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…
NEW ORLEANS—George Brumat, who founded New Orleans joint Port of Call, owned jazz club Snug Harbor and became a well-known advocate for the New Orleans jazz community, died Saturday of an apparent heart attack, the New Orleans Times-Picayune has reported. He was 63.
Brumat was not married and had no children. He spent most of his nights at Snug Harbor, which he opened on Frenchmen Street in 1983, long before the area had developed into the bustling entertainment district it is today.
Brumat rode out Hurricane Katrina at his apartment, guarding Snug Harbor against looters in the turbulent days that followed. Music resumed at Snug with free shows by a handful of available musicians. Those shows lost money, but Brumat believed that live jazz was important for morale—both his and those struggling to return and rebuild.
Brumat is survived by a brother in Pascagoula, Miss., and two nieces in Italy.
As for the future of Snug Harbor, the club’s manager said Brumat had expressed his desire, in the event of his passing, for the club to continue.
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…
“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…
“[That’s] the thing of the beboppers,” Bradford said. “These guys were important for not only playing that wonderful music, but they knew a sort of social stance, you see?”
Sep 9, 2025 1:07 PM
It was a calm, balmy, near-perfect evening in Westwood, California, not far from UCLA, in the expansive courtyard at…
Esperanza Spalding closed an audacious Chicago Jazz Festival set with “Endangered Species.”
Sep 9, 2025 11:50 AM
The 45th Chicago Jazz Festival kicked off its headline events with two erudite individuals, Esperanza Spalding and…
