Mar 4, 2025 1:29 PM
Changing of the Guard at Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra
On October 23, Ted Nash – having toured the world playing alto, soprano and tenor saxophone, clarinet and bass…
Bluesman and educator Fernando Jones teaches the blues whenever and wherever possible—in person or online.
(Photo: Glenn Kaupert)Last summer’s Jazz Camp season can be summed up in a word—virtual. Like so much of our lives during the pandemic, most camps did what jazz people do best, improvise. They found ways to give students the best jazz experience possible online.
It wasn’t the same, for sure. But those camps served as rays of hope during woefully cloudy times.
So, with that same improvisational spirit, jazz camps for 2021 look to reboot. While gathering listings from 80 jazz camps around the globe, DownBeat found that some will remain virtual, most aim to deliver in-person experiences with heightened sanitary and safety protocols and many are looking at ways to do both.
Also, the jazz camp experience isn’t just for jazz any more. As highlighted in our Camp Guide, found here, Chicago bluesman Fernando Jones has two in-person camps scheduled for this summer in Chicago and North Carolina. The Los Angeles College of Music has an in-person rap and hip-hop camp as well as its Summer Xperience delving into many layers of music making and entrepreneurship.
As a result, jazz camps may never be the same again. They will be even better training grounds for the next generation of musicians, artists, entrepreneurs and well-rounded people.
DownBeat’s complete Jazz Camp Guide can be found here. DB
As Ted Nash, left, departs the alto saxophone chair for LCJO, Alexa Tarantino steps in as the band’s first female full-time member.
Mar 4, 2025 1:29 PM
On October 23, Ted Nash – having toured the world playing alto, soprano and tenor saxophone, clarinet and bass…
Larry Appelbaum with Wayne Shorter in 2012.
Feb 25, 2025 10:49 AM
Larry Appelbaum, a distinguished audio engineer, jazz journalist, historian and broadcaster, died Feb. 21, 2025, in…
“This is one of the great gifts that Coltrane gave us — he gave us a key to the cosmos in this recording,” says John McLaughlin.
Mar 18, 2025 3:00 PM
In his original liner notes to A Love Supreme, John Coltrane wrote: “Yes, it is true — ‘seek and ye shall…
The Blue Note Jazz Festival New York kicks off May 27 with a James Moody 100th Birthday Celebration at Sony Hall.
Apr 8, 2025 1:23 PM
Blue Note Entertainment Group has unveiled the lineup for the 14th annual Blue Note Jazz Festival New York, featuring…
“You’ve got to trust that inner child, keep exploring, even though people think it’s wrong,” says Fortner.
Feb 25, 2025 11:20 AM
Every week at the Village Vanguard fosters its own sound. No one really knows how the music might evolve by Sunday, but…