Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
In Memoriam: John Hammond Jr., 1942–2026
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
Enigmatic pianist, composer and New England Conservatory educator Ran Blake will lead the World Premiere performance of his first-ever standard piano trio at the National Library of Canada on Saturday, July 20, as part of the Ottawa International Jazz Festival’s Connoisseur Series. Boston’s Regattabar will host the group’s American premiere less than a week later on Thursday, July 25. The all-star trio of Blake, bassist/composer Ed Schuller and drummer/composer George Schuller will perform a mix of revitalized standards, vintage Blake originals, and freely improvised group compositions in support of their critically acclaimed September 2001 debut, Sonic Temples (GM Recordings).
“The idea of putting Ran together with a rhythm section started to hatch in me about two years ago,” writes producer and Blake mentor Gunther Schuller in the liner notes for Sonic Temples. “It became clear to me that the support of bass and drums, and the inspiration from an older song repertory I knew Ran was familiar with but had not delved into very often, would bring out a side of his artistry not (in my opinion) heard often enough. I have never encountered anyone who can do some of the things Ran can do, with the utmost ease and naturalness, in the realm of touch, timbre, dynamic contrast, and digital fingertip control.”
The genre-defiant 67 year-old MacArthur Genius Grant winner celebrates his 40th anniversary as an active recording artist this year, as well as 35 years as a groundbreaking educator at Boston’s New England Conservatory. Along with documenting his individual, improvisation-based approach to his instrument on more than 30 recordings, Blake has influenced generations of students with his innovative ear training approach and work as Chair of NEC’s Third Stream/Contemporary Improvisation Department since co-founding it in 1973.
Although Blake’s stark reinventions of both himself and selections from the classic American songbook have received most of the trio’s attention, Ed and George Schuller are each 20-plus year veterans of the international jazz scene. Bassist Schuller has performed on over 65 recordings as a sideman, including Joe Lovano’s latest, Viva Caruso (Blue Note), and his innovative solo bass recording, Ong Song (GM Recordings), released in March. Drummer, composer, and arranger George Schuller led the all-star ensemble Orange Then Blue for more than a decade and currently leads The Schulldogs, Chump Change, and the Mili Bermejo/George Schuller Octet. He also performs with Gebhard Ullman’s Conference Call, Free Range Rat, and Matt Darriau’s Ballin’ The Jack among many others.
Hammond came to the blues through the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, which he experienced firsthand in New York’s Greenwich Village.
Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
“Cerebral and academic thought is a different way to approach music,” Flea says of his continuing dive into jazz. “I’ve always relied on emotion and intuition and physicality.”
Mar 30, 2026 10:30 PM
In the relatively small pantheon of certifiable rock stars venturing into the intersection of pop music and jazz, the…
Lettuce, from left: Eric Coomes, Adam Deitch, Ryan Zoidis, Eric Bloom, Adam Smirnoff and Nigel Hall
Feb 17, 2026 11:05 AM
They were Berklee misfits. Neither jazzy enough for the straightahead crowd at Boston’s highly prestigious College of…
New Orleans Trad Jazz Camp
Feb 19, 2026 10:39 AM
Jazz camps have exploded around the globe as a summertime tradition for working on your chops and making new friends.…
Lovers of the big band experience, clockwise from top left, John Clayton, Leigh Pilzer, Ted Nash, David Pietro and Christine Jensen.
Feb 10, 2026 11:00 AM
The popularity of big band music might have peaked in the 1930s and ’40s, but despite the many changes on the jazz…
