Mar 18, 2025 3:00 PM
A Love Supreme at 60: Thoughts on Coltrane’s Masterwork
In his original liner notes to A Love Supreme, John Coltrane wrote: “Yes, it is true — ‘seek and ye shall…
BMI’s Senior Director of Jazz and Musical Theatre Patrick Cook (left) with Musical Director Andy Farber, prize winner Helen Sung and Assistant Musical Director Alan Ferber at the 33rd Annual BMI Jazz Composers Workshop Summer Showcase, held June 13 at Dizzy’s in New York.
(Photo: Ezekiel Jeremiah for BMI)BMI’s 33rd Annual Jazz Composers Workshop Summer Showcase, held June 13 at Dizzy’s Club in New York, featured the best new big band and jazz orchestra compositions created during the workshop’s 2021–’22 season. The evening was hosted by Musical Director Andy Farber and Assistant Musical Director Alan Ferber and judged by a panel of esteemed jazz musicians and composers including Michael Abene, Marcus Printup and Rufus Reid.
The BMI/New York Jazz Orchestra performed eight works, including “The Deep End” by Todd Anderson, “Vaqueiro” by Ann Belmont, “Water Lillies” by Patrick Cornelius, “The Goodtime Gardens” by Ethan Helm, “Summer’s Ending” by Mike Malone, “Tis Bottle” by Len Pierro and “Minor Feelings” by Rin Seo. After an evening of performances, Helen Sung’s “Jazz Portraits: II. Wayne Shorter” was chosen as the winning piece by the judges. In addition to receiving the prestigious Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize, the BMI Foundation also awarded Sung the $3,000 Manny Albam commission — named in memory of the workshop’s late founder and longtime music director — to compose a new piece that will premiere at next year’s showcase.
The evening concluded with 2021 prize recipients Chuck Iwanusa and Tracy Yang debuting their commissioned compositions, “No Man’s Land” and “Sea Swell (Scene Taiwan II).”
For more information on this renowned workshop and its history, click here. DB
“This is one of the great gifts that Coltrane gave us — he gave us a key to the cosmos in this recording,” says John McLaughlin.
Mar 18, 2025 3:00 PM
In his original liner notes to A Love Supreme, John Coltrane wrote: “Yes, it is true — ‘seek and ye shall…
The Blue Note Jazz Festival New York kicks off May 27 with a James Moody 100th Birthday Celebration at Sony Hall.
Apr 8, 2025 1:23 PM
Blue Note Entertainment Group has unveiled the lineup for the 14th annual Blue Note Jazz Festival New York, featuring…
“I’m certainly influenced by Geri Allen,” said Iverson, during a live Blindfold Test at the 31st Umbria Jazz Winter festival.
Apr 15, 2025 11:44 AM
Between last Christmas and New Year’s Eve, Ethan Iverson performed as part of the 31st Umbria Jazz Winter festival in…
“At the end of the day, once you’ve run out of differences, we’re left with similarities,” Collier says. “Cultural differences are mitigated through 12 notes.”
Apr 15, 2025 11:55 AM
DownBeat has a long association with the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference, the premiere…
“It kind of slows down, but it’s still kind of productive in a way, because you have something that you can be inspired by,” Andy Bey said on a 2019 episode of NPR Jazz Night in America, when he was 80. “The music is always inspiring.”
Apr 29, 2025 11:53 AM
Singer Andy Bey, who illuminated the jazz scene for five decades with a four-octave range that encompassed a bellowing…