Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
In Memoriam: John Hammond Jr., 1942–2026
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
Pianist Keith Jarrett is set to release the archival Budapest Concert on Oct. 30 through the ECM imprint.
(Photo: Rose Anne Colavito)Renowned pianist Keith Jarrett, whose 1975 ECM album The Köln Concert remains one of the most recognizable jazz albums ever released, discussed previously unreported health issues in a story published early Wednesday on The New York Times website.
“I was paralyzed,” the pianist, who turned 75 in May, said about a pair of 2018 strokes. “My left side is still partially paralyzed. I’m able to try to walk with a cane, but it took a long time for that, took a year or more. And I’m not getting around this house at all, really.”
His most recent public performance reportedly was at Carnegie Hall on Feb. 15, 2017.
As the Nate Chinen piece—which is headlined “Keith Jarrett Confronts A Future Without The Piano”—indicates, Jarrett’s performing career at this point is uncertain. The pianist, though, has steadily been releasing archival live albums through ECM, including the 2018 disc La Fenice and the 2019 album Munich 2016. Budapest Concert, recorded two weeks prior to the Munich date, is set for release on Oct. 30. DB
Hammond came to the blues through the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, which he experienced firsthand in New York’s Greenwich Village.
Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
“Cerebral and academic thought is a different way to approach music,” Flea says of his continuing dive into jazz. “I’ve always relied on emotion and intuition and physicality.”
Mar 30, 2026 10:30 PM
In the relatively small pantheon of certifiable rock stars venturing into the intersection of pop music and jazz, the…
Vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater will be among the headliners at this year’s DC JazzFest.
Mar 2, 2026 9:48 PM
The first wave of artists scheduled to perform at the 2026 DC JazzFest have been announced. This year’s headliners…
“These days, with curated news, where people only get half the story, people can’t even speak to family members anymore,” Schneider laments.
Mar 10, 2026 1:43 PM
Maria Schneider is doing her part to try to fix what ails America. Which got her thinking about crows, specifically,…
Each of the 25 JAMs has delivered a poster featuring a jazz legend that is sent out to schools across the nation. This year’s poster features Tony Bennett.
Mar 30, 2026 10:20 PM
Every April for the past quarter century, something remarkable has happened across the United States and far beyond.…
