Aug 26, 2025 1:53 PM
Blindfold Test: Buster Williams
Buster Williams, who at the age of 83 has been on the scene for 65 years, had never done a Blindfold Test. The first…
The 20th anniversary year of the Keith Jarrett/Gary Peacock/Jack DeJohnette trio, has begun with the announcement that Keith Jarrett has won the
prestigious Polar Music Prize. Jarrett is the sole prize-winner this year
as, for the first time, the Polar jury sets aside its habitual “popular” and
“serious” categorization. The pianist has resolutely ignored such criteria
throughout his career, and the terms can have little meaning when applied to
the work of this perennially popular and eminently serious jazz improviser
and classical interpreter.
Presented in Stockholm by His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and administered by the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, the Polar Music Prize (instigated 1992) has come to be recognised as one of the world’s more significant music awards. The Polar Music Prize - awarded in the amount of one million Swedish Crowns - is given to individuals, groups or institutions in recognition of exceptional achievement in the creation and advancement of music. Past winners have included Pierre Boulez, Bob Dylan, Ravi Shankar, Iannis Xenakis, Joni Mitchell, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Witold Lutoslawski, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Dizzy Gillespie, Paul McCartney, Mstislav Rostropovich, Sofia Gubaidulina, Quincy Jones, Miriam Makeba, Stevie Wonder, Robert Moog and Isaac Stern.
Jarrett will receive his prize from His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden at a gala ceremony at Berwaldhallen in Stockholm to be followed by a celebratory banquet at Grand Hôtel on May 12. Queen Silvia and Crown Princess Victoria will be among the many other dignitaries attending.
Five days earlier, on May 7, the trio will play the Stockholm Konserthuset as the conclusion of a brief Spring Tour which also takes in dates in Paris (Olympia Theatre, April 27), Warsaw (Palace of Culture, April 30th), London (Royal Festival Hall, May 3rd), and Brussells (Palais des Beaux Arts, May 5).
“What I got from Percy was the dignity of playing the bass,” Buster Williams said of Percy Heath.
Aug 26, 2025 1:53 PM
Buster Williams, who at the age of 83 has been on the scene for 65 years, had never done a Blindfold Test. The first…
Don and Maureen Sickler serve as the keepers of engineer Rudy Van Gelder’s flame at Van Gelder Studio, perhaps the most famous recording studio in jazz history.
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On the last Sunday of 2024, in the control room of Van Gelder Studio, Don and Maureen Sickler, co-owners since Rudy Van…
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The organizers of Lisbon, Portugal’s Jazz em Agosto Festival assume its audience is thoughtful and independent. Over…
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