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.…
Malachi Thompson and his Freebop Band will celebrate their 25th anniversary at Chicago’s Green Mill jazz club on Aug. 27 and 28.
In 1978, the trumpeter migrated to New York from Chicago and formed the first version of the Freebop Band.
Thompson defines “freebop” as the experimentation and harmonic freedom of avant-garde jazz combined with various forms of traditional bebop, conjoined with elements of swing and Afro-Cuban rhythms.
Over the years Thompson and the Freebop band have toured and performed throughout the U.S., Europe, the Caribbean and Africa. The group recently received a grant from Chamber Music America to fund new compositions for their 25th year.
For more information about the anniversary performances, contact the Green Mill at (773) 878-5552.
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…
Flea has returned to his first instrument — the trumpet — and assembled a dream band of jazz musicians to record a new album.
Dec 2, 2025 2:01 AM
After a nearly five-decade career as one of his generation’s defining rock bassists, Flea has returned to his first…
Dec 11, 2025 11:00 AM
DownBeat presents a complete list of the 4-, 4½- and 5-star albums from 2025 in one convenient package. It’s a great…
Vibraphonist Chuck Redd found himself in the midst of a political firestorm after canceling his gig Dec. 24 at the newly renamed Trump Kennedy Center.
Jan 6, 2026 2:32 AM
The Board of Trustees at Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted on Dec. 18 to rename the…