Jun 10, 2025 4:13 PM
Theo Croker’s Dream … Manifested!
Partway through his early set at Smoke Jazz Club, Theo Croker blinks the room back into focus. He leans over the piano.…
PiaNOLA Live, the first live solo album from pianist Henry Butler, will be released on April 29 by New Orleans-based indie label Basin Street Records. Butler is currently on a solo tour and will open for B.B. King on March 3–4 in Bethesda, Md.
Butler will perform with the Game Band at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 3.
Butler has been recording his performances for decades. And while Butler lost his home and many of his possessions in the floods resulting from Hurricane Katrina, his archive of tapes survived intact. From this collection of performances, Butler and pianist George Winston handpicked the 11 songs that comprise the album.
Spring tour dates include:
Feb. 16: Snug Harbor Jazz Club, New Orleans
Feb. 28: Patriots Theater, Trenton, N.J.
March 3–4: Music Center at Strathmore, No. Bethesda, Md.
March 8: International Boogie Woogie Festival, Holland, Netherlands
March 23: Burnley National Blues Festival, Burnley, United Kingdom
April 4: D-Note, Arvada. Colo.
April 19: Shaftman Performance Hall, Roanoke, Va.
April 25: Manship Theatre, Baton Rouge, La.
More info: henrybutler.com
To record Dream Manifest (Dom Recs), Croker convened artists from his current and recent past ensembles, plus special guests.
Jun 10, 2025 4:13 PM
Partway through his early set at Smoke Jazz Club, Theo Croker blinks the room back into focus. He leans over the piano.…
“There’s nothing quite like it,” Springs says of working with an orchestra. “It’s 60 people working in harmony in the moment. Singing with them is kind of empowering but also humbling at the same time.”
Jun 17, 2025 11:12 AM
When it came time to pose for the cover of her new album, Lady In Satin — a tribute to Billie Holiday’s 1958…
James Brandon Lewis earned honors for Artist of the Year and Tenor Saxophonist of the Year. Three of his recordings placed in the Albums of the Year category.
Jul 17, 2025 12:44 PM
You see before you what we believe is the largest and most comprehensive Critics Poll in the history of jazz. DownBeat…
Galper was often regarded as an underrated master of his craft.
Jul 22, 2025 10:58 AM
Hal Galper, a pianist, composer and arranger who enjoyed a substantial performing career but made perhaps a deeper…
Chuck Mangione on the cover of the May 8, 1975, edition of DownBeat.
Jul 29, 2025 1:00 PM
Chuck Mangione, one of the most popular trumpeters in jazz history, passed away on July 24 at home in Rochester, New…
