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…
In celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month, XM radio will offer a unique programming schedule in April to pay tribute to the art form.
XM’s celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month will feature popular jazz artists of today, and honor some of the genre’s pioneers and legends. Highlights of the special lineup include a concert performance by Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis, special day-long musical tributes to jazz greats and weekly broadcasts of live concert performances, among other highlights.
The “Willie Sings The Blues” concert performance with Nelson and Marsalis premieres April 6 on Real Jazz (XM 70), with encore airings on April 7 and 8.
The music of Stanley Turrentine, Billie Holiday, Herbie Hancock, Lionel Hampton, Charles Mingus, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Percy Heath and others can be heard on the station throughout the month.
For more information, visit: www.xmradio.com/jazzmonth
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.
Jun 9, 2026 10:54 AM
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.
May 26, 2026 10:40 AM
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.”
Jun 30, 2026 3:19 PM
Pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, the NEA Jazz Master from South Africa who helped fuse the folk music of his home country with…
