Oct 28, 2025 10:47 AM
In Memoriam: Jack DeJohnette, 1942–2025
Jack DeJohnette, a bold and resourceful drummer and NEA Jazz Master who forged a unique vocabulary on the kit over his…
In 1955, after his appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival, Miles Davis came into his own as an innovator. Shortly after Newport, the trumpeter formed his seminal 1950s quintet, composed of John Coltrane on tenor saxophone, pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones. Over the course of three studio dates, the quintet recorded five albums for Prestige—The New Miles Davis Quintet, Cookin’, Workin’, Relaxin’ and Steamin’.
On May 23, these recordings will be released together as the Prestige boxed set The Miles Davis Quintet: The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions by the Concord Music Group. The music, all of which was recorded by Rudy van Gelder, has been remastered in 24-bit from the original analog masters and presented in the sequence recorded at sessions beginning in November 1955 and concluding in October 1956.
The box contains 32 selections, including such compositions as “Four,” “Trane’s Blues,” “My Funny Valentine” and “When Lights Are Low.” A bonus CD features eight previously unreleased radio and television audio performances. Included on Disc 4 are two tunes from “The Tonight Show With Steve Allen”: Oscar Pettiford’s “Max Is Making Wax” and Rodgers and Hart’s ballad “It Never Entered My Mind.”
The set is packaged in a box that features cover art by Davis and includes five complete musical transcriptions of Davis’ solos and a 40-page booklet with annotations by Bob Blumenthal. It has a $59.98 list price.
 
  Jack DeJohnette boasted a musical resume that was as long as it was fearsome.
Oct 28, 2025 10:47 AM
Jack DeJohnette, a bold and resourceful drummer and NEA Jazz Master who forged a unique vocabulary on the kit over his…
 
  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.
Sep 3, 2025 12:02 PM
On the last Sunday of 2024, in the control room of Van Gelder Studio, Don and Maureen Sickler, co-owners since Rudy Van…
 
  Trio aRT with its avalanche of instrumentation: from left, Pheeroan akLaff, Scott Robinson and Julian Thayer.
Sep 3, 2025 12:03 PM
Trio aRT, a working unit since 1988, shockingly released its very first studio recording this summer. Recorded in…
 
  “Think of all the creative people I’m going to meet and a whole other way of thinking about music and a challenge of singing completely different material than I would have sung otherwise to my highest level in dedication to the moment,” Elling says about his Broadway run.
Sep 9, 2025 1:18 PM
Kurt Elling was back at home in Chicago, grabbing some family time in a late-June window between gigs. Sporting a smile…
 
  Pat Metheny will perform with his Side-Eye III ensemble at Big Ears 2026 in Knoxville, Tennessee, next March.
Sep 9, 2025 12:19 PM
Big Ears has announced the lineup for its 2026 festival, which will take place March 26–29 and include 250…