Jan 19, 2026 5:00 PM
Blindfold Test: Melissa Aldana
There’s a new album out from saxophonist Melissa Aldana, Filin (Blue Note), that leans on the gentle side of her…
“Joe Henderson, to me, is what it means to have a huge sound even though we know that his volume was very soft,” Aldana said during her live Blindfold Test.
Jan 19, 2026 5:00 PM
There’s a new album out from saxophonist Melissa Aldana, Filin (Blue Note), that leans on the gentle side of her…
Wolfgang Muthspiel, left, with trio mates Scott Colley and Brian Blade.
Jan 19, 2026 4:50 PM
In its remarkable 56-year history, ECM Records has released more than 1,800 albums by countless artists from around the…
“It’s a positive record for me because I was trying to give some inspiration, more so than anything,” says Dave McMurray of his new album.
Jan 13, 2026 2:03 PM
Detroit saxophonist Dave McMurray still has deeply felt youthful memories of making the pilgrimage to Baker’s…
“That silky tone, the tonal clarity. It’s like hearing a relative’s voice; you know it immediately,” Wilson said of Kenny Burrell.
Dec 30, 2025 1:01 PM
The first-ever live DownBeat Blindfold Test at September’s Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival was also the…
“We started seeing something that’s not completely right, he had a cold, he was crying more,” Sivan said of his baby son’s cancer.
Dec 30, 2025 12:56 PM
Heart Thieves, the new album from guitarist Rotem Sivan, is named well. This lush record, and the moving story behind…
Cha Wa’s album Rise Up makes a joyful noise of redemption and freedom that propels the band on to the world stage.
Dec 16, 2025 2:04 PM
Four years in the making, Rise Up, the latest album from the Afro-Indigenous funk collective Cha Wa, was released on…
Craig Taborn (left), Nels Cline and Marcus Gilmore turn a producer’s pet project into a jam for the ages.
Dec 9, 2025 12:16 PM
The art of the trio is a sturdy yet intimate, changeable and sometimes fragile phenomenon. Triangular geometry has its…
Lee Ritenour, right, with journalist Ashley Kahn, center, and pianist Greg Burk, who translated for the Italian audience.
Dec 9, 2025 12:04 PM
Genial and relaxed at 73, guitarist Lee Ritenour took time while on tour in Europe this summer to participate in his…
“Miles could hear so well that he could hear the future,” Bartz said..
Dec 2, 2025 2:10 AM
Resplendent in a shimmering gold jacket, his long gray locks kissed by the evening breeze, Gary Bartz was floating…
Avishai Cohen, right, with writer Ashley Kahn at the North Sea Jazz Fest.
Nov 25, 2025 1:03 PM
Trumpeter Avishai Cohen’s first Blindfold Test took place in the midst of his summer European tour, on the “Central…
