Apr 2, 2024 12:59 PM
Saxophonist, Sonic Explorer Casey Benjamin Dies at 45
Casey Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist, keyboardist and producer who stamped his distinctive sounds on the…
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc., has awarded $350,000 to 97 arts and education projects in the New Orleans area during its 2007 grant cycle, the organization announced today.
Among the grant winners were New Orleans Musician Clinic, The Porch 7th Ward Cultural Organization and New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian Council.
The foundation more than tripled the amount of money distributed since the last cycle, in 2004, when 49 applicants were awarded a total of $96,000.
“This is what Jazz Fest is all about,” said D. Joan Rhodes, president of the foundation’s board of directors. “The foundation is taking the money raised at Jazz Fest and investing it right back into the community. This is our mission: to support the arts and education in our community, and to keep our unique culture alive.” For more details, see jazzandheritage.org.
Benjamin possessed a fluid, round sound on the alto saxophone, and he was often most recognizable by the layers of electronic effects that he put onto the instrument.
Apr 2, 2024 12:59 PM
Casey Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist, keyboardist and producer who stamped his distinctive sounds on the…
Albert “Tootie” Heath (1935–2024) followed in the tradition of drummer Kenny Clarke, his idol.
Apr 5, 2024 10:28 AM
Albert “Tootie” Heath, a drummer of impeccable taste and time who was the youngest of three jazz-legend brothers…
“Both of us are quite grounded in the craft, the tradition and the harmonic sense,” Rosenwinkel said of his experience playing with Allen. “Yet I felt we shared something mystical as well.”
Mar 12, 2024 11:42 AM
“There are a few musicians you hear where, as somebody once said, the molecules in the room change. Geri was one of…
Henry Threadgill performs with Zooid at Big Ears in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Apr 9, 2024 11:30 AM
Big Ears, the annual four-day music celebration that first took place in 2009 in Knoxville, Tennessee, could well be…
“I’m also at a point in my life where I don’t feel like I have anything to prove, like at all,” Akinmusire says about his art.
Mar 26, 2024 12:45 PM
At the risk of oversimplifying and romanticizing the story, Ambrose Akinmusire came bursting on the jazz scene at the…
