May 26, 2026 11:08 AM
Sonny Rollins Passes Away at 95
Sonny Rollins, the iconic saxophonist, composer and improviser whose career stretched from the origins of bebop to 21st…
An all-star cast from 2019’s New York City Winter JazzFest.
(Photo: Jati Lindsay)If COVID cooperates, there will be a live New York City Winter JazzFest, and it will be spectacular.
Scheduled for Jan. 13–22, the festival has a massive lineup of great music and social consciousness. The festival’s most recent announcement is a partnership with the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, the New School and Mutual Mentorship for Musicians (M³) called This Is Movement: Towards Liberation.
The movement will convene during the festival with a series of panels, performances and conversations. Speakers include drummer/composer Terri Lyne Carrington, festival artist-in-residence Angel Bat Dawid, Georgia Anne Muldrow and more.
“Of the groups that the pandemic has hit, artists are one of the most devastated, and if we look at who’s now performing at major venues and festivals, we can see the obvious: the absence of women and non-binary musicians in the comeback,” said M³ found ersSara Serpa and Jen Shyu in a statement. “Through M³, we hope this new paradigm for mentorship and career development, in which musicians and music writers connect, support, and create together through collaboration, respect and empathy, will inspire others to build new paradigms of mentorship around the world, not only in music and arts, but in other spheres.”
The festival will also feature Dawid in a variety of settings as well as a world premiere by Pino Palladino and Blake Mills at New York’s Le Poisson Rouge; a Summer of Soul film screening conversation with Questlove Thompson at Roulette; “The Feel Good Party” with Questlove, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Makaya McCraven, Maurice “Mobetta” Brown and Wildcat Ebony Brown at House of Yes; “Absence” with Terence Blanchard Featuring the e-Collective and Turtle Island Quartet, Makaya McCraven, Samara Joy, Mahogany Brown and Dawid at City Winery; world premieres by the International Contemporary Ensemble with Fay Victor’s Sirens and Silences and Kate Gentile’s biome ii, both at Roulette; International Anthem Showcases with Ben LaMar Gay’s Open Arms and Jamie Branch Solo at Public Records in Brooklyn; and much more.
Visit winterjazzfest.com for complete information. DB
Onstage, Rollins would move about restlessly, thrusting his tenor sax in the air as he blew.
May 26, 2026 11:08 AM
Sonny Rollins, the iconic saxophonist, composer and improviser whose career stretched from the origins of bebop to 21st…
To the world, James Blood Ulmer was a legend, a visionary and a musical force whose sound was distinctive and unique. To his family, he was their teacher, their storyteller and a source of strength.
Jun 9, 2026 10:54 AM
With deep sorrow and profound love, we announce the passing of James Blood Ulmer, a boldly innovative guitarist,…
How best to mark Miles Davis’ centennial? By allowing the stories to flow, and cross-discussions to happen.
May 26, 2026 10:40 AM
Editor’s Note: The iconic trumpeter, composer and bandleader Miles Davis would have turned 100 today (May 26, 2026).…
“I wanted to get into the real feeling,” Melissa Aldana says of studying the work of singers from Cuba’s filin tradition in preparation for her collaboration with pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba.
May 19, 2026 11:46 AM
Melissa Aldana is an investigator. She’s not comfortable resting on what she knows, instead seeking to learn more and…
“There was something about her tone and sound and phrasing — an intimacy, a vulnerability, an honesty,” says Joshua Redman, who produced Cavassa’s record after she toured with his band.
Jun 16, 2026 1:27 AM
Gabrielle Cavassa is an avowed perfectionist. So when she failed to place despite becoming a finalist in the 2018 Sarah…
