Nov 28, 2023 11:28 AM
Roberto Fonseca’s Nostalgic Truth
Ever the trouper, Roberto Fonseca was gamely persevering amid the frequent breakdowns on a late-summer Zoom call from…
“This is not an album for dancing,” Fonseca says about his new recording, La Gran Diversión. “But if you want to move, to dance, you’re welcome.”
Nov 28, 2023 11:28 AM
Ever the trouper, Roberto Fonseca was gamely persevering amid the frequent breakdowns on a late-summer Zoom call from…
Naya Baaz is guitarist Rez Abbasi, left, and sitarist Josh Feinberg.
Nov 28, 2023 11:21 AM
Since moving to New York City in 1987, veteran guitarist-composer Rez Abbasi has been a boundary-pushing presence on…
Nov 22, 2023 12:45 PM
The DownBeat Readers have spoken. And the results are vast! With 36 categories and hundreds upon hundreds of albums and…
“[Pharoah] was on a level close to Trane with that kind of openness and ferocity,” said former bandmate Tisziji Munñoz.
Nov 22, 2023 12:43 PM
The moment happened on a cloudy September evening in Los Angeles, in darkness around the neon-lit outline of the…
“I worked in a factory for a year, saving up money so I could study music in college,” said Wayne Shorter about his humble beginnings.
Nov 22, 2023 12:42 PM
With Wayne Shorter’s passing on March 2, the readers of DownBeat wanted to honor him one more time by naming him…
Artemis is, from left, Allison Miller, Ingrid Jensen, Renee Rosnes, Nicole Glover, Alexa Tarantino and Noriko Ueda.
Nov 22, 2023 12:41 PM
In some ways, it’s hard to believe that Artemis is only 6 years old. Not just for the group’s rapid ascent into the…
Nov 22, 2023 12:33 PM
Samara Joy’s Linger Awhile topped a daunting list of amazing music.
Samara Joy, Linger Awhile (VERVE) … 1,910
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Nov 22, 2023 12:32 PM
Ahmad Jamal’s Emerald City Nights took top honors in the Historical Album category, as it did in the 2023 Critics…
“The idea of joy was really important,” says Souza in the wake of the pandemic and the toppling of Brazil’s authoritarian regime.
Nov 14, 2023 11:14 AM
Just when it feels like the darkened clouds are bearing down with ominous portends, when it feels that the music has…
“We play traditional rhythms, but the nature of the traditional rhythms is that there’s improvisation and a lot of room for expression,” Santos says of his music.
Nov 14, 2023 11:09 AM
Working from his self-described “mansion” in Oakland, California, John Santos is surrounded by the things he loves…