Dec 9, 2025 12:28 PM
In Memoriam: Gordon Goodwin, 1954–2025
Gordon Goodwin, an award-winning saxophonist, pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger, died Dec. 8 in Los Angeles.…
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.
Goodwin was one of the most acclaimed, successful and influential jazz musicians of his generation.
Dec 9, 2025 12:28 PM
Gordon Goodwin, an award-winning saxophonist, pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger, died Dec. 8 in Los Angeles.…
Belá Fleck during an interview with Fredrika Whitfield on CNN.
Jan 13, 2026 2:09 PM
The fallout from the renaming of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to include President Donald…
The success of Oregon’s first album, 1971’s Music Of Another Present Era, allowed Towner to establish a solo career.
Jan 19, 2026 5:02 PM
Ralph Towner, a guitarist and composer who blended multiple genres, including jazz — and throughout them all remained…
Peplowski first came to prominence in legacy swing bands, including the final iteration of the Benny Goodman Orchestra, before beginning a solo career in the late 1980s.
Feb 3, 2026 12:10 AM
Ken Peplowski, a clarinetist and tenor saxophonist who straddled the worlds of traditional and modern jazz, died Feb. 2…
Rico’s Anti-Microbial Instrument Swab
Jan 19, 2026 2:48 PM
With this year’s NAMM Show right around the corner, we can look forward to plenty of new and innovative instruments…
