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…
Bobby Sanabria leading the Manhattan School of Music’s Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra through a live take on Machito’s Kenya album has been released as Kenya Revisited “Live” (Jazzheads).
Originally recorded in December of 1957 by The Machito Afro-Cubans and released in 1958 (featuring Cannonball Adderley, as well as trumpeter Joe Neumann, and percussionist Candido Camero) Kenya had never been performed in its entirety. Under Sanabria’s direction, the entire repertoire of the Kenya album has been updated with new arrangements and performed by the Manhattan School’s orchestra. Camero, now an NEA Jazz Master, joined the orchestra on this recording.
This recording also marks the first release in a series of four collaborations between The Manhattan School of Music and Jazzheads Records. Scheduled for release in the coming months are three Manhattan School of Music interpretations of Miles Davis’ Porgy & Bess , Sketches Of Spain and Miles Ahead. All three of upcoming recordings will feature saxophonist Dave Liebman with the Manhattan School of Music Jazz Orchestra conducted by Justin DiCioccio. Jazzheads Records will donate proceeds from the sales of these discs to the Manhattan School of Music Fund-Jazz Arts Program.
More info: msmnyc.edu
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.
Jun 9, 2026 10:54 AM
With deep sorrow and profound love, we announce the passing of James Blood Ulmer, a boldly innovative guitarist,…
How best to mark Miles Davis’ centennial? By allowing the stories to flow, and cross-discussions to happen.
May 26, 2026 10:40 AM
Editor’s Note: The iconic trumpeter, composer and bandleader Miles Davis would have turned 100 today (May 26, 2026).…
“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.
May 19, 2026 11:46 AM
Melissa Aldana is an investigator. She’s not comfortable resting on what she knows, instead seeking to learn more and…
Ibrahim was an early jazz acolyte, studying the music via 78s he would buy from soldiers stationed in South Africa — who also gave him the nickname “Dollar.”
Jun 30, 2026 3:19 PM
Pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, the NEA Jazz Master from South Africa who helped fuse the folk music of his home country with…
