May 26, 2026 11:08 AM
Sonny Rollins Passes Away at 95
Sonny Rollins, the iconic saxophonist, composer and improviser whose career stretched from the origins of bebop to 21st…
Guitarist Adam Levy has been in the spotlight lately as part of Norah Jones’ touring band. He will be seen by millions around the world on February 23, when he
performs at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards with Jones; however, his solo work that will be on display this winter and spring
on a nationwide tour of his own.
The tour kicks off February 28 at LA’s Alterknit Theatre, and will feature Levy backed by Red Young on Hammond organ and Brannen Temple on drums, performing the gritty sounds Memphis soul that inform Levy’s new album Get Your Glow On.
Recorded at Memphis’ Sounds Unreel studio and set for April 8 release on Levy’s Lost Wax label, Glow features Levy playing with top-shelf Memphis musicians, including drummer Steve Potts (Booker T. & the MG’s, Al Green) saxophonist Jim Spake (Arthur Alexander, Lorette Velvette), bassist David Smith (Luther Allison) and trumpet player Scott Thompson (James Carr, Rufus Thomas). Levy also assembled a dream list of vocalists for the album including, Jones, who sings a beautiful version of Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender,” Memphis-via-Chicago soul legend Otis Clay who belts out Bob Dylan’s “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You,” the Holmes Bros. who put their stamp on Goffin/King’s “No Easy Way Down” and a talented, young Memphis vocalist, Susan Marshall, whose singing recalls another Memphis legend, Ann Peebles.
The tour dates are as follows:
Feb. 28: AlterKnit Theatre, Los Angeles
March 2: Soho, Santa Barbara, Calif.
March 4: Moe’s Alley, Santa Cruz, Calif.
March 5: Boom Boom Room, San Francisco
March 6: Rumour’s, Eureka, Calif.
March 9: Tractor, Seattle
March 12: Tugboat, Steamboat Springs, Colo.
March 13: Bleu, Colorado Springs, Colo.
March 14: Fox Theater, Boulder, Colo.
March 15: Quixote’s, Denver
March 22: Elephant Room, Austin, Texas
April 4: Tonic, New York
Onstage, Rollins would move about restlessly, thrusting his tenor sax in the air as he blew.
May 26, 2026 11:08 AM
Sonny Rollins, the iconic saxophonist, composer and improviser whose career stretched from the origins of bebop to 21st…
To the world, James Blood Ulmer was a legend, a visionary and a musical force whose sound was distinctive and unique. To his family, he was their teacher, their storyteller and a source of strength.
Jun 9, 2026 10:54 AM
With deep sorrow and profound love, we announce the passing of James Blood Ulmer, a boldly innovative guitarist,…
How best to mark Miles Davis’ centennial? By allowing the stories to flow, and cross-discussions to happen.
May 26, 2026 10:40 AM
Editor’s Note: The iconic trumpeter, composer and bandleader Miles Davis would have turned 100 today (May 26, 2026).…
Clockwise from top left, Mary Halvorson, Patricia Brennan, Adam O’Farrill, Keith Jarrett’s At the Deer Head Inn: The Complete Recordings, Sheila Jordan and Jaki Byard.
Jul 16, 2026 1:34 PM
The DownBeat Critics Poll never ceases to amaze! And the 74th Edition offered plenty of accolades for poll veterans and…
Ibrahim was an early jazz acolyte, studying the music via 78s he would buy from soldiers stationed in South Africa — who also gave him the nickname “Dollar.”
Jun 30, 2026 3:19 PM
Pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, the NEA Jazz Master from South Africa who helped fuse the folk music of his home country with…