Oct 28, 2025 10:47 AM
In Memoriam: Jack DeJohnette, 1942–2025
Jack DeJohnette, a bold and resourceful drummer and NEA Jazz Master who forged a unique vocabulary on the kit over his…
Blues singer and Alligator recording artist Shemekia Copeland, who recently picked up her 4th W.C. Handy Blues Award (for Contemporary Female Artist Of The Year), is currently finishing work on a follow-up to her Grammy-nominated CD, Wicked. The as-yet-untitled album is being recorded in New York and produced by Dr. John, and will be released in mid-September of this year. Copeland, along with songwriter John Hahn, shares some of the writing credits on the album. Dr. John also contributed songs, plays piano and sings a duet with Copeland. The album features members of both Dr. John’s and Shemekia’s touring bands.
On June 1, Copeland headlined the Chicago Blues Festival, singing in front of 100,000 ecstatic blues fans. At one point, Copeland stepped away from the microphone to sing the final verse of her father’s (the late Johnny Clyde Copeland) “Ghetto Child,” her voice carrying, unamplified, to the far reaches of the outdoor venue.
Jack DeJohnette boasted a musical resume that was as long as it was fearsome.
Oct 28, 2025 10:47 AM
Jack DeJohnette, a bold and resourceful drummer and NEA Jazz Master who forged a unique vocabulary on the kit over his…
Don and Maureen Sickler serve as the keepers of engineer Rudy Van Gelder’s flame at Van Gelder Studio, perhaps the most famous recording studio in jazz history.
Sep 3, 2025 12:02 PM
On the last Sunday of 2024, in the control room of Van Gelder Studio, Don and Maureen Sickler, co-owners since Rudy Van…
Trio aRT with its avalanche of instrumentation: from left, Pheeroan akLaff, Scott Robinson and Julian Thayer.
Sep 3, 2025 12:03 PM
Trio aRT, a working unit since 1988, shockingly released its very first studio recording this summer. Recorded in…
“Think of all the creative people I’m going to meet and a whole other way of thinking about music and a challenge of singing completely different material than I would have sung otherwise to my highest level in dedication to the moment,” Elling says about his Broadway run.
Sep 9, 2025 1:18 PM
Kurt Elling was back at home in Chicago, grabbing some family time in a late-June window between gigs. Sporting a smile…
Pat Metheny will perform with his Side-Eye III ensemble at Big Ears 2026 in Knoxville, Tennessee, next March.
Sep 9, 2025 12:19 PM
Big Ears has announced the lineup for its 2026 festival, which will take place March 26–29 and include 250…
