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…
Trumpeter Steven Bernstein is back with his latest recording Diaspora Suite, the fourth installment from his Diaspora series on Tzadik Records. The disc was released on Jan. 27 in San Francisco and there will be a release party at The Jazz Standard in New York on Feb. 10. Diaspora Suite evolves the concept of radical Jewish music, however, this time around Bernstein contributes all twelve original compositions. The music was recorded in one day during a session at Bay Studios in Bernstein’s hometown of Oakland, Calif.
He was joined by a nonet of fellow California-native musicians, including Jeff Cressman on trombone, Peter Apfelbaum on tenor saxophone and flute, Ben Goldberg on clarinets, Nels Cline, John Schott and Will Bernard on guitars, Devin Hoff on bass, and Josh Jones and Scott Amendola on drums and percussion.
“I’d been performing the music from Diaspora Soul, Diaspora Blues and Diaspora Hollywood around the world,” Bernstein said. “With each performance I’d gained greater insight into the cantorial melodies that I had transcribed over the years, and like any folk music these melodies transformed as we played them night after night for different audiences.”
More info: tzadik.com
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…
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