Mar 18, 2025 3:00 PM
A Love Supreme at 60: Thoughts on Coltrane’s Masterwork
In his original liner notes to A Love Supreme, John Coltrane wrote: “Yes, it is true — ‘seek and ye shall…
Tom Harrell is among the recipients of a second round of Jazz Coalition grants.
(Photo: Angela Harrell)Grants Announced: Efforts to offset the financial setbacks performers face because of the coronavirus pandemic continue, with the Jazz Coalition, a nonprofit granting organization, announcing its second round of $1,000 allocations on Aug. 18. Artists who will be composing new works and premiering them after the pandemic recedes include trumpeter Tom Harrell, drummers Allison Miller and Makaya McCraven, and pianist Sullivan Fortner. To date, the coalition has dispensed more than $100,000 to musicians, according to a press release.
Life After Healdsburg: After founding California’s Healdsburg Jazz Festival 22 years ago, Jessica Felix is set to step away from her role as artistic director in September. The Los Angeles-born Felix first worked at the Keystone Korner jazz venue in the North Beach area of San Francisco and eventually moved north, opening a jewelry shop, where her stereo continuously spilled out jazz. Her work planning and hosting shows and listening sessions morphed into founding the festival in 1999. “I want to relax, travel, socialize and make my jewelry again,” Felix said about the future. “It’s time to be in the audience.”
Final Bar: Helen Jones Woods, trombonist in the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, died from COVID-19 on July 25 in Sarasota, Florida, at the age of 96. Her pioneering ensemble—an all-female, interracial band—toured the country and performed overseas for troops during World War II. The band only cut a few sides, and Woods eventually stepped away from music, turning to work as a nurse and social worker. ... Drummer Charli Persip died Aug. 23 in New York at the age of 91. Persip frequently worked alongside folks like Dizzy Gillespie and Lee Morgan, while also leading a big band and teaching at The New School in New York. ... Saxophonist Steve Grossman, who led a career that found him in 1970s ensembles led by Miles Davis and Elvin Jones, died Aug. 13 in New York State. ... Don McCaslin, a Bay Area multi-instrumentalist and the father of saxophonist Donny McCaslin, died July 16 at the age of 93 in Capitola, just outside of Santa Cruz. The elder McCaslin’s ensemble Warmth was an area mainstay and served as an early platform for his musically inclined son.
“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…
“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…
