Lee Mergner is JazzTimes‘ Contributing Editor. Between 1990 and 2018, he served the magazine in a multitude of roles, including Editor and Publisher.
Lee Mergner on social media
Morgan Neville’s 2013 Academy Award-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom nicely captured the rewards and challenges of being a backing singer for successful rock and … Read More “Chops: Spotlight on the Background”
Mary Ann Topper, manager to numerous notable jazz artists including Ray Brown, Diana Krall, Joshua Redman, Jane Monheit, and Ron Carter, died on Nov. 14 … Read More “Mary Ann Topper, Manager of Noted Jazz Artists, Dies at 79”
The genre of memoirs by jazz musicians is a rich one, filled with tales of trials and tribulations as well as success stories. To make … Read More “JazzTimes 10: Great Jazz Memoirs”
Jazz impresario Fred Taylor, who presented legends and emerging artists alike in the Boston area for more than five decades, died on Oct. 26. He … Read More “Fred Taylor, Boston’s Beloved Jazz Impresario, Dies at 90”
With the opening of the jazz club Keystone Korner Baltimore earlier this year, Todd Barkan, its co-owner and artistic director, realized that the venue needed … Read More “The Baltimore Jazz Collective: Building a Community”
Sean Jones is a man in motion. At 6 p.m. on a Wednesday evening in early summer, the trumpeter is sitting in a dressing room … Read More “Sean Jones: A Challenging Life”
The career of Miles Davis was a series of directional shifts, each of which made an indelible mark on the history of jazz. The mercurial … Read More “Miles Davis’ Lost 1985 Album Rubberband Bounces Back”
Despite his roots in Philadelphia, Johnathan Blake is the quintessential New York City jazz drummer. He’s played with a virtual who’s-who of the jazz scene; … Read More “Johnathan Blake: Fascinated by Rhythm”
Derrick Hodge wants to pay tribute to his roots in Philadelphia in a very different way. The bassist and composer is NOT looking to cover … Read More “Derrick Hodge: His Philly State of Mind”
When Geri Allen first contacted Christian Sands about performing the music of Erroll Garner in a tribute to Concert by the Sea at the Monterey … Read More “Christian Sands & the Legacy of Erroll Garner”
The trend for a band to revisit a particularly successful album from its past seemed to have started with the curators of the All Tomorrow’s … Read More “Live Review: Double Vision Revisited at the Birchmere in Virginia”
Marcus Shelby loves baseball. His Facebook posts tend to be daily updates on the ups and downs of his favorite team, the San Francisco Giants, … Read More “Marcus Shelby: Jazz & Baseball”
Singer and percussionist Bernard Fowler has been a backing vocalist for numerous artists and bands, including David Bowie, Material, and Alice Cooper. But it’s been … Read More “Bernard Fowler: Going Deep Into the Rolling Stones”
Bassist Nicki Parrott is truly a musician’s musician. Except that she also sings. Although she came a little late to the vocals game, she’s become … Read More “Nicki Parrott: It’s Possible to Sing and Play the Bass”
The term “journeyman” often gets used in a pejorative way to describe veteran jazz musicians of a certain age, like they’re perennial sidemen or sidewomen … Read More “Chuck Redd: Real Good Vibes”
How do you sum up the life and career of Miles Davis in just under two hours? That was the challenge that noted documentary filmmaker … Read More “Inside Stanley Nelson, Jr.’s New Miles Davis Documentary”
“This whole venture is based on friendship and synergy,” says Todd Barkan, jazz nightclub impresario and co-owner of Keystone Korner Baltimore, which opened on April … Read More “The Scene: Keystone Korner Baltimore”
When it comes to narrative arcs, few are more compelling than the story of two people on separate life paths who eventually connect and create … Read More “Joey DeFrancesco and Pharoah Sanders: Meeting of the Spirits”
Have you ever known someone for so long that you can’t remember when or where or how or even why you first met? Sometimes we … Read More “Lee Mergner Remembers Jim Miller”
Over the last five years or so, the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (NOJO) has been through a lot of turmoil [see Jennifer Odell’s story in … Read More “Adonis Rose: To Swing Toussaint”
Jennifer Wharton lives and breathes trombone. She even admits to having a dress adorned with them (see the photo above for proof). The bass trombonist, … Read More “Jennifer Wharton: All About That Bass Trombone”
The inspiration for Kurt Elling’s radio play The Big Blind—co-written with Phil Galdston and premiering at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York on Mar. … Read More “Kurt Elling Readies The Big Blind for NYC Premiere”
On the eve of his 75th birthday, singer/songwriter/pianist Ben Sidran decided to release a three-CD compilation of performances spanning the last 40 years or so. … Read More “Ben Sidran Recounts His Seven Decades in Jazz”
I first met Ira Sabin in 1989. I had moved from my hometown of Philadelphia to the D.C. area to be with my then girlfriend, … Read More “Lee Mergner Remembers Ira Sabin”
One of the most interesting collaborations in recent years between a world-class jazz musician and an acclaimed poet—the album Sung With Words—got off to a … Read More “Helen Sung: Words and Music”
In 1958 Art Kane was a successful art director who had dabbled in professional photography and was itching to make it his full-time profession. Knowing … Read More “Art Kane: A Great Day Frame by Frame”
When trumpeter/singer Brian Newman had to come up with a title for his first album on Verve, he didn’t enlist any of the usual clichés. … Read More “Brian Newman: Cincinnati Swing Meets Vegas”
Ted Rosenthal has a long and impressive résumé. The 58-year-old pianist was an early winner of the prestigious Thelonious Monk Competition and went on to … Read More “Ted Rosenthal’s Dear Erich: Grandmother to Son”
Lots of jazz artists and presenters like to talk about reaching a younger audience. But few go as far as clarinetist and saxophonist Oran Etkin, … Read More “Oran Etkin: Music as Child’s Play”
At the Newport Jazz Festival in August, drummer Nate Smith is seemingly everywhere at once. Most artists are proud to do one set at the … Read More “Nate Smith: Taking Jazz Ahead”
