Mar 18, 2025 2:35 PM
Ben Kono’s Homage to Family
Versatile woodwind artist Ben Kono, a third-generation Japanese American, spent many years as a consummate sideman,…
“This music is really about honoring my forebearers and expressing gratitude to my parents and my grandparents,” Kono says about Voyages.
Mar 18, 2025 2:35 PM
Versatile woodwind artist Ben Kono, a third-generation Japanese American, spent many years as a consummate sideman,…
“Not in a million years, man,” said saxophonist Jeff Coffin about imagining if he’d be inducted into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame. He was last year.
Mar 11, 2025 12:42 PM
If the DownBeat Critics Poll had categories for “most eclectic musician” and “working-est man in show biz,”…
Joel Ross says that Warren Wolf has the best mix of instrumental technique and a deep understanding of multiple types of music.
Mar 11, 2025 12:29 PM
Joel Ross was touring Europe last summer with his group Good Vibes in support of his new Blue Note album, Nublues. On…
As Ted Nash, left, departs the alto saxophone chair for LCJO, Alexa Tarantino steps in as the band’s first female full-time member.
Mar 4, 2025 1:29 PM
If only because openings for JLCO’s 15 permanent positions appear about as frequently as sub-freezing days on the…
“You’ve got to trust that inner child, keep exploring, even though people think it’s wrong,” says Fortner.
Feb 25, 2025 11:20 AM
Every week at the Village Vanguard fosters its own sound. No one really knows how the music might evolve by Sunday, but…
“Our planet is crying, and we have to wake up, and we have to do more,” says T.K. Blue.
Feb 25, 2025 11:01 AM
On pianist Abdullah Ibrahim’s landmark 1977 album The Journey (Chiaroscuro), a then-unknown alto saxophonist and…
“I love the touch, the sound, the harmonic progressions, the groove from beginning to end,” Alfredo Rodríguez said of Hank Jones.
Feb 18, 2025 1:56 PM
“I’ve looked to be global for a long time,” Alfredo Rodríguez told DownBeat in 2020. “I like to explore music…
“If you don’t keep learning, your mind slows down,” Coleman says. “Use it or lose it.”
Jan 28, 2025 11:38 AM
PolyTropos/Of Many Turns — the title for Steve Coleman’s latest recording on Pi and his 33rd album overall —…
“The first recording I owned with Brazilian music on it was Wayne Shorter’s Native Dancer,” says Renee Rosnes. “And then I just started to go down the rabbit hole.”
Jan 16, 2025 2:02 PM
In her four-decade career, Renee Rosnes has been recognized as a singular voice, both as a jazz composer and a…
“I’m a composer who needs a deadline and a project — a recording or a gig — to really start actively writing,” says Ryan Keberle.
Jan 16, 2025 1:38 PM
The remarkably productive, restlessly creative trombonist, keyboardist, composer and educator Ryan Keberle recently…
