Aug 26, 2025 1:53 PM
Blindfold Test: Buster Williams
Buster Williams, who at the age of 83 has been on the scene for 65 years, had never done a Blindfold Test. The first…
Ken Nordine, a spoken-word and voiceover artist strongly influenced by jazz, died on Feb. 16 in Chicago. He was 98. The news of his passing was posted by Chicago public radio station WBEZ, where Nordine hosted a show for more than 40 years.
Generations of fans could recognize the distinctive sound of Nordine’s baritone voice, which he employed as the host of a unique radio show titled Word Jazz. On the WBEZ program, Nordine would deliver creative verbal riffs and merge them with sound effects.
He was twice nominated for a Grammy. His album Stare With Your Ears (1979) was among the recordings nominated in the Grammy category Best Spoken Word, Documentary or Drama Recording. His album Devout Catalyst (1992) was nominated in the category Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Album. Nordine’s collaborators on the latter album included musicians Jerry Garcia, Tom Waits, David Grisman and Howard Levy.
Nordine’s discography includes a series of “Word Jazz” albums and a 2005 DVD, The Eye Is Never Filled: Word Jazz In Morphing Pictures.
Among the other artists with whom Nordine collaborated is Laurie Anderson, who considers him a key influence on her performance art.
Early in his career, he briefly hosted a program (on another Chicago radio station, WBBM) titled Nordine Now, on which he interviewed Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and other musicians.
Nordine also did voiceover work for movie trailers and radio advertisements.
Nordine was born in Cherokee, Iowa, and grew up in Chicago.
Survivors include three children, 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. DB
“What I got from Percy was the dignity of playing the bass,” Buster Williams said of Percy Heath.
Aug 26, 2025 1:53 PM
Buster Williams, who at the age of 83 has been on the scene for 65 years, had never done a Blindfold Test. The first…
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…
The Free Slave, Cosmos Nucleus and Sunset To Dawn: three classic Muse albums being reissued this fall by Timer Traveler Recordings.
Aug 26, 2025 1:32 PM
Record producer and “Jazz Detective” Zev Feldman has launched his next endeavor, the archival label Time Traveler…
Butcher Brown, clockwise from top left: Marcus Tenney, DJ Harrison, Morgan Burrs, Corey Fonville and Andrew Randazzo. (Keyboardist Harrison couldn’t make the gig, so special guest Jacob Mann sat in with the band at the Reno Jazz Festival.)
Aug 19, 2025 12:41 PM
The band known as Butcher Brown has enjoyed the last half-decade basking in the glow from the twin engines of critical…
This year’s Jazz em Agosto set by the Darius Jones Trio captured the titular alto saxophonist at his most ferocious.
Aug 26, 2025 1:31 PM
The organizers of Lisbon, Portugal’s Jazz em Agosto Festival assume its audience is thoughtful and independent. Over…
