​George Freeman, shown here at Chicago’s Green Mill, performed well into his 90s.

“The NDR Bigband is truly an ensemble for our times,” said Nikki Iles, principal conductor for the 2025–’26 season.

“It’s an honor and a blessing to be in this universe with Mr. Smith,” said Vijay Iyer, left, of Wadada Leo Smith, right, at the March 20 release party for their latest duo recording, Defiant Life (ECM).

“In terms of what a singer is capable of making you feel, she is as good as it gets,” Cavassa said of Mahalia Jackson during a live Blindfold Test with DB’s Frank Alkyer.

The 47th Kennedy Center Honors featured a stellar group including The Grateful Dead, film director Francis Ford Coppola, Arturo Sandoval, Bonnie Raitt and The Apollo Theater. Will future Honors uphold these standards?

Tommy Castro & The Painkillers

“I love the fact that when some people think about my music they think of it as joyous, but there is darkness inside,” Anat Cohen says. “We are complex humans.”

A recent batch of great jazz from today’s most caliente Latin artists, clockwise from top left: Zaccai Curtis, Salsa de la Bahia, Melfis Santa, Leiba Trio, Duduka Da Fonseca Trio, Hamilton De Holanda & Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Diego Figueiredo and The John Santos Sextet & Friends.

“It sounds together, there’s nothing random, yet hardly anything was said,” saxophonist Ohad Talmor said of Back To The Land.

“Why, being a classically trained musician, do I have to only play the obvious themes?” asks Kristin Lee.