Aug 8, 2023 12:37 PM
Blindfold Test: Wes Montgomery
Editor’s Note: This classic Blindfold Test by the celebrated jazz journalist Leonard Feather (1914–’94) features…
Montgomery praised guitarist Joe Pass for his tone and phrasing.
Aug 8, 2023 12:37 PM
Editor’s Note: This classic Blindfold Test by the celebrated jazz journalist Leonard Feather (1914–’94) features…
“Bill Stewart has nothing to prove,” Baron says. “I aspire to that ethic.”
Aug 1, 2023 1:22 PM
At 68, Joey Baron has been a lifelong connoisseur of the nuances of groove and melody-oriented drumming. Over his…
“It feels vast, like the ocean and earth and sky conjoined,” Green says of performing solo piano concerts.
Aug 1, 2023 1:11 PM
Benny Green’s 22nd album, Solo (Sunnyside), dropped in May, a month after his 60th birthday. The work documents the…
Claes Brondal (left) with Joe Lovano at the Hamptons Jazz Fest.
Aug 1, 2023 12:26 PM
Eighty miles east of the world’s jazz capital, the tony South Fork Long Island enclave of the Hamptons has long been…
Alice Coltrane enters the Hall of Fame for her groundbreaking contributions to jazz composition and performance, leaving behind an impressive oeuvre of eclectic works and a hallowed legacy.
Jul 27, 2023 2:14 PM
Alice McLeod Coltrane Turiyasangitananda (1937–2007) spent just four years of her life with tenor saxophonist John…
“At this point in my life I’m still looking for the note,” Lloyd says. “But I’m a little nearer.”
Jul 27, 2023 2:06 PM
If, as Charles Lloyd likes to say, “creativity is going to burst at its seams,” then it’s no surprise that the…
“It’s fun to put different people together to play my music,” Halvorson says. “They all take it seriously.”
Jul 27, 2023 1:57 PM
In 2017, Mary Halvorson unpredictably garnered the top guitarist award in DownBeat’s Critics Poll, outpacing…
Thanks to the Emerald City Nights releases, Jamal’s legacy is stronger than ever.
Jul 27, 2023 1:50 PM
When Ahmad Jamal was first approached about releasing some of the recordings made during his many appearances at the…
“I wanted to be like Louis Armstrong,” Bauzá once told DownBeat. “I knew all his solos.”
Jul 27, 2023 1:41 PM
Mario Bauzá (1911–’93) spent much of his distinguished seven-decade career behind the scenes.
Standard jazz…
Welcome in virtually any jazz ensemble, Norvo was a fluent and transcendent product of his own virtuosity, intelligence and integrity.
Jul 27, 2023 1:35 PM
This year the DownBeat Hall of Fame Veterans Committee catches up with the manifold lives of Red Norvo (1908–’99),…
