Phillip Lutz's Entries Authors

Phillip Lutz

Phillip Lutz's news entries:

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    “I like to think of composition, especially in jazz, as setting up a system of constraints and finding the freedom within those constraints,” said pianist Dan Tepfer, shown here with saxophonist Ben Wendel.

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    “Branford’s playing has steadily improved,” says younger brother Wynton Marsalis. “He’s just gotten more and more serious.”

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    “It’s my hope that this song cycle brings about a sense of connection and shared experience,” says Rondi Charleston about her new project with Fred Hersch.

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    Saxophonist ​Javon Jackson and bassist Danton Boller at Louis Armstrong Center’s Jazz Room on March 1.

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    “It’s an honor and a blessing to be in this universe with Mr. Smith,” said Vijay Iyer, left, of Wadada Leo Smith, right, at the March 20 release party for their latest duo recording, Defiant Life (ECM).

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    Defiance aptly described the shared stance of Amirtha Kidambi (left) and Maria Grand.

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    Martial Solal performing at the Village Vanguard after his 80th birthday in 2007.

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    Golden City mixes instrumental colors, rhythmic schemes and textural elements.

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    John McLaughlin likened his love for the guitar to the emotion he expressed 71 years ago upon receiving his first one. “It’s the same to this day,” he said.

    Nov 12, 2024 12:49 PM

    John McLaughlin — Hall of Fame

    In the aftermath of World War II, the deprivations felt throughout the United Kingdom were particularly acute in John…

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    ​Bill Charlap with trio mates Kenny Washington, left, and Peter Washington, right.

    Oct 22, 2024 11:20 AM

    Bill Charlap’s Inner Rebel

    Hunched over a round table in the Algonquin Hotel — where, a century ago, New York’s reigning wits famously…

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    “It locked together 20 years of all that I’ve been looking for,” Ryan Truesdell says of his compositional contribution to Synthesis: The String Quartet Sessions.

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    Etienne Charles and his Creole Orchestra drew liberally on sources beyond the Trinidad native’s comfort zone.

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    “I had total confidence and trust that they were brilliant musicians and would come up with something amazing, which they did,” Harris said of his Blackout band members after their AI-enriched performance at Harlem’s Victoria Theater on Feb. 18.

    May 29, 2024 1:03 PM

    Stefon Harris Dives Into the Future

    Seated on steeply inclined risers and packed in like sardines, a community of concertgoers gazes down expectantly, if…

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    Pops at home in Corona, Queens.

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    “This is not an album for dancing,” Fonseca says about his new recording, La Gran Diversión. “But if you want to move, to dance, you’re welcome.”

    Nov 28, 2023 12:40 PM

    Roberto Fonseca’s Nostalgic Truth

    Ever the trouper, Roberto Fonseca was gamely persevering amid the frequent breakdowns on a late-summer Zoom call from…

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    Sumi Tonooka (left) and Jen Shyu perform at the Jazz Gallery on Nov. 5.

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    Bennett had a wealth of material to draw upon, and he had a direct association with much of it.

    Oct 31, 2023 2:10 PM

    Goodbye, Mr. Bennett: A Tribute

    Perhaps no interpreter of American popular song had as long and distinguished a career as Tony Bennett. Yet in his…

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    Parks has battled and triumphantly come back from bouts of manic behavior that left him “getting pretty abstract,” he said, to the point that he had to cancel a tour and seek help.

    Dec 12, 2023 9:52 AM

    Aaron Parks: Back from the Edge

    On a steamy midsummer night in New York, Aaron Parks cut a solitary figure as he lingered in the cool semi-darkness of…

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    “At this point in my life I’m still looking for the note,” Lloyd says. “But I’m a little nearer.”

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    Henry Threadgill set a high bar for collective creation in the service of an individual identity

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    ​Wayne Shorter: 1933–2023

    May 9, 2023 12:43 PM

    The Newark Flash

    By the time the so-called riots of 1967 engulfed Wayne Shorter’s native Newark, New Jersey, the saxophonist had…

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    Chambers’ latest recording features some serendipitous, international flair.

