May 26, 2026 11:08 AM
Sonny Rollins Passes Away at 95
Sonny Rollins, the iconic saxophonist, composer and improviser whose career stretched from the origins of bebop to 21st…
Icons from the world of rock, blues, reggae, pop and country music have joined together to salute legendary piano man Fats Domino for the upcoming double CD Goin’ Home: A Tribute To Fats Domino.
The roster of musicians contributing their interpretations of classic Fats Domino songs includes Herbie Hancock (“I’m Gonna Be A Wheel”), Paul McCartney (“I Want To Walk You Home”), Tom Petty (“I’m Walkin’”), Robert Plant (“It Keeps Rainin’”), Willie Nelson (“I Hear You Knockin’”), B.B. King (“Goin’ Home”) and Norah Jones (“My Blue Heaven”). The release will also feature John Lennon’s version of Fats’ most popular song, “Ain’t That A Shame.”
The album is set for a Sept. 25 release on Vanguard Records. The tribute will help raise funds specifically earmarked for instruments to be donated to New Orleans’ public school children. Monies raised will also go toward rebuilding Fats Domino’s home and creating a community center in the Crescent City’s still ravaged Lower 9th Ward.
The Tipitina’s Foundation, a non-profit corporation dedicated to preserving the cultural legacy of New Orleans through music education for youth and providing programs that support working musicians of New Orleans and the Gulf Region, conceived and executive produced Goin’ Home. For more information about the album, see tipitinasfoundation.org.
Onstage, Rollins would move about restlessly, thrusting his tenor sax in the air as he blew.
May 26, 2026 11:08 AM
Sonny Rollins, the iconic saxophonist, composer and improviser whose career stretched from the origins of bebop to 21st…
To the world, James Blood Ulmer was a legend, a visionary and a musical force whose sound was distinctive and unique. To his family, he was their teacher, their storyteller and a source of strength.
Jun 9, 2026 10:54 AM
With deep sorrow and profound love, we announce the passing of James Blood Ulmer, a boldly innovative guitarist,…
How best to mark Miles Davis’ centennial? By allowing the stories to flow, and cross-discussions to happen.
May 26, 2026 10:40 AM
Editor’s Note: The iconic trumpeter, composer and bandleader Miles Davis would have turned 100 today (May 26, 2026).…
Clockwise from top left, Mary Halvorson, Patricia Brennan, Adam O’Farrill, Keith Jarrett’s At the Deer Head Inn: The Complete Recordings, Sheila Jordan and Jaki Byard.
Jul 16, 2026 1:34 PM
The DownBeat Critics Poll never ceases to amaze! And the 74th Edition offered plenty of accolades for poll veterans and…
Ibrahim was an early jazz acolyte, studying the music via 78s he would buy from soldiers stationed in South Africa — who also gave him the nickname “Dollar.”
Jun 30, 2026 3:19 PM
Pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, the NEA Jazz Master from South Africa who helped fuse the folk music of his home country with…
