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…
Sonic Portraits Entertainment, a new independent label producing recordings in various jazz-oriented genres, will debut this month with its first release and performances at the Atlanta Jazz Festival, May 26–28.
The label, founded by Robert Irving III and Terri Lyne Carrington, calls itself artist-friendly because it was founded on the proposition that the most interesting recordings will be made when they are artist-directed.
Each project will be artist-directed in order to support the artists’ vision and concept and enable the artist to attain a standard of excellence beyond the expected industry standard.
The label’s first release is Irving’s New Momentum. Irving, a keyboardist, is accompanied on the album by Buster Williams and Marlene Rosenberg on bass, and Yusef Ernie Adams on drums.
Carrington will perform at the Atlanta Jazz Festival May 26.
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…
Lettuce, from left: Eric Coomes, Adam Deitch, Ryan Zoidis, Eric Bloom, Adam Smirnoff and Nigel Hall
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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.…
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Feb 10, 2026 11:00 AM
The popularity of big band music might have peaked in the 1930s and ’40s, but despite the many changes on the jazz…
