Michael J. West on social media
Terry Coen, a record and music promotion executive who spent nearly 50 years advocating for the music he loved, died July 28 at Suncoast Hospice … Read More “Record Promotion Veteran Terry Coen Dies at 73”
Joe Segal, a jazz club owner, promoter, advocate, and National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Jazz Master who spent more than seven decades enriching the … Read More “Joe Segal, Pillar of Chicago Jazz, Dies at 94”
Helen Jones Woods, a former trombonist and one of the last surviving members of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm—the first integrated all-female jazz big band—died … Read More “Remembering Helen Jones Woods (1923–2020)”
As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, musicians of all stripes have repeatedly, whether in interviews, in casual conversation, or on social media, said the same … Read More “Chops: Mark Dresser and Michael Dessen Play Telematic Music”
Kahil El’Zabar’s music hinges on the drummer/percussionist’s paroxysms. He gets himself into a groaning, head-swiveling (and mesmerizing) trance, seeming almost to lose control—except he never … Read More “Kahil El’Zabar: Kahil El’Zabar’s Spirit Groove ft. David Murray (Spiritmuse)”
Annie Ross, a British-American vocalist who was among the most celebrated jazz singers of the 1950s and a noted character actress and cabaret singer in … Read More “Annie Ross 1930–2020”
Eddie Gale, an avant-garde jazz trumpeter who pushed a forward-thinking vision and strongly advocated for both the music and its practitioners over a nearly 60-year … Read More “Eddie Gale 1941–2020”
Cleve Eaton, a bassist, composer, and arranger who became a stalwart of the Chicago jazz scene and a world-traveled and renowned musician before building his … Read More “Cleve Eaton 1939–2020”
Johnny Mandel, a beloved and much-honored composer and arranger of American popular song, jazz, and film scores over a career of more than 70 years, … Read More “Johnny Mandel 1925–2020”
Aside from a few moments on his previous Sunnyside album, 2018’s Then and Now, pianist Benny Green has only played Fender Rhodes as a sideman—and … Read More “Benny Green: Benny’s Crib (Sunnyside)”
Freddy Cole, a pianist and vocalist who emerged in later life from his famous older brother Nat “King” Cole’s shadow after decades of making consistently … Read More “Freddy Cole 1931–2020”
Before EarthSeed, flutist and composer Nicole Mitchell had already composed two large-scale works inspired by the work of sci-fi novelist Octavia Butler. This third one, … Read More “Nicole Mitchell & Lisa E. Harris: EarthSeed (FPE)”
Given the eerie similarities between avant-gardists Henry Grimes and Giuseppi Logan, what might be most surprising about them was what they didn’t share. Grimes, a … Read More “Henry Grimes and Giuseppi Logan: Parallel Lives”
As I write this, there are five cars driving in New York’s Columbus Circle. It is a warm, clear evening in mid-May—and it’s rush hour. … Read More “How Jazz Is Coping with COVID-19”
Keith Tippett, a pianist and composer who was a key innovator in British modern jazz, died June 14 at a hospital in London. He was … Read More “British Jazz Pianist Keith Tippett Dies at 72”
Charlie Parker’s centennial won’t come until August of this year, but already it has overshadowed any other such celebration in the jazz world. Among those … Read More “JazzTimes 10: Essential John Lewis Recordings”
Bob Northern, a jazz French hornist, flutist, trumpeter, and radio personality known as Brother Ah, died May 31 at Bridgepoint Hospital in Washington, D.C. He … Read More “Bob “Brother Ah” Northern 1934–2020”
Lennie Niehaus, an alto saxophonist and composer/arranger who was best known for his numerous film scores for Clint Eastwood, died May 28 at his daughter’s … Read More “Lennie Niehaus 1929–2020”
Live in Nuremberg, tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman’s new album on SMP with pianist Matthew Shipp, is his 95th recording under his own name—at least. “I’ve … Read More “Ivo Perelman: Adventures of a Well-Recorded Saxophonist”
Jimmy Cobb, a legendary jazz drummer best known for his work on Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue—performed by a fabled sextet of which Cobb was … Read More “Jimmy Cobb 1929–2020”
John Cumming, OBE, a promoter and producer who founded the London Jazz Festival and co-founded the European Jazz Network, died peacefully at his home in … Read More “London Jazz Festival Founder John Cumming Dies at 71”
The cover of tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III and Matthew Stevens’ second co-led album is hilarious: It’s literally the same as the first In Common, … Read More “Walter Smith III & Matthew Stevens: In Common 2 (Whirlwind)”
“She was so out, and so in,” wrote pianist and JazzTimes columnist Ethan Iverson of Geri Allen. “In the mid-’80s, very few could say they … Read More “JazzTimes 10: Essential Geri Allen Recordings”
Richie Cole, an alto saxophonist whose rise to jazz prominence in the 1970s augured the following decade’s bebop revival, died May 2 in his sleep … Read More “Richie Cole 1948–2020”
Tony Allen, an innovative and astonishingly adept drummer who was one of the creators of Afrobeat, died April 29 at Georges-Pompidou European Hospital in Paris, … Read More “Tony Allen 1940–2020”
Even at its most accessible, Dave Liebman’s music can be quite challenging … and Earth does not capture it at its most accessible. The fourth … Read More “Expansions: The Dave Liebman Group: Earth (Whaling City Sound)”
Lee Konitz, an alto saxophonist whose 75-year career was both prolific and profoundly influential in the history of jazz, died April 15 at Lenox Hill … Read More “Lee Konitz 1927–2020”
Ryo Kawasaki, a jazz fusion guitarist, software designer, and audio engineer who was also one of the inventors of the guitar synthesizer, died April 13 … Read More “Ryo Kawasaki 1947–2020”
Jymie Merritt, a bassist and composer who was best known as a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers but was also a trailblazer in his … Read More “Jymie Merritt 1926–2020”
Andy González, a bassist who was among the most influential in the history of Latin jazz and who co-founded three of the genre’s seminal ensembles, … Read More “Andy González 1951–2020”
