Dec 9, 2025 12:28 PM
In Memoriam: Gordon Goodwin, 1954–2025
Gordon Goodwin, an award-winning saxophonist, pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger, died Dec. 8 in Los Angeles.…
The festival will go virtual for most shows due to the rapid spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.
(Photo: Courtesy NYC Winter Jazzfest)COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on live events in the jazz world. The latest victim is the 18th Annual NYC Jazzfest. The festival has postponed most of its live events scheduled for Jan. 13–22 due to the rise of the Omicron variant in the city. New performance dates have yet to be announced.
“After much internal deliberation, hearing from the musicians, our audience, friends in the medical community and our staff, we have decided that the most responsible decision for the general welfare is to postpone most in-person events for the 18th Annual NYC Winter Jazzfest to later dates,” festival organizers said in a press release on Dec. 27. “Even if we were to follow all current NYC and NYS guidelines with vaccination requirements and masking enforcement, we know many of you would be anxious to attend. Given the heightened transmissibility of this variant, we feel that this is the most prudent way to proceed. The safety of our patrons, staff and musicians is our main priority.”
One aspect of the festival that will go on virtually is This Is A Movement: Towards Liberation, a program formulated with The Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, M³ (Mutual Mentorship for Musicians) and The New School–School of Jazz. The program is aimed at working toward a more equitable jazz community along gender lines. That live-streamed event (thisisamovment.com) will take place Jan. 15–17.
For more information, go to winterjazzfest.com. DB
Goodwin was one of the most acclaimed, successful and influential jazz musicians of his generation.
Dec 9, 2025 12:28 PM
Gordon Goodwin, an award-winning saxophonist, pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger, died Dec. 8 in Los Angeles.…
Belá Fleck during an interview with Fredrika Whitfield on CNN.
Jan 13, 2026 2:09 PM
The fallout from the renaming of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to include President Donald…
Flea has returned to his first instrument — the trumpet — and assembled a dream band of jazz musicians to record a new album.
Dec 2, 2025 2:01 AM
After a nearly five-decade career as one of his generation’s defining rock bassists, Flea has returned to his first…
Dec 11, 2025 11:00 AM
DownBeat presents a complete list of the 4-, 4½- and 5-star albums from 2025 in one convenient package. It’s a great…
“It’s a pleasure and an honor to interpret the music of Oscar Peterson in his native city,” said Jim Doxas in regard to celebrating the Canadian legend. “He traveled the world, but never forgot Montreal.”
Nov 18, 2025 12:16 PM
In the pantheon of jazz luminaries, few shine as brightly, or swing as hard, as Oscar Peterson. A century ago, a…
