I adore criticism, and I rarely enjoy reading more than when I’m digging into great profile writing. But I also find straight-up oral history fascinating, especially when the person doing the talking is a musician. The feeling of candid nightclub conversation is more palpable than when the dialogue is being filtered through a features writer.…Read More
This piece might have been called “Mission Impossible”: Selecting just five essential jazz organists from such a rich and still-thriving tradition was no easy feat, but I managed to select the players I thought were the most important—the foundational musicians that aspiring organists simply need to study. Here I’ll outline some key elements of their…Read More
Back when I drove a taxi in New York City, in the mid-1980s, the cabs had not yet been outfitted with air conditioning. In the spring and summer, I left the windows open to create cross-ventilation. That meant that the noise from the street was a constant presence, an orchestral cacophony dominated by honking horns,…Read More
Now in its 15th year, the 2018 PDX Jazz Festival was held February 16-25, 2018 in Portland, Ore. The festival, directed by jazz industry veteran Don Lucoff, features a series of concerts, clinics and conversations at venues throughout the the city. The 2018 program included several special cross-generational themes, such as “Vocalese” with various shows…Read More
On Jan. 11, in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Appel Room, basketball legend and author Kareem Abdul-Jabbar gave the keynote address at the first edition of Jazz Congress, a two-day event presented by JALC and JazzTimes. Included here are highlights from that speech. For more on the Congress, which featured industry panels, learning sessions and more,…Read More
On January 11-12, 2018, the inaugural edition of the Jazz Congress was held at Jazz at Lincoln Center facilities. Over 700 members of the jazz community – including artists, managers, agents, radio programmers, journalists, festival and concert presenters, educators and more – attended the conference which was produced by Jazz at Lincoln Center and JazzTimes. …Read More
The second annual Blue Note at Sea cruise sailed January 27-February 3 with multiple stops at ports in the Caribbean and featured more than 50 performances by dozens of notable artists, including Chick Corea, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jose James, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Charles Lloyd, David Sanborn, Robert Glasper, Lalah Hathaway, Maceo Parker and many others. …Read More
On Monday, Jan. 29, the AACM’s New York City Chapter presented “A Musical Tribute to Dr. Muhal Richard Abrams” at the Community Church of New York. Abrams, the profoundly influential pianist-composer and AACM co-founder who died on Oct. 29, was eulogized via words and/or music by his friends, family, colleagues and admirers, among them Jack…Read More
The future of the jazz tradition is a future of techniques, influences, instruments, cultural exchanges, audiences, clubs, festivals, distribution, copyright, broadcasting and education. All that. But I think it is also probably a future of creative honoring. By honoring greatness, of the elders and the departed, I’m not talking so much about official or institutional…Read More
It’s never easy to find the words to say goodbye, especially when there are conditions to that goodbye. Indeed, mine is loaded with conditions, but I have decided to step down as a full-time employee of Madavor Media, the owners of JazzTimes. I expect that my last day in that role will be Friday, January…Read More
