Apr 2, 2024 12:59 PM
Saxophonist, Sonic Explorer Casey Benjamin Dies at 45
Casey Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist, keyboardist and producer who stamped his distinctive sounds on the…
The American Jazz Museum in Kansas City, Mo., will unveil a new exhibit on June 29 in its Changing Gallery entitled “Portraits As Jazz,” which features portraits of jazz legends like Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane by artist Martel Chapman.
Inspired the music, Chapman translates the sounds of jazz into depictions of Monk, Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Sun Ra, Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, and others.
“Jazz opened up a new world for me,” Chapman said. “Hearing Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane offered me a new perspective. These pieces reflect my understanding of jazz and pay respect to the creators of the music.”
“Chapman’s work is absolutely stunning,” said Demetria Jones, the museum’s director of collections and exhibitions. “It’s a spectacular visual embodiment of the American Jazz Museum’s mission to celebrate and exhibit the experience of jazz.”
“Portraits as Jazz” will be open through Sept. 17.
For more information, visit: www.portraitsasjazz.com; www.americanjazzmuseum.org
Benjamin possessed a fluid, round sound on the alto saxophone, and he was often most recognizable by the layers of electronic effects that he put onto the instrument.
Apr 2, 2024 12:59 PM
Casey Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist, keyboardist and producer who stamped his distinctive sounds on the…
Albert “Tootie” Heath (1935–2024) followed in the tradition of drummer Kenny Clarke, his idol.
Apr 5, 2024 10:28 AM
Albert “Tootie” Heath, a drummer of impeccable taste and time who was the youngest of three jazz-legend brothers…
“Both of us are quite grounded in the craft, the tradition and the harmonic sense,” Rosenwinkel said of his experience playing with Allen. “Yet I felt we shared something mystical as well.”
Mar 12, 2024 11:42 AM
“There are a few musicians you hear where, as somebody once said, the molecules in the room change. Geri was one of…
Henry Threadgill performs with Zooid at Big Ears in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Apr 9, 2024 11:30 AM
Big Ears, the annual four-day music celebration that first took place in 2009 in Knoxville, Tennessee, could well be…
“I’m also at a point in my life where I don’t feel like I have anything to prove, like at all,” Akinmusire says about his art.
Mar 26, 2024 12:45 PM
At the risk of oversimplifying and romanticizing the story, Ambrose Akinmusire came bursting on the jazz scene at the…
