Aug 29, 2023 11:41 AM
Blindfold Test: Christian McBride
Christian McBride turned 51 this May 31 and is still pushing far beyond what many might consider conventional career…
Christian McBride and writer Ashley Kahn meet for a DownBeat Blindfold Test hosted by New York University’s Jazz Studies program.
Aug 29, 2023 11:41 AM
Christian McBride turned 51 this May 31 and is still pushing far beyond what many might consider conventional career…
“There is a bit of a theme — that it’s a sense of optimism and a sense of togetherness,” bassist Nick Blacka says of the new GoGo Penguin album.
Aug 15, 2023 12:11 PM
Samuel Clemens once said, “What is joy without sorrow? What is success without failure? What is a win without a loss?…
Montgomery praised guitarist Joe Pass for his tone and phrasing.
Aug 8, 2023 12:37 PM
Editor’s Note: This classic Blindfold Test by the celebrated jazz journalist Leonard Feather (1914–’94) features…
“Bill Stewart has nothing to prove,” Baron says. “I aspire to that ethic.”
Aug 1, 2023 1:22 PM
At 68, Joey Baron has been a lifelong connoisseur of the nuances of groove and melody-oriented drumming. Over his…
“It felt like my people were right there in Harlem,” Jacques Schwarz-Bart said of the muse for his latest recording.
Jul 18, 2023 2:07 PM
Five years ago, Jacques Schwarz-Bart moved away from Harlem, where he had come into his own as a tenor saxophonist,…
Shakti celebrates its 50th anniversary with a new album and tour.
Jul 11, 2023 12:52 PM
There was a moment in 2017, following what was billed as his farewell tour in the States, that guitar avatar John…
Arturo O’Farrill said his latest album “is about all of our legacies. This music is really from Mother Africa.”
Jul 11, 2023 12:45 PM
The cover of Arturo O’Farrill’s new trio album, Legacies (Blue Note), shows a 12-year-old O’Farrill sitting on…
Lewis said that performing live is “an act of vulnerability since playing a show is being in the moment forever.”
Jul 5, 2023 2:55 PM
“I’m constantly searching and pushing,” New York-based saxophonist and composer James Brandon Lewis says. “I…
“I’ve known these songs all my life, but I saw that there wasn’t enough attention on the older music,” Mahal says.
Jun 27, 2023 1:03 PM
It may come as a surprise to find that the artist known as Taj Mahal — born Henry Fredericks Jr. — has officially…
“We actually had days where we did three songs in one day. It was just pow, pow, pow,” Jones said of the five-day recording session.
Jun 20, 2023 2:42 PM
Rickie Lee Jones has a credo that she’s lived by all her life: shouting her name out while zigzagging through musical…
