Oct 28, 2025 10:47 AM
In Memoriam: Jack DeJohnette, 1942–2025
Jack DeJohnette, a bold and resourceful drummer and NEA Jazz Master who forged a unique vocabulary on the kit over his…
Jimmy Macbride is among the 25 artists DownBeat thinks will help shape jazz in the decades to come.
(Photo: Yuki Tei)Considering the environment in which he was raised, it’s not terribly surprising that Jimmy Macbride was creating rhythms as early as age 3. His mother, a visual artist, and his father, who was a composer, noticed the precocious child’s interests. “When I was very young, I started playing on some pots and pans at home,” Macbride said via videoconference. “My parents recognized, ‘Hey, I think Jimmy has some interest in percussion. So, maybe we can find a teacher for him.’”
They did find an instructor for the toddler, setting him on a path that would lead to a degree from The Juilliard School, where he studied with Carl Allen, Kenny Washington and other jazz titans. Nowadays, Macbride is an in-demand collaborator.
“When someone calls me for who I am as an artist, that is certainly the greatest compliment,” Macbride said. “When I look at the musicians that I admire and I aspire to be like, that’s the common thread: They can seemingly be in any kind of situation or any musical kind of group, and still, you always know that it’s them. They always sound like themselves.”
Macbride’s versatility is illustrated by his discography of more than 40 titles, including recent recordings by trombonist Nick Finzer, guitarists Nir Felder and Alex Goodman, pianists Eldar Djangirov and Manuel Valera, and saxophonists Roxy Coss and Troy Roberts.
Although he has not recorded a leader date yet, Macbride played a couple of 2019 shows at Smalls in New York, focusing on his own compositions. For the Dec. 4 show, he assembled a quartet with tenor saxophonist Ron Blake, pianist Shai Maestro and bassist Joshua Crumbly.
“It was great to see how everyone’s different personalities contributed to something that was mine—that I had conceived of,” Macbride said. “It was very exciting and rewarding.”
Many bandleaders who have hired Macbride could say the same thing. DB
This story originally was published in the November 2020 issue of DownBeat. Subscribe here.
Jack DeJohnette boasted a musical resume that was as long as it was fearsome.
Oct 28, 2025 10:47 AM
Jack DeJohnette, a bold and resourceful drummer and NEA Jazz Master who forged a unique vocabulary on the kit over his…
“I’ve told students, ‘I don’t mind if you use AI for this or that project,’” says MIT’s Pascal Le Boeuf. “‘But you need to tell me.’”
Sep 18, 2025 11:14 AM
A standard joke when it comes to discussing artificial intelligence, or AI, is that it’s developing so rapidly that…
Chuck Manning Works for NASA … and plays jazz.
Sep 18, 2025 11:23 AM
Congratulations! After years of study, you’ve earned your degree in jazz performance. But let’s face it: Making a…
Always a sharp dresser, Farnsworth wears a pocket square given to him by trumpeter Art Farmer. “You need to look good if you want to hang around me,” Farmer told him.
Sep 23, 2025 11:12 AM
When he was 12 years old, the hard-swinging veteran drummer Joe Farnsworth had a fateful encounter with his idol Max…
“Make time and energy to meet people and make friends,” suggests Millie Ahearn, a student at DePaul University.
Sep 18, 2025 11:32 AM
For many students, the transition into a collegiate jazz program can feel overwhelming — new peers, unfamiliar…
