May 26, 2026 11:08 AM
Sonny Rollins Passes Away at 95
Sonny Rollins, the iconic saxophonist, composer and improviser whose career stretched from the origins of bebop to 21st…
Pianist Jason Moran will commemorate the 90th anniversary of Thelonious Monk’s birthday with a series of events during October and November.
On October 27, Moran will debut “In My Mind: Monk at Town Hall, 1959” at Duke University in Durham, N.C., which is nearby Monk’s birthplace of Rocky Mount, N.C. The new piece will incorporate live performance by an eight-piece ensemble, video projections and recorded samples of Monk rehearsing. Moran will also take the project to George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 28, Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco on Nov. 2 and Chicago’s Symphony Center on Nov. 16.
On Monk’s birthday, Oct. 10, Moran will participate in a conversation with critic Gary Giddins and then perform a solo concert at Elebash Recital Hall at City University of New York.
Onstage, Rollins would move about restlessly, thrusting his tenor sax in the air as he blew.
May 26, 2026 11:08 AM
Sonny Rollins, the iconic saxophonist, composer and improviser whose career stretched from the origins of bebop to 21st…
To the world, James Blood Ulmer was a legend, a visionary and a musical force whose sound was distinctive and unique. To his family, he was their teacher, their storyteller and a source of strength.
Jun 9, 2026 10:54 AM
With deep sorrow and profound love, we announce the passing of James Blood Ulmer, a boldly innovative guitarist,…
How best to mark Miles Davis’ centennial? By allowing the stories to flow, and cross-discussions to happen.
May 26, 2026 10:40 AM
Editor’s Note: The iconic trumpeter, composer and bandleader Miles Davis would have turned 100 today (May 26, 2026).…
Ibrahim was an early jazz acolyte, studying the music via 78s he would buy from soldiers stationed in South Africa — who also gave him the nickname “Dollar.”
Jun 30, 2026 3:19 PM
Pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, the NEA Jazz Master from South Africa who helped fuse the folk music of his home country with…
Clockwise from top left, Mary Halvorson, Patricia Brennan, Adam O’Farrill, Keith Jarrett’s At the Deer Head Inn: The Complete Recordings, Sheila Jordan and Jaki Byard.
Jul 16, 2026 1:34 PM
The DownBeat Critics Poll never ceases to amaze! And the 74th Edition offered plenty of accolades for poll veterans and…
