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…
Cellist Erik Friedlander will release an album insipred by American roots music, his own history as a young guitar player and the open road.
Block Ice & Propane (Skipstone Records) is a throwback to Friedlander’s childhood traveling across the United States with his family in the ‘60s and ‘70s. His father, the photographer Lee Friedlander, would plan journeys around his work and some of his photographs from that time figure in the CD’s packaging.
“Our camper was a thin shelled box sitting on top of a 1966 Chevrolet pickup truck,” Friedlander said in a news release. “Cities, campgrounds, parades, outhouses, wild animals and strange characters suffused in a haze of thousands of hours of highway travel. Writing these pieces put me back in that camper.”
Friedlander’s work on Block Ice, set for release Aug. 14, opened up when he noticed that his first sketches for the project were like finger-picking guitar pieces for the cello. A longtime veteren of New York’s downtown scene, Friedlander has backed John Zorn, Laurie Anderson, Courtney Love and the Mountain Goats.
For more information, see www.blockiceandpropane.com.
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…
Roscoe Mitchell will receive a Lifetime Achievement award at this year’s Vision Festival.
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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.
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To record Dream Manifest (Dom Recs), Croker convened artists from his current and recent past ensembles, plus special guests.
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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.”
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When it came time to pose for the cover of her new album, Lady In Satin — a tribute to Billie Holiday’s 1958…
