Jun 10, 2025 4:13 PM
Theo Croker’s Dream … Manifested!
Partway through his early set at Smoke Jazz Club, Theo Croker blinks the room back into focus. He leans over the piano.…
The Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, directed by drummer Bobby Sanabria, will perform a concert April 1 in New York celebrating the 50th anniversary of Machito and The Afro-Cubans 1957’s album Kenya.
That evening they will present the first live performance of Kenya with “Kenya Revisited” offering new arrangements of the work, recreating the first time this recording has been performed live. Joining as guest artist will be NEA jazz master Camero Candido on congas, who played on the original recording 50 years ago.
Machito and The Afro-Cubans under the musical direction of Mario Bauzá recorded Kenya in Dec. 1957 in New York at the Odd Fellows Temple. The recording featured Cannonball Adderley, Joe Newman, Doc Cheatham and Candido Camero.
More info: msmnyc.edu
To record Dream Manifest (Dom Recs), Croker convened artists from his current and recent past ensembles, plus special guests.
Jun 10, 2025 4:13 PM
Partway through his early set at Smoke Jazz Club, Theo Croker blinks the room back into focus. He leans over the piano.…
“There’s nothing quite like it,” Springs says of working with an orchestra. “It’s 60 people working in harmony in the moment. Singing with them is kind of empowering but also humbling at the same time.”
Jun 17, 2025 11:12 AM
When it came time to pose for the cover of her new album, Lady In Satin — a tribute to Billie Holiday’s 1958…
James Brandon Lewis earned honors for Artist of the Year and Tenor Saxophonist of the Year. Three of his recordings placed in the Albums of the Year category.
Jul 17, 2025 12:44 PM
You see before you what we believe is the largest and most comprehensive Critics Poll in the history of jazz. DownBeat…
Galper was often regarded as an underrated master of his craft.
Jul 22, 2025 10:58 AM
Hal Galper, a pianist, composer and arranger who enjoyed a substantial performing career but made perhaps a deeper…
Chuck Mangione on the cover of the May 8, 1975, edition of DownBeat.
Jul 29, 2025 1:00 PM
Chuck Mangione, one of the most popular trumpeters in jazz history, passed away on July 24 at home in Rochester, New…
