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…
“Careers were launched and lives enhanced thanks to Howard’s vision,” said Amanda Blevins, Vail Jazz executive director.
(Photo: Courtesy of the Vail Jazz Foundation)Vail Jazz Festival co-founder Howard Stone died on Aug. 3 of post-surgical complications, according to a statement from the Vail Jazz Foundation.
Stone organized the first-ever Vail Jazz Party in 1995. The following year, he launched the Vail Jazz Foundation to promote jazz through the presentation of jazz performances and educational programs for young people.
Over its 27-year history, Vail Jazz expanded to include a summer-long jazz festival, a winter music series, jazz soirées, an immersive jazz workshop for promising high school musicians, an elementary school program in Eagle County called Vail Jazz Goes to School, free concert series and numerous educational programs. Under Stone’s leadership, DownBeat named the Vail Jazz Workshop as the nation’s best jazz educational program in 2019.
“Careers were launched and lives enhanced thanks to Howard’s vision,” said Amanda Blevins, Vail Jazz executive director. “In addition to entertaining many thousands of audience members over the past 28 years, the Jazz Workshop has trained over 300 outstanding young musicians, and Vail Jazz Goes to School has educated tens of thousands of students in Eagle County. Each of these programs will continue to grow as part of Howard’s legacy.” DB
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…
“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,…
Each of the 25 JAMs has delivered a poster featuring a jazz legend that is sent out to schools across the nation. This year’s poster features Tony Bennett.
Mar 30, 2026 10:20 PM
Every April for the past quarter century, something remarkable has happened across the United States and far beyond.…
