Jun 3, 2025 11:25 AM
In Memoriam: Al Foster, 1943–2025
Al Foster, a drummer regarded for his fluency across the bebop, post-bop and funk/fusion lineages of jazz, died May 28…
Bibb delivers an intimate one-man show in Tales From A Blues Brother, which premieres Oct. 8 on Qwest TV.
(Photo: Courtesy Qwest TV)On Friday, Oct. 8, Qwest TV by Quincy Jones will premiere Tales From A Blues Brother, a one-man performance of spoken word and song by blues guitarist and singer Eric Bibb.
Bibb reflects on his life with uplifting memories as well as thoughts on race, music and identity through his stories and original songs, presenting an intimate tapestry of his life and the world at large. He reflects on police brutality and immigration tensions, but he does so through a sense of resilience, and how his music has the power to help cut through the pain and seek a better future.
Bibb comes to music, the arts and activism naturally. He is the son of folk singer and activist Leon Bibb (who knew Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), and nephew to the jazz pianist-composer John Lewis of Modern Jazz Quartet fame. Bibb, now 70, is a child of the Civil Rights movement who grew up surrounded by great musicians and African-American repertoire. He got his first steel-string guitar at age 7 and received personal advice from Bob Dylan soon after.
Tales From A Blues Brother serves as a visual autobiography created from footage of old bluesmen, Bibb’s personal anecdotes and pull-at-the-heartstrings musical performances. Bibb, throughout, has one message — we must work for change.
“My driving wheel is this vision I have in my heart, and my heart and my soul, of a new world coming through,” he said. “It is real for me. I see signs of it everywhere I go. There’s hope — that is what I’m trying to say.”
Watch the trailer HERE.
Bibb also has a new record out called Dear America on Provogue Records. DB
Foster was truly a drummer to the stars, including Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson.
Jun 3, 2025 11:25 AM
Al Foster, a drummer regarded for his fluency across the bebop, post-bop and funk/fusion lineages of jazz, died May 28…
“Branford’s playing has steadily improved,” says younger brother Wynton Marsalis. “He’s just gotten more and more serious.”
May 20, 2025 11:58 AM
Branford Marsalis was on the road again. Coffee cup in hand, the saxophonist — sporting a gray hoodie and a look of…
“What did I want more of when I was this age?” Sasha Berliner asks when she’s in her teaching mode.
May 13, 2025 12:39 PM
Part of the jazz vibraphone conversation since her late teens, Sasha Berliner has long come across as a fully formed…
Roscoe Mitchell will receive a Lifetime Achievement award at this year’s Vision Festival.
May 27, 2025 6:21 PM
Arts for Art has announced the full lineup for the 2025 Vision Festival, which will run June 2–7 at Roulette…
Benny Benack III and his quartet took the Midwest Jazz Collective’s route for a test run this spring.
Jun 3, 2025 10:31 AM
The time and labor required to tour is, for many musicians, daunting at best and prohibitive at worst. It’s hardly…