Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
In Memoriam: John Hammond Jr., 1942–2026
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
On Tuesday, trombonist George Lewis was named one of the 24 winners the annual “genius grants” awarded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. With the Fellowship award, the AACM stalwart will receive a total of $500,000 over five years from the Chicago-based foundation.
Although nominees are reviewed for their achievements, the Fellowship is not a reward for past accomplishment, but rather an investment in a person’s originality, insight and potential to effect positive change. The purpose of MacArthur Fellowships is to enable recipients to exercise their own creative instincts for the benefit of society at large.
Lewis is the second member of Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians to win the award, as composer Anthony Braxton won in 1994.
Lewis is currently a music professor at the University of California at San Diego; and he’s currently spending the semester at the University of California at Irvine.
Hammond came to the blues through the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, which he experienced firsthand in New York’s Greenwich Village.
Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
“Cerebral and academic thought is a different way to approach music,” Flea says of his continuing dive into jazz. “I’ve always relied on emotion and intuition and physicality.”
Mar 30, 2026 10:30 PM
In the relatively small pantheon of certifiable rock stars venturing into the intersection of pop music and jazz, the…
Vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater will be among the headliners at this year’s DC JazzFest.
Mar 2, 2026 9:48 PM
The first wave of artists scheduled to perform at the 2026 DC JazzFest have been announced. This year’s headliners…
Blindfold Test proctor Ted Panken, left, with the Grammy-winning Nicole Zuraitis.
Feb 24, 2026 12:00 PM
After earning the 2024 Best Jazz Vocal Album Grammy for her seventh album, How Love Begins (La Reserve), comprising 12…
“These days, with curated news, where people only get half the story, people can’t even speak to family members anymore,” Schneider laments.
Mar 10, 2026 1:43 PM
Maria Schneider is doing her part to try to fix what ails America. Which got her thinking about crows, specifically,…
