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…
Jazz Record Mart has closed after more than 50 years of busines.
(Photo: Courtesy of Jazz Record Mart)Chicago’s Jazz Record Mart, the self-proclaimed “Largest Jazz and Blues Record Store,” has closed after more than 50 years of business, according to manager Kent Richmond.
The store’s final day of operation was Monday, Feb. 15, the same day the company was sold to the Nevada-based Wolfgang’s Vaults, a private company specializing in the sale of music memorabilia.
Jazz Record Mart was owned and operated by Bob Koester, who opened the store at its previous location at the intersection of State and Grand Street in downtown Chicago in 1962. The store specialized in jazz, blues, r&b, gospel and international music, and carried tens of thousands of LPs, CDs, cassettes, books and magazines.
On Monday, Koester told the Chicago Tribune that rising rents influenced his decision to sell the store. The company announced that it was closing on its website.
Koester also runs Delmark Records, one of the oldest independently operated record labels in the country. Koester plans to keep the label in business despite the store’s closure.
For more information on the store’s history, visit jazzrecordmart.com.
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).…
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…
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…
