Sep 21, 2021 11:33 AM
Ledisi: Lifted by Nina
Thirteen might be an unfortunate number for some, but for multihyphenate vocalist Ledisi, it proved to be verifiably…
Ledisi takes on the challenge of singing the music of Nina Simone and making it her own.
Sep 21, 2021 11:33 AM
Thirteen might be an unfortunate number for some, but for multihyphenate vocalist Ledisi, it proved to be verifiably…
Ravi Coltrane says that Orrin Evans, above, “can reach that spirit.”
Sep 21, 2021 11:27 AM
On an early summer night in newly vaccinated New York, the Blue Note was packed with cheering clubgoers. And pianist…
University of Kentucky’s Miles Osland rehearses his band in accordance with COVID protocols.
Sep 21, 2021 11:19 AM
Since mid-March 2020, the COVID pandemic has altered the landscape of jazz education at universities and colleges…
Juilliard’s Aaron Flagg
Sep 21, 2021 11:12 AM
The return of students to college campuses around the New York City area, the mecca of jazz, comes on the heels of an…
Sep 21, 2021 11:08 AM
One of the clear victories for jazz is in the field of education. Many predominantly white institutions of higher…
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,…
