Christopher Porter was the editor of JazzTimes from 2000 to 2006.
Christopher Porter on social media
Everyone knows MySpace is a great place to ogle the opposite sex and keep in touch with your friends. But did you know that most of your favorite jazz artists post information-filled profiles and streaming music there? Christopher Porter examines the pros and cons of one of the most popular Web sites on the Internet.
Life is good for Enrico Rava, whose ECM recordings have earned him a reputation as Italy’s greatest jazz musician. The trumpeter’s graceful, subtly attention grabbing-style has also won over American fans.
Jamaica is known for sunny beaches, Red Stripe and reggae. But the music that Bob Marley made famous around the world has its roots in an early 1960s phenomenon known as ska-a mix of Jamaican folk music and American jump-jazz with the off-beat rhythms emphasized. The musicians who created ska were steeped in jazz and played in big bands or small combos on the island. Christopher Porter talks to some of the biggest names from ska’s heyday, such as Ernest Ranglin, the Skatalites and Monty Alexander, and gets the scoop on how jazz and American R&B helped form the Sound of Young Jamaica.
