Aug 26, 2025 1:53 PM
Blindfold Test: Buster Williams
Buster Williams, who at the age of 83 has been on the scene for 65 years, had never done a Blindfold Test. The first…
Béla Fleck and the Flecktones have announced dates for their Jingle All the Way tour.
(Photo: Shauna Presto)Looking for something cool to check out in the heat of a sweltering summer? Here are five upcoming tours and musical events guaranteed to bring a relaxing, restorative vibe to your vacation travels and stay-cation chill-outs. Keep hydrated, wear plenty of sunscreen and enjoy some of the following opportunities to bask in the glory of live music.
Litchfield Jazz Fest Starts Friday
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the Litchfield Jazz Fest opens Friday, July 25, with pianist/composer Emmet Cohen. The sounds continue Saturday with Anat Cohen’s Quartetinho, Frank Vignola and Pasquale Grasso, and things finish up with a Sunday brunch featuring the Champian Fulton Trio. For ticket information, CLICK HERE.
Christmas in July?
Tickets are on sale now for Béla Fleck and the Flecktones’ 2025 Jingle All The Way tour featuring special guests Jeff Coffin and Alash. For ticket info and info on the Fleck’s full gig schedule, CLICK HERE.
Portugal Bound!
Need a little European vacation? Jazz em Agosto in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 1–10, might be the ticket. The fest features an adventurous lineup including The Heart Trio with William Parker, Cooper-Moore and Hamid Drake; the Kris Davis Trio with Robert Hurst and Johnathan Blake; the Darius Jones Trio with Chris Lightcap and Gerald Clever; the Patricia Brennan Septet; and the Luís Vicente Trio with Gonçalo Almeida and Pedro Melo Alves. For ticket information, CLICK HERE.
Bonamassa Tix Going on Sale
Fans of blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa will want to be by their phones Friday, July 25, when tickets go on sale for his 2026 Spring Tour Dates. Here’s the LINK.
Harrison Hits New York
Saxophonist Donald Harrison leads off a stellar lineup at his own Quantum Leap Music Festival, bringing a little NOLA love to Borghese Vineyard in Cutchogue, Long Island, New York. He’ll be bringing along friends like The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, The Headhunters, The Preservation Hall Legacy Band, Zaccai Curtis, the New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars, CJ Chenier & The Red Hot Louisiana Band and others. CLICK HERE for more info. DB
“What I got from Percy was the dignity of playing the bass,” Buster Williams said of Percy Heath.
Aug 26, 2025 1:53 PM
Buster Williams, who at the age of 83 has been on the scene for 65 years, had never done a Blindfold Test. The first…
Don and Maureen Sickler serve as the keepers of engineer Rudy Van Gelder’s flame at Van Gelder Studio, perhaps the most famous recording studio in jazz history.
Sep 3, 2025 12:02 PM
On the last Sunday of 2024, in the control room of Van Gelder Studio, Don and Maureen Sickler, co-owners since Rudy Van…
The Free Slave, Cosmos Nucleus and Sunset To Dawn: three classic Muse albums being reissued this fall by Timer Traveler Recordings.
Aug 26, 2025 1:32 PM
Record producer and “Jazz Detective” Zev Feldman has launched his next endeavor, the archival label Time Traveler…
Butcher Brown, clockwise from top left: Marcus Tenney, DJ Harrison, Morgan Burrs, Corey Fonville and Andrew Randazzo. (Keyboardist Harrison couldn’t make the gig, so special guest Jacob Mann sat in with the band at the Reno Jazz Festival.)
Aug 19, 2025 12:41 PM
The band known as Butcher Brown has enjoyed the last half-decade basking in the glow from the twin engines of critical…
This year’s Jazz em Agosto set by the Darius Jones Trio captured the titular alto saxophonist at his most ferocious.
Aug 26, 2025 1:31 PM
The organizers of Lisbon, Portugal’s Jazz em Agosto Festival assume its audience is thoughtful and independent. Over…