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    “We try to tell the story of where we come from as a way of navigating where we’re going next,” Charles said.

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    Linda May Han Oh (left) and Jen Shyu perform at the Asia Society in New York on Jan. 12.

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    Calvin Johnson appealed to listeners suffering from dementia during his Lincoln Center Moments program in December.

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    Charlap crafted an object lesson in how to mine memory to elicit emotion, marry it to intellect and temper it with humor to yield a potent experience.

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    Nils Winther says he has recorded more than 1,000 albums for his Denmark-based SteepleChase label.

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    For someone named Guitarist of the Year in the 2022 DownBeat Readers Poll, Pat Metheny has a complicated relationship with his instrument.

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    “We’re the hip-hop generation, so you’re going to hear those influences,” says Corey Fonville of Butcher Brown.

    Oct 25, 2022 1:30 PM

    Butcher Brown’s Organic Big Band

    Horn player and rapper Marcus “Tennishu” Tenney is emphatic that the latest Butcher Brown album came up “from the…

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    Idolatry has become a fact of life for the saxophonist, flutist, NEA Jazz Master and self-described dreamer.

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    Gunther Schuller, founder of NEC’s Third Stream department, now known as Contemporary Musical Arts.

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    The Marvels, from left: Bill Frisell, Eric Harland, Charles Lloyd, Reuben Rogers and Greg Leisz.

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    “I value musicians who really appreciate not playing and listening and waiting for the right moment to make their entrance,” Schneider said.

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    ​Aldana has acquired a reputation for intense commitment to her instrument.

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    “I don’t want people on my bandstand counting measures,” Malinverni said.

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    “I always have this feeling of emptiness after I play a concert,” Aldana said. “This has been for years. Sometimes I can easily cry, and there’s nothing wrong.”

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    Jaap van Zweden said, “The open minds of the orchestra members are amazing. The soul of the city comes out of these people. It feels very natural.”

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    John Zorn leads a game of COBRA at a benefit for Ukraine held April 1 at Roulette in New York.

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    “In many ways, truth has been stranger than fiction, and that is what I have been feeling,” Gordon says.

    Mar 29, 2022 2:20 PM

    Jon Gordon: Strange Truths

    As a young boy living amid poverty and dysfunction in a home on Staten Island, Jon Gordon clung to the thought that the…

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    Henry Cole has released the sprawling new album Buscando La Vida.

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    Vadim Neselovskyi performs in Lviv, Ukraine, in 2017.

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    The Fred Hersch Trio playing at the Jazz Forum in New York.

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    ​Kurt Elling’s SuperBlue sends the artist in a new direction.

    Jan 18, 2022 12:59 PM

    Kurt Elling Goes Jazz Adjacent

    Still feeling the effects of a fiery, four-night run at Ronnie Scott’s in London, Kurt Elling — DownBeat’s Male…

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    ​Jon Irabagon plays in the Falling Rock Canyon of South Dakota.

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    The great jazz shrine of The Village Vanguard in New York reopened in September.

    Oct 5, 2021 4:51 PM

    The Village Vanguard Reopens

    The tables were slightly fewer in number. The air filtration system was new. But when the Village Vanguard reopened in…

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    Ravi Coltrane says that Orrin Evans, above, “can reach that spirit.”

    Sep 21, 2021 1:38 PM

    Orrin Evans: Go For It!

    On an early summer night in newly vaccinated New York, the Blue Note was packed with cheering clubgoers. And pianist…

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    Maria Schneider’s Data Lords was the critics’ pick for Album of the Year.

    Aug 24, 2021 2:36 PM

    Maria Schneider: Fight The Power

    Editor’s Note: This article was written to commemorate Maria Schneider’s CD Data Lords being named Album of the…

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    Melissa Aldana and Sean Jones work with the NYO Jazz youth orchestra on recording the group’s first full-length album.

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    Squint is Julian Lage’s debut on Blue Note Records.

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    Vijay Iyer

    Jul 13, 2021 4:21 PM

    Vijay Iyer’s Combat Art!

