Sep 3, 2025 12:02 PM
Keeping the Flame at Van Gelder Studio
On the last Sunday of 2024, in the control room of Van Gelder Studio, Don and Maureen Sickler, co-owners since Rudy Van…
Pianist Sam Barsh, best-known for his work as a sideman for Avishai Cohen, Zach Brock and the Coffee Achievers, released I Forgot What You Taught Me on Feb. 12 on Razdaz Recordz, the five-year-old label founded by bassist Avishai Cohen and his manager, Ray Jefford.
The album features Barsh on piano, keyboards and melodica, Tim Collins on vibes, Ari Folman-Cohen on bass and Jaimeo Brown on drums. The CD’s 13 selections were all composed by Barsh, with the exception of “George Dub,” which was written by the entire band.
“I have a lot of musical interests, and many of them get fulfilled by the sideman gigs that I do, so I wanted my band to showcase me in my own element,” Barsh said. “I decided on all the members of the band because I had played sessions with all of them where we just started playing without calling any tunes or charts and the vibe was so strong. These cats can lose themselves and understand the nuances of consistent groove and ambient playing as well as soloing.”
I Forgot What You Taught Me is the first of three releases that Razdaz will release in the coming months. On March 25, guitarist and oudist Amos Hoffman will release Evolution, his debut for the label, and on May 6 Cohen will follow up his 2007 live recording, As Is …. Live At The Blue Note with Gently Disturbed.
More info: razdazrecordz.com
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…
Jack DeJohnette boasted a musical resume that was as long as it was fearsome.
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Jack DeJohnette, a bold and resourceful drummer and NEA Jazz Master who forged a unique vocabulary on the kit over his…
Trio aRT with its avalanche of instrumentation: from left, Pheeroan akLaff, Scott Robinson and Julian Thayer.
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“Think of all the creative people I’m going to meet and a whole other way of thinking about music and a challenge of singing completely different material than I would have sung otherwise to my highest level in dedication to the moment,” Elling says about his Broadway run.
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Kurt Elling was back at home in Chicago, grabbing some family time in a late-June window between gigs. Sporting a smile…
Pat Metheny will perform with his Side-Eye III ensemble at Big Ears 2026 in Knoxville, Tennessee, next March.
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Big Ears has announced the lineup for its 2026 festival, which will take place March 26–29 and include 250…
