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…
Madeleine Peyroux is set to issue Anthem (UMG) on Aug. 31.
(Photo: Shervin Lainez)The personal is political, but singer Madeleine Peyroux made sure to keep her pending album—Anthem (UMG) due out Aug. 31—from being preachy.
On the disc—which was produced by Larry Klein, who’s worked with everyone from Freddie Hubbard to Tracy Chapman and Melody Gardot—Peyroux explores contemporary society on a handful of tracks written during the 2016 election cycle. And “On My Own,” a first-person trip through a day in Peyroux’s life, finds the singer turning in a seemingly playful track that’s as tied to a Kinksian pop lineage as it is to lightly swinging jazz and the singer-songwriter genre.
“I think of ‘On My Own’ as a new song about loneliness,” Peyroux said. “I feel a little odd, too small, too big, out of place and alone. But the world around me is also strange, full of all sizes, all perspectives, constantly changing. So, perhaps I, too, can change.”
For more information about Peyroux’s work and upcoming tour dates, visit her website. 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).…
Clockwise from top left, Mary Halvorson, Patricia Brennan, Adam O’Farrill, Keith Jarrett’s At the Deer Head Inn: The Complete Recordings, Sheila Jordan and Jaki Byard.
Jul 16, 2026 1:34 PM
The DownBeat Critics Poll never ceases to amaze! And the 74th Edition offered plenty of accolades for poll veterans and…
Ibrahim was an early jazz acolyte, studying the music via 78s he would buy from soldiers stationed in South Africa — who also gave him the nickname “Dollar.”
Jun 30, 2026 3:19 PM
Pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, the NEA Jazz Master from South Africa who helped fuse the folk music of his home country with…
