Apr 15, 2025 11:44 AM
Blindfold Test: Ethan Iverson
Between last Christmas and New Year’s Eve, Ethan Iverson performed as part of the 31st Umbria Jazz Winter festival in…
Long before he founded the DC Jazz Festival, Charlie Fishman ran a jazz club in Jerusalem called Django.
(Photo: Courtesy DC Jazz Fest)Charlie Fishman, founder of the DC Jazz Festival in Washington, D.C., passed away on Nov. 12. He was 82.
Born in Brooklyn, Fishman’s first major contribution to jazz was opening a jazz club called Django in Jerusalem. He began to learn how to attract money for jazz when he brought Stan Getz to the country in 1977, which became the basis for the 1978 documentary Stan Getz: A Musical Odyssey.
He came back to the States, promoting the arts in Houston through the Jewish Community Center’s Kaplan Theatre. As his career grew, he formed a production company, Charismic, and represented a wide array of artists including Paquito D’Rivera, Danilo Pérez, Steve Turre and Dizzy Gillespie.
The DC Jazz Festival was a long-time dream. After starting in 2004 as a gala event, the first true festival took root in September 2005.
“Charlie’s leadership, passion and tireless dedication to jazz transformed not only our community here in Washington, D.C., but also the global jazz landscape,” read a statement from the DC JazzFest upon his passing. “His creative spirit, passion, energetic determination and commitment brought together artists, fans and families to celebrate the rich, vibrant world of jazz.”
For more information on the DC Jazz Festival, and to see a full recap of this year’s event, click HERE. DB
“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…
Foster was truly a drummer to the stars, including Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson.
Jun 3, 2025 11:25 AM
Al Foster, a drummer regarded for his fluency across the bebop, post-bop and funk/fusion lineages of jazz, died May 28…
Davis was a two-time Grammy winner for liner notes.
Apr 22, 2025 11:50 AM
Francis Davis, an august jazz and cultural critic who won both awards and esteem in print, film and radio, died April…
