Sep 3, 2026 10:44 AM
In Memoriam: Cassandra Wilson, 1955–2026
Cassandra Wilson, a singer, songwriter and producer who was one of the most acclaimed and successful jazz vocalists of…
The Blues Foundation will present the Blues Music Awards May 8, 2008, at the Grand Casino Event Center in Tunica Resorts, Miss.
Among those heading the list of honorees is Bobby Rush who garnered four nominations. Watermelon Slim & the Workers received six nominations for the second consecutive year with their album of the year candidate The Wheel Man. Koko Taylor returns to form with four nominations, including one for her album of the year nominee Old School. Lurrie Bell also was honored with three nominations, including one he shares with his late father Carey in the newly-created DVD category.
Album of the year nominees include:
Bettye LaVette’s The Scene of the Crime
James Blood Ulmer’s Bad Blood in the City
Koko Taylor’s Old School
Nick Moss & the Flip Tops’ Play It ‘Til Tomorrow
Omar Kent Dykes & Jimmie Vaughan’s On the Jimmy Reed Highway
Sugar Ray & the Bluetones’ My Life, My Friends, My Music
Watermelon Slim & the Workers’ The Wheel Man
More info: blues.org
Wilson’s ability to connect to audiences helped her to win two Grammy awards and multiple other accolades. She was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2022.
Sep 3, 2026 10:44 AM
Cassandra Wilson, a singer, songwriter and producer who was one of the most acclaimed and successful jazz vocalists of…
Bertoncini was a specialist and advocate for the nylon-string acoustic guitar, turning down high-profile opportunities that were unsuited to the sound and techniques that he used with that instrument.
Sep 1, 2026 11:06 AM
Gene Bertoncini, an esteemed jazz guitarist, composer, arranger and educator, died Aug. 29 at the Lillian Booth Actors…
A solo concert by saxophonist Joshua Redman will close the first night of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival on Sept. 26.
Sep 22, 2026 12:26 PM
The Hyde Park Jazz Festival will take place for the 20th time on the final weekend of September 2026. Beginning half…
“It was just that suddenly … I could hear it,” Ravi Coltrane said of an epiphany he experienced during his late teens regarding his father’s music. “And it was almost like a calling, like something saying, ‘Hey, man, come on. It’s time to get serious.’ And the first time you really tune in and dial in and focus like that, it can be very life-changing.”
Sep 22, 2026 1:39 PM
Editor’s Note: Tomorrow, Sept. 23, is the 100th anniversary of John Coltrane’s birth. In honor of the tenor and…
Camille Thurman took to the stage alongside bassist Kenny Davis and drummer Tommy Campbell for a rendition of Johnny Mercer’s “I’m An Old Cowhand” that recalled Rollins’ epochal 1957 trio outing Way Out West.
Oct 6, 2026 1:33 PM
As emcee Mark Ruffin noted at the commencement of an epic tribute to saxophonist Sonny Rollins at the Cathedral of…
