Blank For.ms, Marcus Gilmore and Jason Moran discuss their new release, Shards.
Blank For.ms, Marcus Gilmore & Jason Moran: The Loops That Bind
Perhaps the most interesting thing about the concept of a loop is that it is a line that connects to itself. What once had a beginning and an end now has neither; a cycle of consecutive events that swirls inexorably to infinity, each…
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Charles Lloyd, seen here at the 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, makes DownBeat Poll history!
Charles Lloyd Sweeps the 72nd Annual DownBeat Critics Poll
The incomparable Charles Lloyd swept the 72nd Annual DownBeat Critics Poll, becoming the first artist ever to earn honors for Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Tenor Saxophonist of the Year as well as be voted into the DownBeat Hall of Fame. At 87, Lloyd remains at the top of his artistic game.
The critics also named Immanuel Wilkins, who’s 26, the Jazz Group of the Year and Alto Saxophonist of the Year.…
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With deep sorrow and profound love, we announce the passing of James Blood Ulmer, a boldly innovative guitarist, singer, composer and beloved family member. James died peacefully…
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Is it weird that so much of the most forward-looking jazz being made in Brooklyn is being released on a label based in Richmond, Virginia? Perhaps, but it’s undeniably the case.…
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When Connor Bernhard first walked into a photo shoot, there was a bit of skepticism. There hasn’t been a flame-haired trumpet star since Red Rodney or Brad Goode (who’s still…
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NEWS
This July, North Sea Jazz — officially known as NN North Sea Jazz Festival — joins the elite club of jazz festivals that have crossed the half-century mark. In some sense, it’s almost surprising that the fest hasn’t already achieved that milestone, having long been considered an anchoring centerpiece of the…
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NEWS
With Frank Malfitano, founder of the Syracuse Jazz Festival, conversations don’t go in straight lines. They twist and turn, head down unexpected paths and roads less traveled, much like the music he has been presenting to his hometown for the past 40 years.
Energetic and thoughtful, Malfitano defies his 80 years…
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NEWS
When “international” is used in the name of a jazz festival, it’s typically to indicate the geographic origins of the talent being presented. But in the case of the three-city San Diego Tijuana International Jazz Festival (SDTJ Jazz), it’s also indicative of geography.
“I think that being on the border is…
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NEWS
In preparation for this year’s jazz festival season, DownBeat brings you a detailed preview of the best fests scheduled to take place in the months to come. Be sure to check for festivals happening in your area — be it East, West, South or Midwest regions of the U.S. and Canada, or International locations in…
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BY Michael J. West
That the musicians on this new recording from Joe Lovano can maintain such exquisite sensitivity in their interactions, even while all four of them are practically bursting with creative energy, tells what kind of mastery we’re dealing with here. But…
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BY Frank Alkyer
Pianist Emmet Cohen has always been the quintessential old soul, dipping back into the history of classic jazz tunes, heaping hero worship on the generations of artists who came before him and cheerleading for the generation coming up behind him. On the…
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BY Ed Enright
Remy and Pascal Le Boeuf, twin brothers from Santa Cruz who have teamed up to release six albums that embrace their jazz upbringing and venture bravely into contemporary classical and indie-rock realms, are currently at the top of their game as composers,…
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BY Michael J. West
Beto Paciello plays piano on The Stoic Suite; mysteriously, he’s all but uncredited for it anywhere on the album package. Perhaps the relatively unknown Brazilian wants to play up the caliber of his collaborators: John Patitucci, John Ellis, Rogerio and…
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BY Frank Alkyer
Wolfgang Muthspiel has been plying his creativity at the guitar for a dedicated, long time in nearly a dozen configurations as a leader — everything from solo works to big band extravaganzas to trio settings, especially trio settings. There’s his work…
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BY Ed Enright
We’re super fortunate that this three-LP vinyl set consisting of previously unreleased material recorded live at the 1975 Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival in France was released earlier this month as a limited-edition Record Store Day “First.” Freddie…
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Positive Grid has introduced the Reactor Intelligent Guitar Amplifier, a 1- by 12-inch electric guitar combo amplifier. Reactor is powered by Amp Intelligence, a new type of sound engine that builds guitar tone on demand. It lets players go from idea to a finished, playable sound in seconds.…
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The GP-ICON-PEDALBAG from Gator Cases’ Drum Series accommodates two single pedals or one double pedal with linkage, with an adjustable interior divider to keep different configurations secure and prevent contact between pedals. The bag’s 1000D nylon exterior, combined with a hard structural…
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 Cory Wong
Cory Wong has just joined the lineup, setting up a powerhouse roster for Sunday alongside Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue. Patti LaBelle commands Saturday night, and Friday ignites with Zapp Ft. Tuxedo. Jazz heavyweights abound: Lakecia Benjamin, Gretchen Parlato with Mark Guiliana and Alan Hampton, Javon Jackson with Nnenna Freelon and Charles McPherson, Bria Skonberg, Cyrus Chestnut, New Jazz Underground, Mike Clark & His Post-Boptet and Marcus Shelby Nonet with “Birth of the Cool Revisited,” an exploration of Miles Davis’ era-defining 1949 recordings in celebration of his centennial year. Three days of extraordinary music across 8 walkable stages in the heart of San Jose’s vibrant downtown — the perfect late-summer weekend and an incredible value. 3-Day Passes and hotel deals available at summerfest.sanjosejazz.org.
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by John S. Wilson // October/6/1950
The efforts of such groups as the George Shearing quintet and the Bird-with-strings combo to wean the public to bop by offering it in a commercialized form is producing the opposite effect, according to pianist Lennie Tristano. Lennie, one of jazz’s most adamant iconoclasts, says such efforts are killing off the potential jazz audience and…
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