Jun 9, 2026 10:54 AM
In Memoriam: James Blood Ulmer, 1940–2026
With deep sorrow and profound love, we announce the passing of James Blood Ulmer, a boldly innovative guitarist,…
Saxophonist Archie Shepp (left) and pianist Jason Moran recorded a series of duets in 2017 and 2018 that are being released as Let My People Go.
(Photo: Accra Shepp)A pair of generation-defining performers announced their first collaborative album.
Saxophonist Archie Shepp and pianist Jason Moran, released a video for “Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child,” the first single from their upcoming Let My People Go recording. It’s a somber take of a somber tune, one supported by Moran’s bluesy gestures and Shepp’s emotive delivery on sax and vocals.
“Let My People Go offers ample evidence of Shepp and Moran’s consanguinity,” critic Ashley Kahn writes in the album’s liner notes. “Both were born in the [D]eep South, raised up in the sound of the blues and black gospel: Shepp in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Moran in Houston, Texas. Both fell in love with jazz and other forms of cultural expression, and followed their muses north.”
On Let My People Go—which is due out Feb. 5 through the Archieball label—the duo also rework classics like “Isfahan,” “Lush Life” and “’Round Midnight.” DB
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,…
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…
A drummer’s drummer, Rodney Holmes gigged with everyone from Joe Zawinul and Carlos Santana to Steve Kimock and the Brecker Brothers.
Jul 22, 2026 12:37 PM
Drummer Rodney Holmes, a powerful presence behind the kit who emerged as an in-demand player on the New York scene…
“There was something about her tone and sound and phrasing — an intimacy, a vulnerability, an honesty,” says Joshua Redman, who produced Cavassa’s record after she toured with his band.
Jun 16, 2026 1:27 AM
Gabrielle Cavassa is an avowed perfectionist. So when she failed to place despite becoming a finalist in the 2018 Sarah…
