Sep 5, 2024 12:04 PM
The Jazz School Life: What Incoming College Freshmen Can Expect Upon Arrival
High school seniors interested in studying jazz at the collegiate level have undoubtedly begun investigating a variety…
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…
“We do have a lot of differences, but we are much more similar than different,” says Lee. “I really truly believe that my very personal story can reach out to and appeal to a lot of people.”
Aug 20, 2024 10:40 AM
Jihye Lee joins the growing ranks of young, tradition-respecting and medium-rethinking big band leaders, blessed with a…
“Given a good support system, each artist has the potential to be more than just a performer, but an ambassador of hope,” says Louis Marks, left, ropeadope CEO, with Fabian Brown, president.
Aug 20, 2024 10:35 AM
On the index of jazz record labels bearing fitting and poetically resonant names, we might readily cite such historic…
