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…
Samuel L. Jackson, who may be best known for his role as a hit man in Pulp Fiction , will potray a fictional blues singer named Lazurus in the upcoming film Black Snake Moan . The movie will be released in early 2007 and its accompanying soundtrack on New West Records features Jackson singing four blues standards.
While Jackson learned how to play guitar for his role, he receives support from such musicians as Alvin Youngblood Hart, Kenny Brown, Big Jack Johnson and Jason Freeman. Two of Jackson’s songs in the film—“Just Like A Bird Without A Feather” and “Alice Mae”—have been associated with R.L. Burnside.
“R.L. was definitely the zeitgeist of the film,” said Black Snake Moan‘s musical supervisor Scott Bomar.
Justin Timberlake also appears in the film, but there is no indication that he covers any blues favorites on the soundtrack.
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.”
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In the relatively small pantheon of certifiable rock stars venturing into the intersection of pop music and jazz, the…
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They were Berklee misfits. Neither jazzy enough for the straightahead crowd at Boston’s highly prestigious College of…
New Orleans Trad Jazz Camp
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Jazz camps have exploded around the globe as a summertime tradition for working on your chops and making new friends.…
Blindfold Test proctor Ted Panken, left, with the Grammy-winning Nicole Zuraitis.
Feb 24, 2026 12:00 PM
After earning the 2024 Best Jazz Vocal Album Grammy for her seventh album, How Love Begins (La Reserve), comprising 12…
