Blog
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Esperanza Spalding is probably the most talked-about new musician in Jazz for the last decade. Charismatic, virtuosic, dynamic, creative, inspiring—she seems to have it all. We witness, record-by-record, the transition as she leaves behind the booster rockets of fame to establish her own musical orbit. Buckle up! Spalding is a bass player of significant skills, […]
Jack DeJohnette in 2019 is a cornerstone of the versatility of modern Jazz. Appropriate in any Jazz situation, his drumming signature is managing drum energy more as a flow than a pulse. Since the beginning of his professional career, he has represented a breath of fresh air in percussion. It’s sometimes a wave motion and […]
Bria Skonberg entered our consciousness a few years ago at the highest plane of Jazz exposure, as a trumpeter and vocalist of obvious skill and style. She employs the allure of well-shaped singing, combined with the depth of thoughtful phrasing as an instrumentalist. It’s been a while since we’ve heard a dual-threat who’s as capable […]
There may be no force in Jazz as constant as the impact of Art Blakey—during the seven decades of his life and now, nearly 30 years after his passing. Blakey’s styles of drumming and bandleading are some of the great emblems of Jazz culture, and still, ring powerfully in our ears. His Jazz Messengers did […]
ARTIST OF THE MONTH: STAN KENTON (SEPTEMBER 2019) Stan Kenton’s was the household name in big bands for Baby Boomers. Kenton thrived while other bands faded away, and for a generation of musicians—Jazz players, commercial players, or even just recreational and school band instrumentalists—Kenton’s band was the team that our idols played for. To join […]