Apr 29, 2025 11:53 AM
Vocalist Andy Bey Dies at 85
Singer Andy Bey, who illuminated the jazz scene for five decades with a four-octave range that encompassed a bellowing…
The mood was solemn in the Jazz Tent at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on April 28, as word got around that bassist, Percy Heath, 81, had died earlier that day at home in New York. But there’s nowhere better to celebrate the life of a jazz musician than New Orleans, where music and funerals go hand in hand.
With Albert “Tootie” Heath on drums and his brother, Jimmy on tenor and soprano sax, the band opened their late afternoon set appropriately with Jimmy Heath’s “A Sound For Sore Ears.” After a few tunes, Jimmy acknowledged the passing of his brother and bandmate. “We’re going to dedicate this one to Percy,” said Jimmy, as he introduced Kenny Dorham’s “No End,” which the Heaths recorded on their 1981 album, “Brotherly Love.” “This one is entitled ‘No End’ and there’s no end to the beauty.” The set closed out the day’s festivities, and by 7pm, a large, cheering crowd had filled the tent to support the legendary brothers as they played through their loss.
The New Orleans-based trio, “Drums and Tuba,” who recently relocated from New York City, also drew a large crowd to check out their dark, experimental sound. With a tuba on his lap and a trumpet by his side, Brian Wolff operated a mixer with pedals and effects that twisted around Neal McKeeby’s guitar melody and traded time with low brass blasts.
Earlier this week at Mid-City Lanes Rock ‘N Bowl, the two-day-long “Ponderosa Stomp” highlighted the important compositions of songwriters like James “Blood” Ulmer, Link Wray and Johnny Farina of Santo and Johnny. On the Tuesday and Wednesday between Jazz Fest weekends, the two 8-hour shows gave nods to the innovations of more than 60 local jazz, funk, soul and r&b players. The show, now in its fourth year, is quickly becoming one of the most talked-about Jazz Fest events outside the Fairgrounds.
“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…
Foster was truly a drummer to the stars, including Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson.
Jun 3, 2025 11:25 AM
Al Foster, a drummer regarded for his fluency across the bebop, post-bop and funk/fusion lineages of jazz, died May 28…
“Branford’s playing has steadily improved,” says younger brother Wynton Marsalis. “He’s just gotten more and more serious.”
May 20, 2025 11:58 AM
Branford Marsalis was on the road again. Coffee cup in hand, the saxophonist — sporting a gray hoodie and a look of…
“What did I want more of when I was this age?” Sasha Berliner asks when she’s in her teaching mode.
May 13, 2025 12:39 PM
Part of the jazz vibraphone conversation since her late teens, Sasha Berliner has long come across as a fully formed…
Roscoe Mitchell will receive a Lifetime Achievement award at this year’s Vision Festival.
May 27, 2025 6:21 PM
Arts for Art has announced the full lineup for the 2025 Vision Festival, which will run June 2–7 at Roulette…
