Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
In Memoriam: John Hammond Jr., 1942–2026
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
Pianist Joey Alexander recently performed at the Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival in June alongside bassist Kris Funn and drummer Jonathan Pinson.
(Photo: Courtesy of Artist)His method for developing his musicianship also was simple. “The more I listened, the more I played,” he remembered. “My dad would have me listen to records and follow along. I tried to feel like I was playing with that group on the record. That helped me listen and interact with other musicians around me when I did start playing live. So, for me, it wasn’t just about technique. To learn this music, I had to learn to communicate. That’s what jazz is, to me.”
In addition to his playing, Eclipse documents Alexander’s growth as a composer. He wrote six of its 11 cuts and—to make sure bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland had internalized them by the time they tracked—he booked three dates with them just before heading into Dreamland Recording Studios in Hurley, New York. But when he brought Joshua Redman in to record “The Very Thought Of You” as a duo, his approach differed.
“This was the first time we ever played together,” Alexander explained. “I chose this one because it’s one of my favorite ballads. I have other favorites as well, but I wanted to try this one out. We rehearsed it only one time. He really listened and got the feel right away. I’m really thankful that that song is on the album.”
Since his 2015 debut, My Favorite Things (Motéma), Alexander has reached a position few musicians achieve: being informed equally by youth and experience. With this perspective, Alexander can reflect on what he might have sacrificed, as well as achieved, to reach this crossroads.
“There are some challenges,” he acknowledged. “It’s not that easy to be in jazz, especially being young. Sometimes, people don’t take your music seriously. Sometimes, they look only at how young you are and how good you are being young. But that’s the path I’ve been given. I’m just grateful to be able to play for people everywhere I go.” DB
Hammond came to the blues through the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, which he experienced firsthand in New York’s Greenwich Village.
Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
Lettuce, from left: Eric Coomes, Adam Deitch, Ryan Zoidis, Eric Bloom, Adam Smirnoff and Nigel Hall
Feb 17, 2026 11:05 AM
They were Berklee misfits. Neither jazzy enough for the straightahead crowd at Boston’s highly prestigious College of…
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The popularity of big band music might have peaked in the 1930s and ’40s, but despite the many changes on the jazz…
New Orleans Trad Jazz Camp
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Sullivan Fortner continues a winning streak with his third Grammy for Jazz Album of the Year after earning the Gilmore Larry J. Bell Artist Award last October.
Feb 10, 2026 10:48 AM
The 68th Annual Grammy Awards presented a marathon of winners, tributes and music on Feb. 1. Kendrick Lamar added five…
