo (Leo)
Amina Figarova, Road To The Sun (Amfi)
Jonathan Finlayson, 3 Times Round (Pi)
Mary Flower, Livin’ With The Blues Again (Little Village Foundation)
Mimi Fox, This Bird Still Flies (Origin)
Bill Frisell, Harmony (Blue Note)
Bill Frisell/Thomas Morgan, Epistrophy (ECM)
Anthony Fung, Flashpoint (Tiny 1)
Vyacheslav Ganelin/Deniss Pashkevich/Arkady Gotesman, Variations (Jersika)
Tim Gartland, Satisfied Taste (Good Music)
Garzone/Erskine/Pasqua/Oles, 3 Nights In L.A. (Fuzzy Music)
Sara Gazarek, Thirsty Ghost (Self Release)
Rhiannon Giddens, There Is No Other (Nonesuch)
Brandon Goldberg, Let’s Play (Self Release)
Benny Green, Then And Now (Sunnyside)
Larry Grenadier, The Gleaners (ECM)
Johnny Griffith Quintet, The Lion, Camel & Child (GBRecords)
Mark Guiliana, BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC! (Motéma)
“What I got from Percy was the dignity of playing the bass,” Buster Williams said of Percy Heath.
Aug 26, 2025 1:53 PM
Buster Williams, who at the age of 83 has been on the scene for 65 years, had never done a Blindfold Test. The first…
Don and Maureen Sickler serve as the keepers of engineer Rudy Van Gelder’s flame at Van Gelder Studio, perhaps the most famous recording studio in jazz history.
Sep 3, 2025 12:02 PM
On the last Sunday of 2024, in the control room of Van Gelder Studio, Don and Maureen Sickler, co-owners since Rudy Van…
The Free Slave, Cosmos Nucleus and Sunset To Dawn: three classic Muse albums being reissued this fall by Timer Traveler Recordings.
Aug 26, 2025 1:32 PM
Record producer and “Jazz Detective” Zev Feldman has launched his next endeavor, the archival label Time Traveler…
Butcher Brown, clockwise from top left: Marcus Tenney, DJ Harrison, Morgan Burrs, Corey Fonville and Andrew Randazzo. (Keyboardist Harrison couldn’t make the gig, so special guest Jacob Mann sat in with the band at the Reno Jazz Festival.)
Aug 19, 2025 12:41 PM
The band known as Butcher Brown has enjoyed the last half-decade basking in the glow from the twin engines of critical…
This year’s Jazz em Agosto set by the Darius Jones Trio captured the titular alto saxophonist at his most ferocious.
Aug 26, 2025 1:31 PM
The organizers of Lisbon, Portugal’s Jazz em Agosto Festival assume its audience is thoughtful and independent. Over…
