Aug 26, 2025 1:53 PM
Blindfold Test: Buster Williams
Buster Williams, who at the age of 83 has been on the scene for 65 years, had never done a Blindfold Test. The first…
Hamiet Bluiett has suffered numerous health setbacks.
(Photo: Courtesy of the artist)Baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett—whose long career includes acclaimed work as a leader, cofounder of the World Saxophone Quartet and collaborator with Charles Mingus and Sam Rivers—remains in medical care due to serious health issues.
Anaya Bluiett, the saxophonist’s granddaughter, has set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds to help pay for his medical expenses.
Anaya Bluiett has posted a message, that reads, in part: “[Hamiet Bluiett has] been hospitalized for several months because he has had numerous strokes and seizures. He was in the critical intensive care unit, then the hospital and two rehabs to help him get back to himself, but it’s still going to take some time. I am trying to raise money for him for his bills and traveling expenses, since he no longer will be able to work. I’m working on moving him back to St. Louis from New York, where he is currently living. I’ve been traveling back and forth to take care of him. He doesn’t like asking people for help, but sometimes that’s what you have to do, to be able to help yourself. He’s been playing the baritone saxophone for decades and music is what he loves more than anything. For him to have to retire is going to be the most difficult part to deal with for him. If there’s anything you can do to help, it would be greatly appreciated. … Thank you.”
As of Jan. 2, the GoFundMe campaign had received donations from more than 300 people. Fans who want to make a donation can visit the Hamiet Bluiett’s Recovery web page. DB
“What I got from Percy was the dignity of playing the bass,” Buster Williams said of Percy Heath.
Aug 26, 2025 1:53 PM
Buster Williams, who at the age of 83 has been on the scene for 65 years, had never done a Blindfold Test. The first…
Don and Maureen Sickler serve as the keepers of engineer Rudy Van Gelder’s flame at Van Gelder Studio, perhaps the most famous recording studio in jazz history.
Sep 3, 2025 12:02 PM
On the last Sunday of 2024, in the control room of Van Gelder Studio, Don and Maureen Sickler, co-owners since Rudy Van…
The Free Slave, Cosmos Nucleus and Sunset To Dawn: three classic Muse albums being reissued this fall by Timer Traveler Recordings.
Aug 26, 2025 1:32 PM
Record producer and “Jazz Detective” Zev Feldman has launched his next endeavor, the archival label Time Traveler…
This year’s Jazz em Agosto set by the Darius Jones Trio captured the titular alto saxophonist at his most ferocious.
Aug 26, 2025 1:31 PM
The organizers of Lisbon, Portugal’s Jazz em Agosto Festival assume its audience is thoughtful and independent. Over…
Trio aRT with its avalanche of instrumentation: from left, Pheeroan akLaff, Scott Robinson and Julian Thayer.
Sep 3, 2025 12:03 PM
Trio aRT, a working unit since 1988, shockingly released its very first studio recording this summer. Recorded in…
