Jun 10, 2025 4:13 PM
Theo Croker’s Dream … Manifested!
Partway through his early set at Smoke Jazz Club, Theo Croker blinks the room back into focus. He leans over the piano.…
Bassist Bootsy Collins is set to issue The Power Of The One, an album featuring a litany of jazz luminaries, as well as artists like rapper Snoop Dogg and blues guitarist Christone “Kingfish” Ingram.
(Photo: Nick Presniakov)Bootsy Collins has been dispensing funk as a bandleader and with performers like James Brown and George Clinton for decades. And now the Ohio-born bassist is set to issue his latest album, The Power Of The One (Bootzilla/Sweetwater Studios), on Oct. 23.
Bassist Christian McBride shows up on the new disc, as does saxophonist Branford Marsalis for a pair of tracks. And the album’s first single, “The Power Of The One,” features a guest spot from guitarist George Benson.
“The power of the one is what pulls us through,” Collins said in a press release. “Everyone has ‘the one’ inside of them. You never know who is using you for guidance, so always be pure and never fake the funk. Everybody got a light. Everybody needs to shine.”
To mark the album’s release, the bassist is planning an Oct. 23 livestream just a few days ahead of his 69th birthday. DB
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.…
“There’s nothing quite like it,” Springs says of working with an orchestra. “It’s 60 people working in harmony in the moment. Singing with them is kind of empowering but also humbling at the same time.”
Jun 17, 2025 11:12 AM
When it came time to pose for the cover of her new album, Lady In Satin — a tribute to Billie Holiday’s 1958…
James Brandon Lewis earned honors for Artist of the Year and Tenor Saxophonist of the Year. Three of his recordings placed in the Albums of the Year category.
Jul 17, 2025 12:44 PM
You see before you what we believe is the largest and most comprehensive Critics Poll in the history of jazz. DownBeat…
Galper was often regarded as an underrated master of his craft.
Jul 22, 2025 10:58 AM
Hal Galper, a pianist, composer and arranger who enjoyed a substantial performing career but made perhaps a deeper…
Chuck Mangione on the cover of the May 8, 1975, edition of DownBeat.
Jul 29, 2025 1:00 PM
Chuck Mangione, one of the most popular trumpeters in jazz history, passed away on July 24 at home in Rochester, New…
