Jan 22, 2019 9:00 AM
Makaya McCraven’s ‘Distillation of Ideas’
Makaya McCraven uses various means to create and redirect energy, as evidenced on his latest album, Universal Beings…
Seeing guitarist Jeff Parker perform sparked new ideas for drummer Makaya McCraven.
Jan 22, 2019 9:00 AM
Makaya McCraven uses various means to create and redirect energy, as evidenced on his latest album, Universal Beings…
Karen Sharp’s latest album was recorded in a single day.
Jan 21, 2019 9:00 AM
Michelle Obama probably wasn’t speaking to alto and soprano saxophonists as she declared, “When they go low, we go…
A promotional video for Nate Smith’s solo drum collection Pocket Change describes it as an assortment of “beats, breaks and excursions.”
Jan 17, 2019 9:00 AM
Nate Smith’s solo drum suite, Pocket Change, marks the 44-year-old drummer’s second response to a question he asked…
Javon Jackson’s latest album is titled For You.
Jan 14, 2019 9:00 AM
Saxophonist Javon Jackson’s latest album—For You, a self-assured post-bop statement released on his own label,…
Pianist Joey Calderazzo, who has a new leader album, frequently has collaborated with saxophonist Branford Marsalis.
Jan 11, 2019 9:00 AM
For his new album, Joey Calderazzo aimed to capture the spontaneity of a concert in a renowned club. “I love studio…
Jonathan Scales carves out a space in the jazz world for his instrument on his latest album, Pillar (Ropeadope).
Jan 9, 2019 9:00 AM
Béla Fleck knows a thing or two about establishing an identity in the jazz world while playing an unusual instrument.…
Ambrose Akinmusire and Kris Davis perform in New York at Vision Festival, which ran May 23–28. Akinmusire’s Origami Harvest earned a 5-star rating in DownBeat during 2018.
Dec 28, 2018 9:00 AM
The list below is a round-up of the 5-star, 4.5-star and 4-star reviews that ran in print editions of DownBeat during…
Drummer Billy Martin (left), keyboardist John Medeski and bassist Chris Wood all have recording projects outside of their trio.
Dec 21, 2018 9:00 AM
Medeski Martin & Wood’s new album offers a summation of the group’s purpose three decades into its unconventional…
Joel Ross (left), Harish Raghavan, Matthew Stevens, Walter Smith III and Marcus Gilmore have a new album on Whirlwind.
Dec 18, 2018 9:00 AM
In Common, a newly formed quintet, had only a day-and-a-half to record its debut album. So, the co-leaders—tenor…
Recordings that make up Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions sat in a Long Island home, untouched, for decades.
Dec 17, 2018 9:00 AM
Whether he was wielding his alto saxophone, flute or bass clarinet, Eric Dolphy was a godsend to the cadre of musicians…
