The success of Oregon’s first album, 1971’s Music Of Another Present Era, allowed Towner to establish a solo career.
(Photo: Paolo Soriani/ECM)Jan 19, 2026 5:02 PM
Ralph Towner, a guitarist and composer who blended multiple genres, including jazz — and throughout them all remained a purebred devotee to acoustics — died Jan. 18 at a…
Jack DeJohnette has never been willing to sit still long enough to be categorized.
(Photo: DownBeat Archive)Oct 28, 2025 10:16 AM
Editor’s Note: Jack DeJohnette is the kind of percussionist who might appear on any given night behind a major artist and, by so doing, raise the level of group interplay about seven notches. Such was the case at Newport ’74 when he showed up quite unexpectedly behind Freddie Hubbard at Carnegie Hall. All of a sudden a formerly ho-hum rhythm section was transformed into one of high excitement, distinctive originality and exquisite empathy.
But Jack DeJohnette is far more than just a drummer who sits in someone else’s band, or even someone who…
