The crowds were as welcome a sight as the diverse lineup of artists who appeared on the 19th annual D.C. Jazz Festival’s multiple stages.
Sep 14, 2021 11:54 AM
It was weeks off its usual schedule, cut back to a single weekend, yet the D.C. Jazz Festival, which held its 19th…
Herbie Hancock, and his keytar, drew standing ovations during his Chicago homecoming concert.
Sep 14, 2021 11:32 AM
As Herbie Hancock demonstrated in his recent return to performance, he is a musician of multitudes. The youthful…
Briscoe, right, with Instrumentalist/producer Eric Tait and vocalist Liz Wright in 2011.
Sep 14, 2021 11:25 AM
Thurston Briscoe, a former radio producer at NPR in Washington, D.C., and executive at WBGO in Newark, New Jersey, who…
Ron Carter will perform at the Jamaica Center on Oct. 2.
Sep 14, 2021 11:16 AM
Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning will commemorate its 50th anniversary season with a residency by acclaimed…
Brian Bromberg
Sep 7, 2021 11:25 AM
Brian Bromberg, Arizona-born but long California-based, has often resided in smooth jazz circles. But the bassist, now…
Ches Smith (center, seated), with the cross-cultural octet We All Break, explores his fascination with Vodou drumming on Path Of Seven Colors.
Sep 7, 2021 11:21 AM
Drummer/composer Ches Smith got into Vodou drumming almost by accident. As a graduate student studying music at Mills…
Joy’s heroes range from Cécile McLorin Salvant, Jazzmeia Horn and H.E.R., to Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan.
Sep 7, 2021 10:51 AM
Samara Joy is a self-possessed, deeply emotive vocalist, with power that usually takes a lot of living to master. But…
Ikonen combines his artistic creativity with a curiosity that led to inventing the Maqiano, a device that creates microtonal effects on an acoustic piano.
Sep 7, 2021 10:46 AM
In a stylish Helsinki apartment with high-vaulted windows that ushered in the sunlight from the auroral Scandinavian…
Corea was named Artist, Pianist and Keyboardist of the Year for the final time in the 69th Annual DownBeat Critics Poll.
Aug 27, 2021 2:14 PM
Editor’s Note: This article is from the August 2021 DownBeat Critics Poll issue.
At the time of this writing,…
Michael Dease is the Trombonist of the Year in DownBeat’s 69th Annual Critics Poll.
Aug 27, 2021 2:04 PM
Michael Dease took a circuitous route to discovering his chosen instrument. He started out as an alto saxophonist…
