Sep 5, 2024 12:20 PM
Where to Study Jazz 2025
The road we call jazz can take you anywhere — from your quiet hometown to the grandest stages of the world; from…
Students jam at The New School in New York.
Sep 5, 2024 12:20 PM
The road we call jazz can take you anywhere — from your quiet hometown to the grandest stages of the world; from…
A career in music isn’t just playing onstage. These four professionals prove it, from left: Jody Espina, JodyJazz Mouthpieces; publicist Lydia Liebman; producer and manager Matt Pierson with Samara Joy and Pasquale Grasso; Sunny Sumter, DC Jazz Festival.
Sep 5, 2024 12:08 PM
Beyond performing and teaching, what can one do with a music degree? Plenty.
From festival presentation, album…
Ryan Middagh, at piano, leads class at Vanderbilt.
Sep 5, 2024 12:04 PM
High school seniors interested in studying jazz at the collegiate level have undoubtedly begun investigating a variety…
From left, jazz educators Jay Sweet, Jason Goldman and Ingrid Jensen offer valuable audition tips.
Sep 5, 2024 11:51 AM
During the early years of jazz, studying the genre in a college classroom would have seemed absurd. The music was…
“I don’t focus on the harshness of the music business,” Lloyd says. “I focus on the profundity of what we’re doing because that’s the real stuff. You can change the world with that.”
Sep 4, 2024 1:29 PM
“To get this honor at this late stage, I suppose I’m blessed. I just know that this is a sacred song, and I’m in…
The Sullivan Fortner Trio, from left, Fortner, Tyrone Allen and Kayvon Gordon.
Sep 4, 2024 1:26 PM
As a pianist, Sullivan Fortner is a master at shifting gears. He spent years as a key member of trumpeter Roy…
“I had to play the music I loved with the people I wanted to play it with,” said Bloom. “Nothing would stop me.”
Sep 4, 2024 1:09 PM
When DownBeat last profiled Jane Ira Bloom in August 2017, the soprano saxophonist was at the start of her ongoing…
“Just because I’m at the organ doesn’t mean I have to fall into the predictable traditional approach to the instrument,” says Goldings.
Sep 4, 2024 1:07 PM
A funny thing happened to Larry Goldings on his way to pursuing a career as a jazz pianist: He became a jazz organ…
“He would always call me his grandson,” Whitaker says of the late Dr. Lonnie Smith. Smith’s personal assistant sent Whitaker one of the master’s B-3s after he died in 2021.
Aug 27, 2024 11:46 AM
At the close of 2021, Matthew Whitaker faced a glut of options. Having met with his management team to discuss ideas…
Saxophonist Greg Ward, left, gets a lesson in how to wear the blindfold before journalist Michael Jackson administers the test.
Aug 27, 2024 11:33 AM
Alto saxophonist Greg Ward’s win in this year’s Critics Poll Rising Star category, at age 42, was a long time…
