Sep 7, 2021 11:21 AM
Ches Smith Runs the Vodou Down
Drummer/composer Ches Smith got into Vodou drumming almost by accident. As a graduate student studying music at Mills…
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,…
Michael Dease is the Trombonist of the Year in DownBeat’s 69th Annual Critics Poll.
Aug 27, 2021 2:04 PM
Michael Dease took a circuitous route to discovering his chosen instrument. He started out as an alto saxophonist…
The Rodney Whitaker Septet performs at the 2020 virtual Detroit Jazz Festival.
Aug 27, 2021 1:58 PM
The Detroit Jazz Festival will be delivered virtually, once again, over the Labor Day weekend.
Billed as the largest…
Béla Fleck introduces My Bluegrass Heart.
Aug 27, 2021 1:50 PM
The summer calendar is winding down, but there are some great streaming opportunities for the month of September. Here…
Maria Schneider’s Data Lords was the critics’ pick for Album of the Year.
Aug 24, 2021 12:08 PM
Editor’s Note: This article was written to commemorate Maria Schneider’s CD Data Lords being named Album of the…
Gerald Clayton was named Rising Star Artist of the Year and his trio won Rising Star Jazz Group.
Aug 24, 2021 12:01 PM
Editor’s Note: This article was written to commemorate some of the Rising Star winners in DownBeat’s 69th Annual…
Norah Jones performs live, for the first time since COVID-19, during the JFA Gala on June 30.
Aug 24, 2021 11:57 AM
Midway through the 2021 Jazz Foundation of America Gala on June 30, singer Norah Jones took her seat at the piano, the…
