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…
Filmmaker Bret Primack has produced new podcasts available through his site and iTunes. The new installments are part of the Orrin Keepnews series featuring the work of Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk.
Keepnews discusses producing Adderley’s third live recording, The Cannonball Adderley Sextet in New York, in the podcast. In addition to the record producer’s memories of his friend and his live date at the Village Vanguard, this podcast includes video of a 1958 Adderley interview where he recalls hearing Charlie Parker, and a performance clip from his 1963 sextet.
Keepnews worked closely with Evans, producing the pianist’s first recordings when he arrived in New York in the mid-’50s for Riverside Records. This episode, “Portrait Of Bill,” features Portrait In Jazz, Evans’ first recording with his own trio and includes 1958 video of the pianist playing George Russell’s “Billy The Kid.”
“Thelonious Monk, Town Hall Concert, Part 2” captures Monk’s 1959 Town Hall Concert. Before the concert, Keepnews explained to Monk a series of signals they would use so that between numbers, Monk would wait and make sure the tape was running. But in performance, things ran amok.
More info: jazzvideoguy.tv
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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In the relatively small pantheon of certifiable rock stars venturing into the intersection of pop music and jazz, the…
Vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater will be among the headliners at this year’s DC JazzFest.
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The first wave of artists scheduled to perform at the 2026 DC JazzFest have been announced. This year’s headliners…
Blindfold Test proctor Ted Panken, left, with the Grammy-winning Nicole Zuraitis.
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After earning the 2024 Best Jazz Vocal Album Grammy for her seventh album, How Love Begins (La Reserve), comprising 12…
“These days, with curated news, where people only get half the story, people can’t even speak to family members anymore,” Schneider laments.
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Maria Schneider is doing her part to try to fix what ails America. Which got her thinking about crows, specifically,…
