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…
After a year-long break, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones have returned, and will release The Hidden Land (Columbia) on Jan. 31.
The stripped down album was recorded entirely at Fleck’s home in Nashville and he called its title a nod to music that exists for its own sake rather than transient or commercial instincts. “There is a hidden land out there, a territory where people push boundaries of music,” said Fleck. “In some ways we live under the radar, but at the same time we have had some amazingly large numbers of people interested in what we are doing, this album reflects that—it’s an uncompromising album. It’s serious Flecktones.”
Known for playing over 200 dates a year, the group began sessions for The Hidden Land with a statement of core principles. “We used to have a rule that everything we did had to be possible to do live with just the three of us, no additional parts laid down in the studio. We haven’t worked in that way since 1993, but it was the concept for these sessions,” said Fleck.
The songs on the album were written by the quartet with the exception of a cover of J.S. Bach’s “Bach Fugue.” Other notable highlights include “Kaleiloscope,” “P’lod,” “Who’s Got Three,” “Labyrinth” and “Chennai.”
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.
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Ava Preston, a 12-time DownBeat Student Music Award winner, is currently pursuing her master’s degree in jazz voice at Juilliard.
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