Mar 18, 2025 2:35 PM
Ben Kono’s Homage to Family
Versatile woodwind artist Ben Kono, a third-generation Japanese American, spent many years as a consummate sideman,…
“This music is really about honoring my forebearers and expressing gratitude to my parents and my grandparents,” Kono says about Voyages.
Mar 18, 2025 2:35 PM
Versatile woodwind artist Ben Kono, a third-generation Japanese American, spent many years as a consummate sideman,…
“I attribute the jazz elements to my upbringing in the Black American classical pedagogy, to my grandparents Kenny and Joanne Barron,” says NIKARA.
Mar 18, 2025 2:23 PM
Brooklyn is indisputably a power spot in the musical universe, especially in terms of its contributions to jazz, R&B,…
“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
On October 23, Ted Nash – having toured the world playing alto, soprano and tenor saxophone, clarinet and bass…
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…
