Sep 5, 2024 11:51 AM
People, Get Ready: Preparing Jazz Students for That Next Big Step
During the early years of jazz, studying the genre in a college classroom would have seemed absurd. The music was…
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…
“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…
Trombonist Ryan Porter with members of the collective West Coast Get Down at the Los Angeles premiere of Resilience, a new documentary about his life.
Aug 13, 2024 11:31 AM
On a warm June night at the annual Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival, where nearly 18,000 people packed onto the benches of…
