Aug 12, 2025 10:24 AM
Vocalist Sheila Jordan Dies at 96
Sheila Jordan, a vocalist who was celebrated for her scatting and lyric-improvising abilities, died Aug. 11 at her home…
Conguero Poncho Sanchez is set to issue Trane’s Delight on Sept. 20 through Concord Picante.
(Photo: Estevan Oriol)The first record Poncho Sanchez bought with his own money—when he was 11—was Coltrane.
The percussionist has held on to his affection for the visionary saxophonist in the intervening years while working with a host of inimitable bandleaders—Cal Tjader, Woody Herman, Tito Puente—and leading his own groups. Trane’s Delight, a disc due out Sept. 20 on Concord Picante, reifies Sanchez’s dedication to the John Coltrane with several covers set among original numbers and works penned by Duke Ellington and Hubert Laws.
“I’ve always loved John Coltrane ever since I was a kid and first learned about jazz,” Sanchez said in a press release. “I’ve recorded tributes to a lot of my heroes ... so, I thought it was definitely time to do a tribute to the great John Coltrane.”
For Sanchez’s take on “Blue Train,” which debuts here, the opening theme remains as recognizable and inspired as when it first appeared on record more than 60 years back. Bolstered by the bandleader’s work—and the first solo by trombonist and musical director Francisco Torres—it all comes off as a respectful update, one that’s a little less blue than the original.
For info on Sanchez’s upcoming performances, visit his website. DB
Jordan was a dyed-in-the-wool bebopper whose formative musical experiences were with Charlie Parker.
Aug 12, 2025 10:24 AM
Sheila Jordan, a vocalist who was celebrated for her scatting and lyric-improvising abilities, died Aug. 11 at her home…
“I don’t guess I’m going to excite you; I know I’m going to excite you,” Palmieri said in an August 1994 DownBeat feature.
Aug 12, 2025 10:33 AM
Famed Latin jazz composer, bandleader and pianist Eddie Palmieri passed away in his New Jersey home on Aug. 6. He was…
“What I got from Percy was the dignity of playing the bass,” Buster Williams said of Percy Heath.
Aug 26, 2025 1:53 PM
Buster Williams, who at the age of 83 has been on the scene for 65 years, had never done a Blindfold Test. The first…
“I love the place that fate or whatever has positioned me in Gil Evans’ life and legacy,” said Ryan Truesdell.
Aug 5, 2025 12:26 PM
“I originally set out to give two years of my life to Gil,” Ryan Truesdell said of his mindset in 2009, when he…
Don and Maureen Sickler serve as the keepers of engineer Rudy Van Gelder’s flame at Van Gelder Studio, perhaps the most famous recording studio in jazz history.
Sep 3, 2025 12:02 PM
On the last Sunday of 2024, in the control room of Van Gelder Studio, Don and Maureen Sickler, co-owners since Rudy Van…