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…
Cellist Tomeka Reid is among the 25 individuals named 2022 MacArthur Fellows.
(Photo: Courtesy Tomeka Reid)Cellist Tomeka Reid and electronic music composer Ikue Mori both have been named 2022 MacArthur Fellows. The annual awards, commonly known as Genius Grants, are given by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and have demonstrated the potential to produce even more inspired and innovative work.
The Chicago-based foundation has increased the “no strings attached” award from $625,000 to $800,000 over five years.
Reid draws from a range of musical traditions and expanding the expressive possibilities of the cello in improvised music. Trained in the Western classical tradition, she is also fluent in musical modes rooted in the African diaspora and avant-garde minimalism. Reid employs extended techniques in her practice — attaching pencils or clips to the strings or making use of the percussive qualities of the body of the cello — to produce a rich and textured palette of sounds. The Chicago-based artist is also a composer, bandleader, educator and community builder.
Mori has transformed the use of percussion in improvisation and expanding the boundaries of machine-based music. The New York-based electronic music composer and performer creates rhythmic and ambient soundscapes using digital processing techniques, a laptop computer, and repurposed elements of electronic drumming equipment. Over her five-decade career, Mori has transformed the use of percussion in improvised music and inspired generations of electronic musicians.
“The 2022 MacArthur Fellows are architects of new modes of activism, artistic practice and citizen science,” said Marlies Carruth, director, MacArthur Fellows. “They are excavators uncovering what has been overlooked, undervalued or poorly understood. They are archivists reminding us of what should survive. Their work extends from the molecular level to the land beneath our feet to Earth’s orbital environment — offering new ways for us to understand the communities, systems and social forces that shape our lives around the globe.” DB
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.
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“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.
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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…
