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…
The 2008 JVC Jazz Festival in New York lights up the city June 15–28 with 38 concerts plus nearly 200 additional events at clubs, schools, museums, retail outlets and other venues throughout the city.
Highlights of this year’s fest include Herbie Hancock and the River Of Possibilities Tour; a celebration of 50 years of bossa nova starring João Gilberto; Bad Plus 1 featuring Kurt Rosenwinkel. Other artists include Jill Scott, Mos Def Big Band with special guest Gil Scott-Heron, Charlie Haden Quartet West and Bill Frisell Trio; tributes to pianist Hank Jones, Art D’Lugoff’s Salsa Meets Jazz and Jack Kleinsinger’s Highlights In Jazz, as well as performances by Chris Botti, Al Green, Cecil Taylor, Soulive with guest Joshua Redman, George Cables and Sergio Mendes.
Concerts will be held at several venues including Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium and Zankel Hall, New York Society for Ethical Culture, Le Poisson Rouge and Rubin Museum of Art.
Throughout the festival, clubs will offer special discounts to festival ticket holders for select shows at the Blue Note, Birdland, Cachaça, Iridium, Smoke and Zinc.
More info: festivalnetwork.com
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…
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