Brian Auger
One of the most generous aspects of interviewing British-born Hammond B-3 organist and electric pianist Brian Auger—the toast of Swinging London’s soul-jazz scene and a … Read More “Brian Auger”
One of the most generous aspects of interviewing British-born Hammond B-3 organist and electric pianist Brian Auger—the toast of Swinging London’s soul-jazz scene and a … Read More “Brian Auger”
Before the onslaught of 1970s disco-jazz and the flywheel Latin-laced jazz dance music of the Salsoul Orchestra and Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band, the production … Read More “Johnny Hammond: Gears (Jazz Dispensary)”
As a JazzTimes writer, I can talk about the powers of a dynamic drummer until I’m blue in the face: the weight of each tom-tom’s … Read More “Chops: What Bassists Listen for in Drummers”
South Philly’s Solar Myth has been many things to many people. Known until recently as Boot & Saddle, it was once the toast of post-Prohibition … Read More “Philly’s Ars Nova Workshop Finds a New Home”
Before we enter the current world of drummer, producer, and curator Denardo Coleman, a funny story from the past. In 1996, the year after the … Read More “Denardo Coleman: Like Father, Like Son”
Forever known as a cross-pollinator, moving with a free spirit from one hive (psychedelia, world music) to another (Bartók, Ornette Coleman), saxophone/flutist Charles Lloyd seems … Read More “Charles Lloyd: Trio of Trios: Chapel, Ocean, Sacred Thread (Blue Note)”
The Frank Sinatra of 1969 was a different man from the bobby-sox days of “The Voice,” the 1950s Capitol Records peak, and even the Rat … Read More “Memories of a Sinatra Watershed”
With 2020’s Swirling, the Sun Ra Arkestra—forever dedicated to the boundary-expanding Saturn-al jazz and future-life theories of the late Sun Ra—hung up a back-in-business sign for … Read More “Sun Ra Arkestra: Living Sky (Omni Sound)”
In 1989, jazz writer-turned-director Gary Giddins crafted Satchmo: The Life of Louis Armstrong, with Melvin Van Peebles as the craggy musical voice of America’s first … Read More “Sacha Jenkins: Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues (Apple/Imagine)”
If Ronnie Foster had never recorded anything but the spaced-out, frank and funky soul of 1972’s Two Headed Freap (recently re-released) and 1973’s Sweet Revival, … Read More “Ronnie Foster Releases First Album as a Leader in 35 Years”
If we’re going out on a limb and calling the music that trombonist, vocalist, and songwriter Natalie Cressman makes—as soloist, as side-and-session person, in a duet … Read More “Natalie Cressman Turns Down the Volume”
After Miles Davis’ return to recording on 1981’s The Man with the Horn, the trumpeter/composer continued to make fresh albums for Columbia: Star People (1983), Decoy (1984), and You’re … Read More “Miles Davis: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7: That’s What Happened 1982-1985 (Columbia/Legacy)”
Self-determinedly genre-jumbling drummer/percussionist Alex Acuña has released his first album as a leader in a decade, Gifts (Le Coq), and the 77-year-old Los Angelino states that its … Read More “Overdue Ovation: Alex Acuña”
Nabil Ayers didn’t need to write a memoir about what rarely existed between him and his biological father, composer/vibraphonist Roy Ayers, to connect with making … Read More “Nabil Ayers: My Life in the Sunshine: Searching for My Father and Discovering My Family (Viking)”
Compared to the other outré jazz elders on Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad’s Jazz Is Dead label, Katalyst is a still a relatively fresh … Read More “Katalyst/Ali Shaheed Muhammad/Adrian Younge: JID013 (Jazz is Dead)”
On the enchanted evening of August 16, 1958, Ella Fitzgerald took to the stage of the legendary Hollywood Bowl. There, with a lustrous orchestra conducted … Read More “Ella Fitzgerald Gets Some Air, Thanks to Gregg Field”
Ask founder/producer Piero Pata and VP/engineer Josh Connolly about the guiding concept behind Le Coq Records—their Las Vegas-based music label, established in January 2021—and the … Read More “Le Coq Records Turns Heads and Wins Veteran Collaborators”
Sonic Liberation Front teaming with saxophonist/composer Oliver Lake is kind of like David Bowie phoning Donny McCaslin and his fellow jazz downtowners to record Blackstar: … Read More “Sonic Liberation Front: Justice: The Vocal Works of Oliver Lake (High Two)”
The spiritual, organ-grinding predecessor to orchestrator/keyboardist Dexter Wansel’s spaced-out Life on Mars, this 1969 Blue Note release (and 2022 re-release) finds Brother Jack McDuff going … Read More “Brother Jack McDuff: Moon Rappin’ (Blue Note)”
Funny an Irish-based journalist who’s written about James Joyce’s Ulysses, wounded British soldiers, and Nick Cave is the man making the auspicious title claim of … Read More “Philip Watson: Bill Frisell, Beautiful Dreamer: The Guitarist Who Changed the Sound of American Music (Faber)”
Everything about Israeli-born tenor and soprano saxophonist Eli Degibri is a celebration. You can hear that in his sideman gigs with Herbie Hancock and Al … Read More “Eli Degibri Honors His Parents on New Album, Henri and Rachel“
If you’re old enough to remember the 1986 release of Argentine bandoneonist/composer Astor Piazzolla’s noirish Tango: Zero Hour, you’ll recall that its entry onto the world … Read More “Astor Piazzolla: The American Clavé Recordings (Nonesuch)”
When you hear tenor saxophonist Mark Turner’s name in conversation, it seems to be frequently linked to the notions of mindfulness, precision, and fastidiousness. “That … Read More “Mark Turner: A Modern Saxophone Master”
There’s something perfect about speaking with saxophonist/composer Azar Lawrence right after he’s clicked off from virtual Sunday church services. Still dwelling in the Los Angeles … Read More “Overdue Ovation: Azar Lawrence Speaks of Working for Miles, McCoy, Elvin—and God”
The last years of beyond-free saxophonist and composer Albert Ayler were sonically restless and more troubled than previous seasons. While his music jittered through a … Read More “Albert Ayler: Revelations: The Complete ORTF 1970 Fondation Maeght Recordings (Elemental)”
The legend of Lester Koenig—record collector, bon vivant, screenwriter, film producer, friend to Hollywood’s famous—looms larger than a hundred books, let alone a few words … Read More “The Sound of Contemporary Records”
While it’s no surprise that Chicago-to-Brooklyn transplant Joel Ross is a smooth-operating protégé of fellow vibraphonist Stefon Harris, it is shocking how far Ross has … Read More “Joel Ross: The Parable of the Poet (Blue Note)”
Wisconsin-born and proud: For all of the avant-everything complexity Ethan Iverson has applied to his solo projects or the sounds he created in his role … Read More “Ethan Iverson Returns to Basics and Looks Toward the Future on Blue Note Debut”
Javon Jackson has a lengthy history as a leathery-toned and warm tenor-sax man, yet it’s his role as an educator that steered him toward the … Read More “Javon Jackson: The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni (Solid Jackson)”
Paying tribute to Sérgio Mendes with a spirited sound that blends jazz improvisation, Uruguayan candombe, and breezy Airto/Flora-esque pop is never a bad thing. Just … Read More “Brasuka Moves Beyond Sérgio Mendes”