    By his own account, the Vijay Iyer of a decade ago was made to feel like a “token weirdo” when moving among the…

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    Hafez Modirzadeh

    Apr 26, 2021 5:50 PM

    Hafez Modirzadeh Reaches Endline

    Like generations of saxophonists, the teenage Hafez Modirzadeh first modeled himself on Charlie Parker. Now 58,…

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    Educator Fernando Jones has taught young musicians in both virtual and in-person settings.

    Mar 14, 2021 11:38 PM

    A Blues Camp Rite of Summer

    Unlike jazz camps, camps that focus on the blues are a rarity. In 2010, when Fernando Jones decided to start one at…

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    Instructor Omar Abdulkarim (far right) works with students at the High School for Recording Arts in St. Paul, Minnesota.

    Mar 8, 2021 10:42 AM

    Tech Training Empowers Teens

    Amid the local protests following George Floyd’s killing by Minneapolis police last year, Jerome Treadwell—a…

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    Christian McBride (left), Corea and Jack DeJohnette recording McBride’s Number 2 Express in 1995.

    Mar 8, 2021 10:23 AM

    How Chick Corea Changed Lives

    Chick Corea’s passing reverberated through the jazz world with a multigenerational outpouring for an artist seen as…

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    Percussionist Joe Chambers, 78, had returned to New York to record a Blue Note leader date—but then the pandemic hit the city.

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    Sarah Elizabeth Charles and Jarrett Cherner, who are married, collaborated on a new album titled Tone.

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    George Benson’s latest album was recorded live at Ronnie Scott’s in London.

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    Camila Meza is among the 25 artists DownBeat thinks will help shape jazz in the decades to come.

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    Joel Ross is among the 25 artists DownBeat thinks will help shape jazz in the decades to come.

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    Melissa Aldana (left), Pablo Menares and Kush Abadey perform Oct. 3 in Central Park as a part of the Walk With The Wind performance series.

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    Terri Lyne Carrington, seen here in New York at Power Station at BerkleeNYC, is the first female instrumentalist to top the Jazz Artist category in the DownBeat Critics Poll.

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    During the past 18 years, Norah Jones has collaborated with musicians from a range of different genres.

    Jun 19, 2020 9:09 AM

    The Subtlety Of Norah Jones

    “I’m not going to explain my lyrics.”

    With those words, coolly conveyed on a brilliant March afternoon at the…

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    “I express my emotions better musically than socially most of the time,” Marcus Printup said.

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    Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra member Chris Crenshaw conducts during a performance of Duke Ellington’s Black, Brown And Beige.

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    Saxophonist Ada Rovatti composed all of the songs on a recent album that features her husband, trumpeter Randy Brecker.

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    Bria Skonberg adventures beyond her trad-jazz roots on Nothing Never Happens.

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    Trombonist and educator Nick Finzer runs the media company Outside in Music.

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    Claudio Roditi (1946–2020)

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    Hiromi’s diverse discography includes collaborations with pianist Chick Corea and harpist Edmar Castaneda.

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    NYU Steinhardt has numerous bands of various sizes.

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    Joe Lovano’s new ensemble, Universal Jazz Ensemble, premiered in the Appel Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center on Oct. 18.

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    Harold Mabern (1936–2019)

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    Caroline Davis initially developed the music on Alula with drummer Greg Saunier during Brooklyn performances.

    Apr 2, 2020 10:34 AM

    Caroline Davis Mixes Science, Art

    Caroline Davis’ latest trio album, Alula (New Amsterdam), mines the anatomical world—the title referring to an…

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    Playing with European guitarists indebted to Django Reinhardt stuck with saxophonist James Carter.

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    Pianist Fred Hersch and bassist John Hébert perform Aug. 25 during the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in Manhattan.

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    Sullivan Fortner draws on the history of pianism—from Chopin to Tatum and beyond—while still retaining his own unique voice.

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    Anat Cohen’s long musical relationship with Oded Lev-Ari has resulted in “Triple Helix: Concerto For Clarinet And Ensemble,” which premiered in January at Carnegie Hall.

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    For Wynton Marsalis, developing a strategy to translate mythology into music for the film Bolden required some self-analysis, if not soul-searching.

