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 Monterey Jazz Festival announced the lineup and dates for the fourth annual Next Generation Festival. The weekend event will take place April 3–6 in downtown Monterey, Calif., and will include the 38th Annual National High School Jazz Competition, with big bands, combos, vocal ensembles and individual musicians vying for a spot on the stages of the 51st Annual Monterey Jazz Festival.
A special pre-festival opening concert with the Christian McBride Situation will be presented on April 3 at the Golden State Theater. Bassist McBride will be the 2008 Monterey Jazz Festival artist-in-residence.
All Next Generation Festival competition events will be free and open to the public. The Festival will also conduct clinics, workshops, jam sessions and auditions in the heart of Monterey, with music to be performed at the Monterey Conference Center, the host Portola Plaza Hotel, Golden State Theater, at Fisherman’s Wharf and at Monterey Live.
More info: montereyjazzfestival.org
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…