Natalie Weiner writes about music for a variety of publications including JazzTimes, Billboard, The New York Times, Pitchfork and Rolling Stone. She is also a staff writer at SB Nation where she covers women’s sports and the NFL. Previously, she was a staff writer at Bleacher Report, and an associate editor at Billboard magazine.
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“He’s here, don’t miss him,” director Eliane Henri says at one point in her new cinema-verité documentary Hargrove, which follows legendary trumpeter Roy Hargrove through … Read More “Hargrove Comes Home—on Roy’s Birthday”
Jazz music really was a saving grace in my life,” says pianist, composer, and bandleader Helen Sung. She approaches the big statement with little ceremony, … Read More “Helen Sung: A Force for Progress”
There are four of us on the Zoom call. Sometimes five, depending on whether Ayní, María Grand’s 10-month-old son, has crawled onto her lap. Grand … Read More “María Grand Moves Her Music Closer to Nature”
Kassa Overall, the drummer/rapper/producer whose work pushes the limits of any working definition of jazz, knows what you think of him. “Sometimes people assume, ‘Oh, … Read More “Kassa Overall: A Different Kind of Fusion”
The first thing you hear is a bright, asymmetrical, unison melody that’s repeated enough times to stay in your head. Then, suddenly, it’s tempered by a … Read More “Nubya Garcia Stands Out on London’s Jazz Scene”
Like his music, David Sánchez operates in many places at once. The tenor saxophonist, who returns frequently to his native Puerto Rico, is speaking to … Read More “David Sánchez and the African Tinge”
“It’s like asking, ‘Do you ever get tired of living?’ You do, but it’s always temporary.” Chris Potter is laughing as he tries to explain … Read More “Chris Potter: Life After Being Overrated”
Above: Adam O’Farrill at the Vision Festival in Brooklyn, N.Y., May 2018. Photo by Marek Lazarski. One day when Adam O’Farrill was around five, he … Read More “Adam O’Farrill Does Not Play Latin Jazz”
To be ahead of one’s time requires that one’s time eventually arrives. Despite the current, belated critical appreciation for Betty Davis’ work, her music remains … Read More “It’s Still Not Betty Davis Time, But We’re Getting There”
Shabaka Hutchings’ new album is about what you think it’s about. Its title, Your Queen Is a Reptile, is not a metaphor or an allegory: … Read More “Shabaka Hutchings Wants a Revolution”
“I was like, ‘What is all this crazy stuff? I’m not feeling that.’” About an hour before he takes the stage alongside Charles Lloyd for … Read More “Reuben Rogers: A Satisfied Sideman”
Guitarist Julian Lage once again indulges his inner historian on Modern Lore, the follow-up to his trio’s 2016 studio debut, Arclight. The latter was inspired … Read More “Julian Lage: Modern Lore (Mack Avenue)”
Daymé Arocena doesn’t mince words when it comes to her goals: “I’m fighting for Cuba,” she says on the phone from Havana, where she was … Read More “Daymé Arocena: Cuban Revelation”
While loss happens in an instant, the grief that follows can linger long after life appears to be back to normal. Remembrance, pianist Danny Grissett’s … Read More “Danny Grissett: Remembrance (Savant)”
Like so many hip things, it would have been easy to write off as a product of the ambiance: Everyone at the second of Jazz … Read More “Review: Jazz re:freshed Live at Nublu in NYC”
“So you’re really into jazz?” says the man, aghast. The man, and the context, are interchangeable. Old or young, at a party or the Newport … Read More “Is Jazz Still Sexist?”
