Apr 2, 2024 12:59 PM
Saxophonist, Sonic Explorer Casey Benjamin Dies at 45
Casey Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist, keyboardist and producer who stamped his distinctive sounds on the…
Legendary r&b singer Etta James has canceled a string of tour dates after suffering complications from a mid-June abdominal surgery, Reuters has reported. She remains in stable condition at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
James, 69, was “extremely disappointed” at having to cancel performances, said Lupe De Leon, her manager. “If it had been left solely up to her, she would have checked herself out of the hospital and started the tour regardless of her delicate health. However, her doctor advised that were she to do so, it would put her at very great risk.”
James was scheduled to join guitarist B.B. King and singer Al Green on a tour that began Tuesday, but her illness forced her to cancel dates up to Aug. 23, when she hopes to begin performing again. Vocalist Chaka Khan will substitute for James on most of the tour, with Susan Tedeschi stepping in at the JVC Jazz Festival-Newport.
James’ illustrious career has included hits “Something’s Got A Hold On Me,” “Trust In Me” and her trademark song, “At Last.” The three-time Grammy Award winner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
Benjamin possessed a fluid, round sound on the alto saxophone, and he was often most recognizable by the layers of electronic effects that he put onto the instrument.
Apr 2, 2024 12:59 PM
Casey Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist, keyboardist and producer who stamped his distinctive sounds on the…
Albert “Tootie” Heath (1935–2024) followed in the tradition of drummer Kenny Clarke, his idol.
Apr 5, 2024 10:28 AM
Albert “Tootie” Heath, a drummer of impeccable taste and time who was the youngest of three jazz-legend brothers…
“Both of us are quite grounded in the craft, the tradition and the harmonic sense,” Rosenwinkel said of his experience playing with Allen. “Yet I felt we shared something mystical as well.”
Mar 12, 2024 11:42 AM
“There are a few musicians you hear where, as somebody once said, the molecules in the room change. Geri was one of…
Henry Threadgill performs with Zooid at Big Ears in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Apr 9, 2024 11:30 AM
Big Ears, the annual four-day music celebration that first took place in 2009 in Knoxville, Tennessee, could well be…
“I’m also at a point in my life where I don’t feel like I have anything to prove, like at all,” Akinmusire says about his art.
Mar 26, 2024 12:45 PM
At the risk of oversimplifying and romanticizing the story, Ambrose Akinmusire came bursting on the jazz scene at the…
