Gosling: World’s Greatest Ambassador for Jazz?

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Ryan Gosling (left) gives a lecture on jazz, with help from the SNL band’s musical director, Lenny Pickett.

(Photo: Courtesy NBC)

Actor Ryan Gosling hosted the season opener for Saturday Night Live and began the Sept. 30 broadcast with a lecture on how he saved jazz—before being corrected by some famous friends.

To see the “informative” clip on the history of jazz, click here. DB.



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    ​Jack DeJohnette boasted a musical resume that was as long as it was fearsome.

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    Always a sharp dresser, Farnsworth wears a pocket square given to him by trumpeter Art Farmer. “You need to look good if you want to hang around me,” Farmer told him.

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    ​D’Angelo achieved commercial and critical success experimenting with a fusion of jazz, funk, soul, R&B and hip-hop.

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    Kandace Springs channeled Shirley Horn’s deliberate phrasing and sublime self-accompaniment during her set at this year’s Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival.

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    ​Jim McNeely’s singular body of work had a profound and lasting influence on many of today’s top jazz composers in the U.S. and in Europe.


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November 2025
Gary Bartz
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