Mar 11, 2025 12:42 PM
Jeff Coffin: The Working-est Man in Show Biz
If the DownBeat Critics Poll had categories for “most eclectic musician” and “working-est man in show biz,”…
“Not in a million years, man,” said saxophonist Jeff Coffin about imagining if he’d be inducted into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame. He was last year.
Mar 11, 2025 12:42 PM
If the DownBeat Critics Poll had categories for “most eclectic musician” and “working-est man in show biz,”…
Joel Ross says that Warren Wolf has the best mix of instrumental technique and a deep understanding of multiple types of music.
Mar 11, 2025 12:29 PM
Joel Ross was touring Europe last summer with his group Good Vibes in support of his new Blue Note album, Nublues. On…
Ayers began to play the vibraphone at age 5 after seeing a performance by Lionel Hampton, who gave him a pair of vibraphone mallets.
Mar 11, 2025 12:26 PM
Vibraphonist and composer Roy Ayers, whose soul-driven, electrified approach influenced generations of R&B-adjacent…
Green rose to prominence in the 1960s, performing with jazz greats such as Charles Mingus, Sonny Stitt and Elvin Jones.
Mar 11, 2025 12:14 PM
Vernice “Bunky” Green, the trailblazing alto saxophonist, composer and educator, passed away on March 1 at age 91.…
As Ted Nash, left, departs the alto saxophone chair for LCJO, Alexa Tarantino steps in as the band’s first female full-time member.
Mar 4, 2025 1:29 PM
If only because openings for JLCO’s 15 permanent positions appear about as frequently as sub-freezing days on the…
The decision to stick to just piano and saxophone gives Just Us a flavor unlike any recording Bob James (left) or Dave Koz has ever done.
Mar 4, 2025 1:21 PM
Contemporary jazz icons Bob James and Dave Koz will be touring the U.S. together this spring as a piano-and-saxophone…
“While most organists would play with three drawbars out, he would pull the fourth one out, too — a little bit of a brighter sound,” Charette says of Jack McDuff.
Mar 4, 2025 12:57 PM
On the back cover of his latest album, organist Brian Charette is pictured crouching in a kung fu fighting stance.…
Malika Tirolien captivated listeners with her “HighSoul” sound — a singular mix of soul, jazz, R&B and hip-hop.
Mar 4, 2025 12:48 PM
Montrealers are hard-core music lovers. Not even a heavy snowstorm kept them from packing the Cinquième Salle at Place…
“You’ve got to trust that inner child, keep exploring, even though people think it’s wrong,” says Fortner.
Feb 25, 2025 11:20 AM
Every week at the Village Vanguard fosters its own sound. No one really knows how the music might evolve by Sunday, but…
“Our planet is crying, and we have to wake up, and we have to do more,” says T.K. Blue.
Feb 25, 2025 11:01 AM
On pianist Abdullah Ibrahim’s landmark 1977 album The Journey (Chiaroscuro), a then-unknown alto saxophonist and…