    May 3, 2019 11:13 PM

    The Resurrection of Buddy Bolden

    Shrouded in mystery, Buddy Bolden’s life has proved more than a match for most of its would-be chroniclers.…

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    Lewis Porter, whose new album is titled Solo Piano, is in a prolific phase of his career.

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    Alfredo Rodríguez and Pedrito Martinez perform at New York’s SubCulture during Winter Jazzfest in January.

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    Ben Sidran’s latest release is a compilation of live recordings made between 1975 and 2015.

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    On his new album, In The Moment, organist Pat Bianchi collaborates with numerous jazz heavyweights, including guitarist Pat Martino and vibraphonist Joe Locke.

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    Guitarist-composer Oscar Peñas (left) pianist Marta Sánchez and drummer Richie Barshay perform Feb. 8 at Aaron Davis Hall at the City College Center for the Arts in Harlem.

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    Marquis Hill benefited from time spent at the Velvet Lounge, a jazz room on the South Side of Chicago run by saxophonist Fred Anderson (1929–2010).

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    Recordings that make up Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions sat in a Long Island home, untouched, for decades.

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    Aubrey Logan performs at Birdland during a celebration of Resonance Records’ 10-year anniversary.

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    Stefon Harris’ latest album, Sonic Creed, includes a number of original compositions, as well as “Now,” a track written by vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson.

    Oct 23, 2018 9:46 AM

    Stefon Harris’ Nurturing Spirit

    Quick of mind and compact of body, Stefon Harris moved easily from the vibraphone to the computer to the electric…

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    Love Is Here To Stay (Verve/Columbia) is the first album-length, one-on-one collaboration that Tony Bennett has recorded with his good friend Diana Krall.

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    Pete Shand (left), Bernard “Pretty” Purdie, Brian J and Ivan Neville collaborated on the new album Cool Down.

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    Nicole Johänntgen recorded her album Henry in New Orleans, while Henry II was recorded in Zurich, Switzerland.

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    Buster Williams’ new album is titled Audacity.

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    ​Julian Lage’s trio album Modern Lore puts a postmodern twist on Americana.

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    Eddie Henderson frequently eschews original compositions on his albums, opting instead for interpretations to create a “collective portrait.”

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    Cécile McLorin Salvant and Aaron Diehl perform June 14, 2017, at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem

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    Mayu Saeki, who has a new leader project, previously played in Chico Hamilton’s band.

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    Sherrie Maricle (middle row, wearing pink T-shirt) poses for a portrait with the members of the DIVA Jazz Orchestra.

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    Vibraphonist Roy Ayers performs last year in Pittsburgh.

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    Renee Rosnes (far left) leads her Woman to Woman ensemble during its March 2 New York debut at the 92nd Street Y.

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    At its recent Carnegie Hall show in New York, Snarky Puppy welcomed a number of guests to the stage, including mandolinist Chris Thile (from left), singer Laura Mvula, ’60s icon David Crosby, singer Fatoumata Diawara and singer Michelle Willis.

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    The original lineup of The Bad Plus—Reid Anderson (from left), David King and Ethan Iverson—played its final show on Dec. 31 at New York’s Village Vanguard.

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    The new album by pianist Martial Solal (left) and saxophonist Dave Liebman is Masters In Bordeaux.

    Mar 18, 2019 4:42 PM

    Solal & Liebman Unite in France

    By the time Dave Liebman first made his mark in the early 1970s, as the saxophonist and flutist in Miles Davis’…

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    Indo-Pak Coalition band members Rez Abbasi (left) Dan Weiss and Rudresh Mahanthappa perform at the Litchfield Jazz Festival on Aug. 6.

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    David Hazeltine (left), Todd Coolman, Eric Wyatt, Jimmy Heath, Joe Lovano, Ravi Coltrane, James Carter, James Brandon Lewis, (not seen, Victor Lewis on drums).

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    Kevin Eubanks released the album East West Time Line (Mack Avenue) on April 7.

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Phillip Lutz's reviews:

On Sale Now
July 2025
Joe Satriani & Steve Vai
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