Apr 8, 2025 1:23 PM
Blue Note Jazz Festival New York Posts 2025 Lineup
Blue Note Entertainment Group has unveiled the lineup for the 14th annual Blue Note Jazz Festival New York, featuring…
Nolatet’s No Revenge Necessary is due out April 27 on Royal Potato Family.
(Photo: Courtesy Royal Potato Family)The boozy “Black Sheep” is the lead single off Nolatet’s pending full-length, No Revenge Necessary. Its video debuts today.
The ensemble, comprising vibraphonist Mike Dillon, pianist Brian Haas, bassist James Singleton and drummer Johnny Vidacovich, are following up 2016’s Dogs with the April 27 album on Royal Potato Family.
“‘Dogs’ was beginner’s luck,” Singleton said. “We had just started as a band, and we managed to somehow pull together a cohesive program. To me that small miracle was a good omen for the future.”
“Black Sheep” is scheduled for a Feb. 23 release on streaming services, including Spotify, AppleMusic and Tidal.
“James Singleton’s compositions are New Orleans. ‘Black Sheep’ is one of my favorites. The first melody comes with the stinky bassline,” Hass said. “Then he sets the bass loop in place and sneaks in on top with a dirty pocket trumpet. The way the two melodies work together forms a counterpoint that is so skeezy it smells like the aftermath of a Mardi Gras parade.”
Band members count decades of performing, as well as membership in acts like Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, Garage a Trois, Critters Buggin and the Dead Kenny Gs. But Nolatet’s No Revenge Necessary seems to drop the band into the middle of the nation’s current political landscape.
“For me the over-riding theme moving forward is forgiveness,” Singleton said. “Hopefully, the strength of the music can serve as a reminder of the possibility of growth and healing through forgiving.”
No Revenge Necessary is set for an April 27 release on vinyl, CD and in digital formats. For more information about Nolatet, visit the band’s website. DB
The Blue Note Jazz Festival New York kicks off May 27 with a James Moody 100th Birthday Celebration at Sony Hall.
Apr 8, 2025 1:23 PM
Blue Note Entertainment Group has unveiled the lineup for the 14th annual Blue Note Jazz Festival New York, featuring…
“I’m certainly influenced by Geri Allen,” said Iverson, during a live Blindfold Test at the 31st Umbria Jazz Winter festival.
Apr 15, 2025 11:44 AM
Between last Christmas and New Year’s Eve, Ethan Iverson performed as part of the 31st Umbria Jazz Winter festival in…
“At the end of the day, once you’ve run out of differences, we’re left with similarities,” Collier says. “Cultural differences are mitigated through 12 notes.”
Apr 15, 2025 11:55 AM
DownBeat has a long association with the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference, the premiere…
“It kind of slows down, but it’s still kind of productive in a way, because you have something that you can be inspired by,” Andy Bey said on a 2019 episode of NPR Jazz Night in America, when he was 80. “The music is always inspiring.”
Apr 29, 2025 11:53 AM
Singer Andy Bey, who illuminated the jazz scene for five decades with a four-octave range that encompassed a bellowing…
Davis was a two-time Grammy winner for liner notes.
Apr 22, 2025 11:50 AM
Francis Davis, an august jazz and cultural critic who won both awards and esteem in print, film and radio, died April…
