Apr 29, 2025 11:53 AM
Vocalist Andy Bey Dies at 85
Singer Andy Bey, who illuminated the jazz scene for five decades with a four-octave range that encompassed a bellowing…
Thundercat is a second-generation product of the Los Angeles jazz scene: Drummer Ronald Bruner Sr., his father, gigged with saxophonist Rickey Washington, father of Kamasi Washington.
(Photo: The1point8)Across four full-length efforts, Thundercat has pushed jazz into unknown territories. The bassist, though, remains keenly aware of the roles that his family—both his biological and chosen affiliates—have played in forging the unique sound.
Born Stephen Bruner, Thundercat has become an integral part of the contemporary jazz scene that’s sprouted in Los Angeles, a city many see wrapped in a romantic past. Bruner just sees it as home. He’s actually a second-generation product of the scene there: Drummer Ronald Bruner Sr., his father, gigged with saxophonist Rickey Washington, father of Kamasi Washington.
“There’s photos of us when we were babies. ... [Our parents] just kept us around each other,” Thundercat, who released It Is What It Is in April, said about the younger Washington. “Once they realized that we were very musically talented, they figured it would be better for us to hang out with each other” than to fall in with a questionable crowd.
As teens, the pair would practice in the Washingtons’ garage, a place they called “The Shed.” Longtime collaborators like the saxophonist and producer Flying Lotus form a significant and notable part of Thundercat’s expansive musical family.
“Like the leader of the band that I was in, Suicidal Tendencies, used to say all the time: ‘You have your family you’re born with and the family that you choose,’” the bassist recalled.
Among his various family members, Thundercat also is quick to credit a longtime teacher at Locke High School in Los Angeles with helping to raise him, musically.
“It kind of slows down, but it’s still kind of productive in a way, because you have something that you can be inspired by,” Andy Bey said on a 2019 episode of NPR Jazz Night in America, when he was 80. “The music is always inspiring.”
Apr 29, 2025 11:53 AM
Singer Andy Bey, who illuminated the jazz scene for five decades with a four-octave range that encompassed a bellowing…
Foster was truly a drummer to the stars, including Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson.
Jun 3, 2025 11:25 AM
Al Foster, a drummer regarded for his fluency across the bebop, post-bop and funk/fusion lineages of jazz, died May 28…
Davis was a two-time Grammy winner for liner notes.
Apr 22, 2025 11:50 AM
Francis Davis, an august jazz and cultural critic who won both awards and esteem in print, film and radio, died April…
“Branford’s playing has steadily improved,” says younger brother Wynton Marsalis. “He’s just gotten more and more serious.”
May 20, 2025 11:58 AM
Branford Marsalis was on the road again. Coffee cup in hand, the saxophonist — sporting a gray hoodie and a look of…
“What did I want more of when I was this age?” Sasha Berliner asks when she’s in her teaching mode.
May 13, 2025 12:39 PM
Part of the jazz vibraphone conversation since her late teens, Sasha Berliner has long come across as a fully formed…
