Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
In Memoriam: John Hammond Jr., 1942–2026
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
Carla Bley (left), Steve Swallow and Andy Sheppard recorded Life Goes On for the ECM label.
(Photo: Caterina di Perri/ECM)Kurt Rosenwinkel Bandit 65, Searching The Continuum (Heartcore)
Because jazz remains a mostly acoustic music, the striking thing about guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel’s Bandit 65 is how overwhelmingly electronic it sounds. Rosenwinkel, fellow guitarist Tim Motzer and drummer Gintas Janusonis all are credited with “electronics.” The range of tones and textures are so deep and beguiling that it’s easy to get lost in the sheer lushness of the sound. Doing so, however, would be a bit like missing the forest for the trees, because the real genius of Searching The Continuum is that each of these tracks was spontaneously conceived of and recorded live.
Emilio Solla Tango Jazz Orchestra, Puertos: Music From International Waters (Avantango)
The high concept that drives Puertos: Music From International Waters has no right to work. Dedicating each song to a different port seems like a hokey idea lifted out of the era of stereo demonstration LPs. But what moves Puertos beyond a simple pastiche is that Emilio Solla has invested heavily in each of the pieces here. It’s the difference between seeing each city from the deck of a ship and exploring the back alleys of each place. The thread running through the various ports is how imperialist conquests, the slave trade and immigration mixed with native traditions to create distinctive yet linked music from Cadiz to Buenos Aires and New York.
Jonathan Barber & Vision Ahead, Legacy Holder (Vision Ahead Music)
Marc Copland, And I Love Her ([Illusions] Mirage)
Chick Corea, Plays (Stretch)
Frisell/Lage/Riley, John Zorn: Virtue (Tzadik)
Jimmy Heath, Love Letter (Verve)
Sigurd Hole, Lys/Mørke (Elvesang)
Laubrock/Davis, Blood Moon (Intakt)
Wynton Marsalis, The Ever Fonky Lowdown (Blue Engine)
Ron Miles, Rainbow Sign (Blue Note)
Hedvig Mollestad, Ekhidna (Rune Grammofon)
Nous, Nous II (Our Silent Canvas)
Aaron Parks, Little Big II: Dreams Of A Mechanical Man (Ropeadope)
Redman/Mehldau/McBride/Blade, Round Again (Nonesuch)
Eric Revis, Slipknots Through A Looking Glass (Pyroclastic)
Michele Rosewoman’s New Yor-Uba, Hallowed (Advance Dance Disques)
Felipe Salles Interconnections Ensemble, The New Immigrant Experience (Tapestry)
Sara Serpa, Recognition (Biophilia)
Walter Smith III & Matthew Stevens, In Common 2 (Whirlwind)
Kevin Sun, The Sustain Of Memory (Endectomorph)
Hammond came to the blues through the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, which he experienced firsthand in New York’s Greenwich Village.
Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
Lettuce, from left: Eric Coomes, Adam Deitch, Ryan Zoidis, Eric Bloom, Adam Smirnoff and Nigel Hall
Feb 17, 2026 11:05 AM
They were Berklee misfits. Neither jazzy enough for the straightahead crowd at Boston’s highly prestigious College of…
Lovers of the big band experience, clockwise from top left, John Clayton, Leigh Pilzer, Ted Nash, David Pietro and Christine Jensen.
Feb 10, 2026 11:00 AM
The popularity of big band music might have peaked in the 1930s and ’40s, but despite the many changes on the jazz…
New Orleans Trad Jazz Camp
Feb 19, 2026 10:39 AM
Jazz camps have exploded around the globe as a summertime tradition for working on your chops and making new friends.…
Sullivan Fortner continues a winning streak with his third Grammy for Jazz Album of the Year after earning the Gilmore Larry J. Bell Artist Award last October.
Feb 10, 2026 10:48 AM
The 68th Annual Grammy Awards presented a marathon of winners, tributes and music on Feb. 1. Kendrick Lamar added five…
