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…
Trumpeter Jon Faddis will be honored tonight, June 13, by the National Arts Club at its annual Jazz Gold Medal Dinner in New York. Martin Bookspan, Phil Schaap, Terrel Stafford and George Wein will speak during the program offering their praise and thanks to the guest of honor. The Purchase Jazz Ensemble and John Birks Gillespie will play a special musical tribute honoring Faddis.
Faddis is a complete and complex musician, conductor, composer, and educator. As a trumpeter, Faddis posses full command of his instrument, consistently demonstrating a virtually unparalleled range. Dizzy Gillespie said, “He is the best ever, including me!” Faddis began playing the trumpet at age 8, after seeing Louis Armstrong perform on the Ed Sullivan Show.
In 1991 Mr. Faddis became the music director of the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, an all-star ensemble who recently toured Europe and the U.S. He also serves as music director for the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the 50th Anniversary Dizzy Gillespie Tribute Band, and the Newport Jazz Festival 40th Anniversary Tour among others. Faddis has recently been appointed to the faculty of The Conservatory of Music at Purchase State University of New York. His albums include the Grammy nominated Re-Membrances, Hornucopia, Into The Faddispere, Legacy, Take Double, Good And Plenty and Youngblood.
The National Arts Club was founded in 1898 to stimulate, foster and promote public interest in the arts and educate the American people in the fine arts.
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…
“Cerebral and academic thought is a different way to approach music,” Flea says of his continuing dive into jazz. “I’ve always relied on emotion and intuition and physicality.”
Mar 30, 2026 10:30 PM
In the relatively small pantheon of certifiable rock stars venturing into the intersection of pop music and jazz, the…
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…
New Orleans Trad Jazz Camp
Feb 19, 2026 10:39 AM
Jazz camps have exploded around the globe as a summertime tradition for working on your chops and making new friends.…
Blindfold Test proctor Ted Panken, left, with the Grammy-winning Nicole Zuraitis.
Feb 24, 2026 12:00 PM
After earning the 2024 Best Jazz Vocal Album Grammy for her seventh album, How Love Begins (La Reserve), comprising 12…
