Mar 18, 2025 3:00 PM
A Love Supreme at 60: Thoughts on Coltrane’s Masterwork
In his original liner notes to A Love Supreme, John Coltrane wrote: “Yes, it is true — ‘seek and ye shall…
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
“This is one of the great gifts that Coltrane gave us — he gave us a key to the cosmos in this recording,” says John McLaughlin.
Mar 18, 2025 3:00 PM
In his original liner notes to A Love Supreme, John Coltrane wrote: “Yes, it is true — ‘seek and ye shall…
The Blue Note Jazz Festival New York kicks off May 27 with a James Moody 100th Birthday Celebration at Sony Hall.
Apr 8, 2025 1:23 PM
Blue Note Entertainment Group has unveiled the lineup for the 14th annual Blue Note Jazz Festival New York, featuring…
“I’m certainly influenced by Geri Allen,” said Iverson, during a live Blindfold Test at the 31st Umbria Jazz Winter festival.
Apr 15, 2025 11:44 AM
Between last Christmas and New Year’s Eve, Ethan Iverson performed as part of the 31st Umbria Jazz Winter festival in…
“At the end of the day, once you’ve run out of differences, we’re left with similarities,” Collier says. “Cultural differences are mitigated through 12 notes.”
Apr 15, 2025 11:55 AM
DownBeat has a long association with the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference, the premiere…
“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…
