Dec 9, 2025 12:28 PM
In Memoriam: Gordon Goodwin, 1954–2025
Gordon Goodwin, an award-winning saxophonist, pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger, died Dec. 8 in Los Angeles.…
Artistic co-director Herbie Hancock speaks during the 2018 International Jazz Day in St. Petersburg, Russia.
(Photo: Courtesy International Jazz Day)For two days in Melbourne, Australia, during April, International Jazz Day will celebrate the genre’s worldwide influence and ability to transcend borders.
The annual event, now in its seventh year, counts pianist Herbie Hancock and trumpeter James Morrison as artistic co-directors of the All-Star Global Concert planned for April 30 at Arts Centre Melbourne. The musical director is pianist John Beasley.
Performers in Melbourne are set to include:
During the week leading up to the All-Star Global Concert, educational programs are slated for students who are part of the indigenous Yarrabah community, as well as for public school students in the New South Wales district. Additional outreach programs are planned in Adelaide, Perth and other cities.
Festivities wrap up during the first weekend of May with the “Generations in Jazz” youth festival in Mount Gambier, South Australia, a program helmed by Morrison and vocalist Kurt Elling. According to a press release, organizers plan for the event to become the largest youth jazz festival in the world, featuring more than 6,000 young participants.
For more information about the celebration, as well as Jazz Day events taking place in other countries, visit the International Jazz Day homepage. DB
Goodwin was one of the most acclaimed, successful and influential jazz musicians of his generation.
Dec 9, 2025 12:28 PM
Gordon Goodwin, an award-winning saxophonist, pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger, died Dec. 8 in Los Angeles.…
Belá Fleck during an interview with Fredrika Whitfield on CNN.
Jan 13, 2026 2:09 PM
The fallout from the renaming of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to include President Donald…
Flea has returned to his first instrument — the trumpet — and assembled a dream band of jazz musicians to record a new album.
Dec 2, 2025 2:01 AM
After a nearly five-decade career as one of his generation’s defining rock bassists, Flea has returned to his first…
Dec 11, 2025 11:00 AM
DownBeat presents a complete list of the 4-, 4½- and 5-star albums from 2025 in one convenient package. It’s a great…
“It’s a pleasure and an honor to interpret the music of Oscar Peterson in his native city,” said Jim Doxas in regard to celebrating the Canadian legend. “He traveled the world, but never forgot Montreal.”
Nov 18, 2025 12:16 PM
In the pantheon of jazz luminaries, few shine as brightly, or swing as hard, as Oscar Peterson. A century ago, a…
