May 26, 2026 11:08 AM
Sonny Rollins Passes Away at 95
Sonny Rollins, the iconic saxophonist, composer and improviser whose career stretched from the origins of bebop to 21st…
University Of The Arts in Philadelphia is among the 212 schools listed in this year’s Student Music Guide.
(Photo: Kevin Merinsky/University Of The Arts)DownBeat’s annual Student Music Guide contains essential information for students who are preparing to enter college or graduate school. This comprehensive guide includes detailed school listings, complete with deadlines, costs and key faculty members. Plus, we’ve got the DownBeat Jazz Education Awards, as well as articles that explore the challenges jazz education programs face due to the pandemic. DB
• The Importance Of A Music Degree: Jazz educators offer insights on the value of a music degree in the current environment, where online learning is a necessity for so many students.
• Best Practices For Online Music Instruction: Jazz educators explore the keys to “getting it right” when it comes to remote learning for student musicians.
• Teaching Asynchronous Ensembles: Jazz educators discuss their approaches to ensemble courses, now that it’s impossible for many combos and bands to assemble in the same room.
• Robert ‘Doc’ Morgan Demanded Excellence
• Lee Secard Sets High Standards
• Tina Raymond Leads By Example
• Academic Programs Restructure Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
• Schools Devise Multiple Plans For Fall
These stories originally were published in the August, September and October 2020 issues of DownBeat. Subscribe here.
Onstage, Rollins would move about restlessly, thrusting his tenor sax in the air as he blew.
May 26, 2026 11:08 AM
Sonny Rollins, the iconic saxophonist, composer and improviser whose career stretched from the origins of bebop to 21st…
To the world, James Blood Ulmer was a legend, a visionary and a musical force whose sound was distinctive and unique. To his family, he was their teacher, their storyteller and a source of strength.
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With deep sorrow and profound love, we announce the passing of James Blood Ulmer, a boldly innovative guitarist,…
How best to mark Miles Davis’ centennial? By allowing the stories to flow, and cross-discussions to happen.
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Editor’s Note: The iconic trumpeter, composer and bandleader Miles Davis would have turned 100 today (May 26, 2026).…
Clockwise from top left, Mary Halvorson, Patricia Brennan, Adam O’Farrill, Keith Jarrett’s At the Deer Head Inn: The Complete Recordings, Sheila Jordan and Jaki Byard.
Jul 16, 2026 1:34 PM
The DownBeat Critics Poll never ceases to amaze! And the 74th Edition offered plenty of accolades for poll veterans and…
Ibrahim was an early jazz acolyte, studying the music via 78s he would buy from soldiers stationed in South Africa — who also gave him the nickname “Dollar.”
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Pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, the NEA Jazz Master from South Africa who helped fuse the folk music of his home country with…
