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…
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…
In addition to his instrumental prowess, Malone was praised for his musical generosity and his singular sense of humor.
Aug 27, 2024 12:09 PM
Guitarist and bandleader Russell Malone died Aug. 23, while on tour in Japan, after battling end-stage kidney failure.…
“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…
Béla Fleck will perform in a trio with Edmar Castañeda and Antonio Sanchez at New York’s Blue Note in September.
Aug 27, 2024 11:20 AM
Banjo player Béla Fleck, harpist Edmar Castañeda and drummer Antonio Sanchez will make their world premiere as a trio…
