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…
There will be a memorial March 31 for pianist Chris Anderson, who died Feb. 4, at Saint Peter’s Church in New York.
The Chicago-born pianist passed away just short of his 82nd birthday. He was hailed as a “master of harmony and sensitivity” by Herbie Hancock, and played with many of the greats. As house pianist in the Pershing Ballroom in Chicago, he played with Sonny Stitt, Charlie Parker and Clifford Brown. Although Anderson was handicapped by blindness and a bone disorder, he managed to get around in the New York jazz scene. Pianist Barry Harris chose Anderson as a soloist in his annual concerts. Anderson played at a number of clubs, including the Jazz Gallery, Bradley’s and the Village Vanguard.
Several musicians will participate in the memorial including pianists Barry Harris, Richard Wyands, Jason Lindner, Harold Mabern and Larry Willis; bassists Bill Lee, Lisle Atkinson, Ray Drummond; drummers Leroy Williams and Doug Richardson; guitarist Roni Ben-Hur; vocalists Lodi Carr and Sabina Sciubba; and saxophonist George Coleman.
More info: jazzfoundation.org
“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…
The Free Slave, Cosmos Nucleus and Sunset To Dawn: three classic Muse albums being reissued this fall by Timer Traveler Recordings.
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Record producer and “Jazz Detective” Zev Feldman has launched his next endeavor, the archival label Time Traveler…
Butcher Brown, clockwise from top left: Marcus Tenney, DJ Harrison, Morgan Burrs, Corey Fonville and Andrew Randazzo. (Keyboardist Harrison couldn’t make the gig, so special guest Jacob Mann sat in with the band at the Reno Jazz Festival.)
Aug 19, 2025 12:41 PM
The band known as Butcher Brown has enjoyed the last half-decade basking in the glow from the twin engines of critical…
This year’s Jazz em Agosto set by the Darius Jones Trio captured the titular alto saxophonist at his most ferocious.
Aug 26, 2025 1:31 PM
The organizers of Lisbon, Portugal’s Jazz em Agosto Festival assume its audience is thoughtful and independent. Over…
