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…
Vocalist Ledisi is one of the artists featured on International Jazz Day from Australia, a concert special that premieres on PBS on Friday.
(Photo: Steve Mundinger/Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz)With the concert industry at a complete halt due to the coronavirus pandemic, jazz fans are turning to their computer screens and TVs to see performances.
Typically, fans look forward to an annual all-star concert to celebrate International Jazz Day. This year, however, the April 30 event will be a “virtual” one that takes place online. Fans can visit the International Jazz Day website for more information.
On Friday, the PBS network will premiere the special International Jazz Day from Australia, which was filmed during last year’s International Jazz Day celebration. The special features footage shot during the All-Star Global Concert at the Melbourne Arts Centre’s Hamer Hall in Australia on April 30, 2019.
This new special will include performances by UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock, Joey DeFrancesco, Kurt Elling, Ledisi, Jane Monheit, James Morrison, Antonio Sánchez, Somi, Ben Williams, Lizz Wright and John Beasley, who served as musical director.
The special also will be streamed at pbs.org. 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…
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“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.
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