Mar 18, 2025 3:00 PM
A Love Supreme at 60: Thoughts on Coltrane’s Masterwork
In his original liner notes to A Love Supreme, John Coltrane wrote: “Yes, it is true — ‘seek and ye shall…
On May 6, RCA Victor / Bluebird continued its blues reissue series, “When the Sun Goes Down,” with the release of Vol.5: Take This Hammer: The Complete RCA Victor Recordings Of Leadbelly and Vol.6: Poor Man’s Heaven: Blues And Tales Of The Great Depression.
“When the Sun Goes Down” started in August 2002 with a four volume set of digitally remastered music from America’s roots. With all the music recorded and released in or before 1940, volumes 5 and 6 continue the tradition.
Take This Hammer contains 26 tracks, three previously unissued, from Huddie Ledbetter, better know as Leadbelly. Recorded in 1940, the songs are split between solo performances and collaborations with the Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet.
According to Colin Escott’s liner notes, the album spoke to middle-class liberals and progressives, which challenged the standard blues album marketed to rural and working-class African Americans. Escott calls it one of the first “blues concept albums.”
The stock market crash in 1929 and the depression that followed affected everything in America. Poor Man’s Heaven looks at the effects on music with 24 tracks, by as many different artists, all recorded between 1929 and 1940. Themes of hardship and hope are apparent.
Artists include Eddie Cantor, Sonny Boy Williamson, Blind Alfred Reed, and Fiddlin’ John Carson. The album contains original versions of Ry Cooder recordings “How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times” and “Taxes on the Farmer Feeds Us All,” and a 1932 version of the classic “Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?” later covered by Brubeck and Pavarotti among others.
“This is one of the great gifts that Coltrane gave us — he gave us a key to the cosmos in this recording,” says John McLaughlin.
Mar 18, 2025 3:00 PM
In his original liner notes to A Love Supreme, John Coltrane wrote: “Yes, it is true — ‘seek and ye shall…
The Blue Note Jazz Festival New York kicks off May 27 with a James Moody 100th Birthday Celebration at Sony Hall.
Apr 8, 2025 1:23 PM
Blue Note Entertainment Group has unveiled the lineup for the 14th annual Blue Note Jazz Festival New York, featuring…
“I’m certainly influenced by Geri Allen,” said Iverson, during a live Blindfold Test at the 31st Umbria Jazz Winter festival.
Apr 15, 2025 11:44 AM
Between last Christmas and New Year’s Eve, Ethan Iverson performed as part of the 31st Umbria Jazz Winter festival in…
“At the end of the day, once you’ve run out of differences, we’re left with similarities,” Collier says. “Cultural differences are mitigated through 12 notes.”
Apr 15, 2025 11:55 AM
DownBeat has a long association with the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference, the premiere…
“It kind of slows down, but it’s still kind of productive in a way, because you have something that you can be inspired by,” Andy Bey said on a 2019 episode of NPR Jazz Night in America, when he was 80. “The music is always inspiring.”
Apr 29, 2025 11:53 AM
Singer Andy Bey, who illuminated the jazz scene for five decades with a four-octave range that encompassed a bellowing…
