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…
Junius Paul is among the 25 artists DownBeat thinks will help shape jazz in the decades to come.
(Photo: Fabrice Bourgelle)Nearly six months into the pandemic, Chicago native Junius Paul packed up his stuff and moved out of his apartment, relocating to a house just outside the city. “I’ve got a nice backyard,” the bassist said by phone. “I’ve got a bonfire pit. I can host more people ... whenever that happens again.”
Paul, 38, has been a fixture on the Chicago scene, carrying the torch with the trailblazing, avant-garde Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians while also pushing boundaries with drummer Makaya McCraven.
But due to the pandemic, Paul’s touring came to an abrupt halt after he and McCraven returned from a series of gigs in Hawaii in late February.
Last November, International Anthem released Paul’s ambitious leader debut, Ism. The project took nearly four years to complete and features contributions from more than a dozen fellow travelers, including McCraven, cellist Tomeka Reid and trumpeter Marquis Hill. The hefty collection covers a lot of sonic ground. On “Baker’s Dozen,” spirited P-Funk keyboards orbit around a hard backbeat as saxophonist Rajiv Halim ties the whole affair together with erratic squawks. Elsewhere, the 20-minute “Spocky Chainsey Has Re-Emerged” evokes Miles Davis’ tight denim vibe of the early 1970s.
As he waits for the world to return to some level of stability, Paul is enjoying his extra space—every square foot a buffer from the crowded metropolis nearby.
“I’ll be grateful when things open up, but safety comes first. As much as we love to play and tour the world and just see people and feel audiences, health and safety are still our primary concern.” And in the meantime, he can unpack boxes. “I’ve been playing a lot of keyboard, which has been good. It’s important that I find ways to keep my spirits up, try to stay engaged. Music is everything to me.” DB
This story originally was published in the November 2020 issue of DownBeat. Subscribe here.
“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…
Davis was a two-time Grammy winner for liner notes.
Apr 22, 2025 11:50 AM
Francis Davis, an august jazz and cultural critic who won both awards and esteem in print, film and radio, died April…
“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…
