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…
Concord Records has signed Grammy-winning singer Rita Coolidge. The label will produce and release her first new recording in over five-years and her first jazz album of her career.
Coolidge, who scored gold and platinum hits across multiple genres and decades, is perhaps best known for her signature songs “(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher,” “We’re All Alone,” “The Way You Do Those Things You Do” and “Fever.” The versatile singer also recorded “All Time High,” the theme for the James Bond movie “Octopussy,” and landed on the adult contemporary charts with “You” and “I’d Rather Leave While I’m In Love.”
Coolidge’s first album for Concord, slated for summer of 2005, will be overseen by Concord Executive Vice President John Burk, who most recently worked with Ray Charles on the platinum recording Genius Loves Company, and produced by Jimmy Haslip of The Yellowjackets. The CD will include a repertoire of popular jazz and pop standards, as well as “A Song For You,” a song Leon Russell wrote as a love letter to Coolidge that she has never previously recorded.
“I am thrilled that I have finally been given the opportunity to create a jazz CD, a genre that I have loved all my life. To be able to do so with a label that has a reputation as solid and as well-respected as Concord Records is quite rewarding,” Coolidge says. “Everyone at the label is so genuinely passionate about the music. I am very excited to be able to work with them all.”
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…
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…
Kurt Elling, Katherine Russell and Emmet Cohen (host on the 2027 Jazz Cruise) share a laugh at sea.
Sep 8, 2026 11:52 AM
It began in 2001. A travel agent named Anita E. Berry had been booking clients on “partial” jazz cruises that took…
