Jun 3, 2025 11:25 AM
In Memoriam: Al Foster, 1943–2025
Al Foster, a drummer regarded for his fluency across the bebop, post-bop and funk/fusion lineages of jazz, died May 28…
Some of the acts appearing at Big Ears 2022, clockwise from top left: John Medeski, Yasmin Williams, Julian Lage, Ben Lamar Gay, Maeve Gilchrist George and Claire Rousay.
(Photo: Courtesy Big Ears Festival)Big Ears 2022 will take place live in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, March 24–27, according to festival organizers. The broad-scoped music festival has lined up more than 100 concerts in more than a dozen venues across the city.
Headlining the four-day festival this year is high punk priestess Patti Smith, but the festival also features a wide variety of jazz, new music and adventurous pop to choose from, including John Medeski, Julian Lage, Ben Lamar Gay, Odean Pope and Immanuel Wilkins. Two evenings will be dedicated to the music of John Zorn, Moses Sumney, Ken Vandermark, the Kronos Quartet and others.
The Zorn extravaganza features eight settings of the maestro’s work, offering a wide-ranging view into his Herculean outpouring of music — everything from his New Masada Quartet, Chaos Magick and Heaven And Earth to his fascinating work on Hermetic Organ, the bone-shaking Simulacrum and Songs For Petra Haden.
GEORGE, a new collaboration between percussionist John Hollenbeck, saxophonists Aurora Nealand and Anna Webber, and microtonal sound artist Chiquita Magic, debuts at the festival. Cornetist Ben LaMar Gay will perform music from his latest album, Open Arms To Open Us. Celebrated clarinetist Evan Ziporyn plays a solo program of his own compositions, as well as the world premiere of a newly discovered late-1960s piece by Philip Glass. Mind Maintenance will feature collaborators Joshua Abrams and Chad Taylor performing on the Gnawa guembri and the Zimbabwean mbira.
Two generations of Philadelphia saxophone connect when 82-year-old Odean Pope and 24-year-old Immanuel Wilkins share the stage with Danish drummer Kresten Osgood.
See the full list of artists at bigearsfestival.org. DB
Foster was truly a drummer to the stars, including Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson.
Jun 3, 2025 11:25 AM
Al Foster, a drummer regarded for his fluency across the bebop, post-bop and funk/fusion lineages of jazz, died May 28…
“Branford’s playing has steadily improved,” says younger brother Wynton Marsalis. “He’s just gotten more and more serious.”
May 20, 2025 11:58 AM
Branford Marsalis was on the road again. Coffee cup in hand, the saxophonist — sporting a gray hoodie and a look of…
Roscoe Mitchell will receive a Lifetime Achievement award at this year’s Vision Festival.
May 27, 2025 6:21 PM
Arts for Art has announced the full lineup for the 2025 Vision Festival, which will run June 2–7 at Roulette…
Benny Benack III and his quartet took the Midwest Jazz Collective’s route for a test run this spring.
Jun 3, 2025 10:31 AM
The time and labor required to tour is, for many musicians, daunting at best and prohibitive at worst. It’s hardly…
To record Dream Manifest (Dom Recs), Croker convened artists from his current and recent past ensembles, plus special guests.
Jun 10, 2025 4:13 PM
Partway through his early set at Smoke Jazz Club, Theo Croker blinks the room back into focus. He leans over the piano.…