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…
Legendary guitarist Les Paul celebrates his 90th birthday with an upcoming album, Les Paul & Friends featuring a slate of guitar talents who learned a thing or two from the master artist. Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Steve Miller, Keith Richards and Kenny Wayne Shepherd are among the artists who show up on the nonagenarian’s first album in 26 years.
Paul, who still plays a weekly gig at New York’s Iridium Jazz Club, doesn’t possess the nimble fingers of his heyday, he is battling arthritis, so on the album he lets the younger guns take on the lead and solo parts, while providing some signature riffs, trill and staccato exclamations to the arrangements during post production.
Paul’s birthday is marked with other releases as well in the form of music, text and hardware. Capitol Records reissued Les Paul With Mary Ford: The Best Of The Capitol Masters on June 7. Hal Leonard Publishing is set to release The Les Paul Legacy in October, and Russ Cochran Publishing released Les Paul In His Own Words, a limited-edition autobiography by the guitar innovator. Gibson Guitars, which distributes the famous Les Paul guitar line will release 12 special edition guitars, one for each month of the year, to commemorate Paul’s 90th.
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.”
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In the relatively small pantheon of certifiable rock stars venturing into the intersection of pop music and jazz, the…
Vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater will be among the headliners at this year’s DC JazzFest.
Mar 2, 2026 9:48 PM
The first wave of artists scheduled to perform at the 2026 DC JazzFest have been announced. This year’s headliners…
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…
“These days, with curated news, where people only get half the story, people can’t even speak to family members anymore,” Schneider laments.
Mar 10, 2026 1:43 PM
Maria Schneider is doing her part to try to fix what ails America. Which got her thinking about crows, specifically,…
