Mar 4, 2025 1:29 PM
Changing of the Guard at Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra
On October 23, Ted Nash – having toured the world playing alto, soprano and tenor saxophone, clarinet and bass…
Blues harmonica player Carey Bell died May 6 of heart failure in Chicago. He was 70.
Bell was a veteran of both Muddy Waters’ and Willie Dixon’s bands, and was a guest artist on many blues recordings.
Bell was one of the few harmonica players who didn’t learn his craft by listening to old records, but by studying directly under his teachers Big Walter Horton, Little Walter Jacobs and Sonny Boy Williamson II. It didn’t take long for Bell to develop his signature “chopped” harmonica phrasing and deep-blues style.
Carey Bell Harrington was born in Macon, Miss., on Nov. 14, 1936. A fan of Louis Jordan, Bell originally wanted a saxophone, but economic conditioned forced his grandfather to buy him a harmonica instead.
He taught himself to play by the time he was eight, and began playing professionally with his godfather, pianist Lovie Lee, when he was 13.
As Ted Nash, left, departs the alto saxophone chair for LCJO, Alexa Tarantino steps in as the band’s first female full-time member.
Mar 4, 2025 1:29 PM
On October 23, Ted Nash – having toured the world playing alto, soprano and tenor saxophone, clarinet and bass…
Larry Appelbaum with Wayne Shorter in 2012.
Feb 25, 2025 10:49 AM
Larry Appelbaum, a distinguished audio engineer, jazz journalist, historian and broadcaster, died Feb. 21, 2025, in…
“This is one of the great gifts that Coltrane gave us — he gave us a key to the cosmos in this recording,” says John McLaughlin.
Mar 18, 2025 3:00 PM
In his original liner notes to A Love Supreme, John Coltrane wrote: “Yes, it is true — ‘seek and ye shall…
The Blue Note Jazz Festival New York kicks off May 27 with a James Moody 100th Birthday Celebration at Sony Hall.
Apr 8, 2025 1:23 PM
Blue Note Entertainment Group has unveiled the lineup for the 14th annual Blue Note Jazz Festival New York, featuring…
“You’ve got to trust that inner child, keep exploring, even though people think it’s wrong,” says Fortner.
Feb 25, 2025 11:20 AM
Every week at the Village Vanguard fosters its own sound. No one really knows how the music might evolve by Sunday, but…
