Jul 22, 2026 12:37 PM
In Memoriam: Rodney Holmes, 1966–2026
Drummer Rodney Holmes, a powerful presence behind the kit who emerged as an in-demand player on the New York scene…
Snarky Puppy will host the second GroundUp Music Festival in Miami on Feb. 9–11.
(Photo: @StellaK)Snarky Puppy is trading in its Brooklyn digs for a bit to head down to Miami for the second GroundUp Music Festival.
Joining the organizers and festival headliners are acts as diverse as Béla Fleck and The Flecktones Trio (which includes Victor Wooten and Futureman), Robert Glasper, Joshua Redman, Becca Stevens, Cuban singer Eliades Ochoa and others.
Snarky Puppy, which topped the Jazz Group category in the 2017 DownBeat Readers Poll, will play all three nights at the fest.
If the regular festival bill wasn’t enticing enough, though, The Starlight Room at the Miami Beach Resort will host separate, late-night music events following the scheduled festival performances.
GroundUp offers a relatively intimate experience, with only about 2,000 tickets being available for each day Feb. 9 through 11, according to the festival’s website. Perhaps as unique as the sedate environs along the Atlantic Ocean are the interactive workshop offerings. The focus ranges from bass with Victor Wooten and Snarky Puppy bandleader Michael League; drumming with percussionists Jojo Mayer and Mark Guiliana; songwriting with The Wood Brothers; and the exploration of individuality with Fleck and Lionel Loueke.
Daily admission to the festival is $85, with three-day packages set at $225. VIP packages also are available.
For additional information, visit the GroundUp Music Festival website. DB
A drummer’s drummer, Rodney Holmes gigged with everyone from Joe Zawinul and Carlos Santana to Steve Kimock and the Brecker Brothers.
Jul 22, 2026 12:37 PM
Drummer Rodney Holmes, a powerful presence behind the kit who emerged as an in-demand player on the New York scene…
Clockwise from top left, Mary Halvorson, Patricia Brennan, Adam O’Farrill, Keith Jarrett’s At the Deer Head Inn: The Complete Recordings, Sheila Jordan and Jaki Byard.
Jul 16, 2026 1:34 PM
The DownBeat Critics Poll never ceases to amaze! And the 74th Edition offered plenty of accolades for poll veterans 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…
Joe Lovano’s Paramount Quartet will record live at New York’s Village Vanguard for ECM records on Aug. 26–27.
Jul 22, 2026 12:46 PM
One of Joe Lovano’s buzz terms is “the moment of now” and with seemingly infinite patience — despite a schedule…
“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.
Jun 16, 2026 1:27 AM
Gabrielle Cavassa is an avowed perfectionist. So when she failed to place despite becoming a finalist in the 2018 Sarah…
