Veronica Johnson is a freelance music writer from Detroit. She has written for Detroit-based publications Metro Times, Real Detroit Weekly, Model D, and The Michigan Historical Review, as well as the national jazz site The Jazz Line. Her work on Detroit hip-hop was published in the 2014 book A Detroit Anthology. She is also a board member of the Detroit Sound Conservancy, a grassroots Detroit music preservation organization.
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“The Detroit Way,” according to author Bill Harris, who’s written extensively about jazz, is a tradition of schooling rising Detroit jazz musicians on the rudiments … Read More “Marcus Elliot Keeps the Detroit Jazz Tradition Alive”
Vocalist Naima Shamborguer has been an illuminating presence on Detroit’s jazz scene for decades, elevating standards with her richly textured voice and classically trained ear. … Read More “Naima Shamborguer: Naima (Shambones)”
Singer, songwriter, and actor Somi Kakoma was originally set to debut her self-composed musical about Miriam Makeba in the spring of 2020. The pandemic postponed … Read More “Somi: Zenzile: The Reimagination of Miriam Makeba (Salon Africana)”
The title of pianist Bill O’Connell’s latest release suggests that it was created as a direct response to the political, racial, and pandemic-related upheaval that … Read More “Bill O’Connell: A Change Is Gonna Come (Savant)”
When the world shut down last year, so did Alicia Olatuja. The St. Louis, Missouri-bred vocalist sat in her New Jersey apartment one day watching … Read More “Alicia Olatuja Breaks Through as New Kind of Vocal Coach”
Many jazz bands come together because of a common stylistic approach to music. That holds true for the Brooklyn-based Ember. Bassist Noah Garabedian, drummer Vinnie … Read More “Ember With Orrin Evans: No One Is Any One (Sunnyside)”
Capturing the true spirit of singer, pianist, and activist Nina Simone is no easy feat, given that she was known for constantly moving boundaries both … Read More “Ledisi: Ledisi Sings Nina (Listen Back)”
Countless pieces of music use New York City as their inspirational backdrop; Billy Strayhorn’s “Take the A Train,” John Coltrane’s “Central Park West,” and Ahmad … Read More “Reggie Quinerly: New York Nowhere (Redefinition)”
Close your eyes while listening to “Symphonic Raps,” the first song on Future Stride, and you may find yourself transported back to swinging 1920s Harlem … Read More “Emmet Cohen: Future Stride (Mack Avenue)”
Saxophonist Wendell Harrison has lived by a standard philosophy for his 50-plus-year career: One must have complete self-autonomy. Both his music and business dealings reflect … Read More “Wendell Harrison Tribe: Get Up Off Your Knees (Tribe)”
With an album title like Zoot Suit Funk, Gayelynn McKinney makes her aim clear. There’s hardly a tune here that doesn’t give you the urge … Read More “Gayelynn McKinney: Zoot Suit Funk (Beatstix)”
There may just be one bright side to the COVID-19 pandemic: It’s given many musicians time to complete projects that were on hold due to … Read More “Alexander Zonjic: Playing It Forward (Hi-Falutin’)”
Recording sessions by Diana Krall from 2016 and 2017 found her crooning tender classics with a misty vocal quality that’s become her signature. Those sessions … Read More “Diana Krall: This Dream of You (Verve)”
Marcus Printup is known to many as the fiery trumpeter adjacent to Wynton Marsalis in his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. A longtime fixture in … Read More “Riza Printup/Marcus Printup: Gentle Rain (SteepleChase)”
The title of trumpeter Valery Ponomarev’s tribute to the late drummer/bandleader is perfect. Blakey was indeed a father of sorts to nearly all who joined … Read More “Valery Ponomarev Big Band Live: Our Father Who Art Blakey: The Centennial (Summit)”
With a career that has spanned over two decades and 20-plus records, pianist/composer Lisa Hilton has earned the right to forge her own creative future. … Read More “Lisa Hilton: Chalkboard Destiny (Ruby Slippers)”
Fado is not a genre that’s well-known to the average listener, but after hearing vocalist Maria Mendes’ jazzy version of that melancholy Portuguese music style, … Read More “Maria Mendes: Close to Me (Justin Time)”
