May 26, 2026 11:08 AM
Sonny Rollins Passes Away at 95
Sonny Rollins, the iconic saxophonist, composer and improviser whose career stretched from the origins of bebop to 21st…
Legendary R&B singer Ruth Brown died on Friday in Las Vegas. She was 78. The cause of her death was attributed to complications from a heart attack and stroke.
Brown is best known for the hits she recorded for Atlantic Records in the 1950s, including “So Long” and “(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean.” Not only did her tough delivery set the standard for a legion of r&b and rock singers, but the records’ commercial success was invaluable to building the label. In later years, Brown turned to acting and portrayed DJ Motormouth Maybelle in the 1988 film, Hairspray .
While the Virginia-born singer’s best known musical performances were those Atlantic R&B hits, she also worked in jazz. In the 1940s, Brown briefly sang with Lucky Millender’s big band. Twenty years later, she recorded with the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Big Band. Her 1989 recording, Blues On Broadway won the Grammy for best jazz vocal performance, female.
Onstage, Rollins would move about restlessly, thrusting his tenor sax in the air as he blew.
May 26, 2026 11:08 AM
Sonny Rollins, the iconic saxophonist, composer and improviser whose career stretched from the origins of bebop to 21st…
To the world, James Blood Ulmer was a legend, a visionary and a musical force whose sound was distinctive and unique. To his family, he was their teacher, their storyteller and a source of strength.
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With deep sorrow and profound love, we announce the passing of James Blood Ulmer, a boldly innovative guitarist,…
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“I wanted to get into the real feeling,” Melissa Aldana says of studying the work of singers from Cuba’s filin tradition in preparation for her collaboration with pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba.
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“There was something about her tone and sound and phrasing — an intimacy, a vulnerability, an honesty,” says Joshua Redman, who produced Cavassa’s record after she toured with his band.
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Gabrielle Cavassa is an avowed perfectionist. So when she failed to place despite becoming a finalist in the 2018 Sarah…
