May 2019

Our May issue is on sale now!
Highlights include:

JOEY DeFRANCESCO & PHAROAH SANDERS
It’s a collaboration that nobody expected. But as Lee Mergner discovered, the spiritual and musical links between the 47-year-old organ virtuoso and the 78-year-old saxophone prophet are strong—further proof that the Creator might just have a master plan after all.

MATTHEW SHIPP
He’s talked about retirement (at least from recording) before, but the voluble pianist may mean it this time. For this Q&A with Brad Cohan, Shipp discussed, among other topics, his new album, Signature; his trio with Michael Bisio and Newman Taylor Baker; and the first words Billy Bang ever said to him.

PUNK JAZZ AT 40
In the late ’70s, NYC artists like James Chance and the Contortions, Lydia Lunch’s 8 Eyed Spy, and John Lurie’s Lounge Lizards created a new subgenre: rock-flavored jazz (or was it vice versa?) with the energy, irreverence, and all-around disagreeable attitude of punk. Four decades later, Jim Farber gives it another listen.

JAZZ & WELLNESS
We all know the perception, based partly in history, partly in myth, that jazz is music of, by, and for the dissolute. The truth is something else, yet a nagging question remains: Can wellness ever be a priority for jazz musicians? John Murph spoke to Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jacques Schwarz-Bart, Lizz Wright, and others who believe that it can—and must.

BONUS! OUR ANNUAL FESTIVAL GUIDE

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Wynton Marsalis imagines Buddy Bolden for a new biopic
Saxophonist and composer Brian Krock finds his musical home
Pedro Martins wins in more ways than one
Veronica Swift enters the family business
David Dominique reveals the methods behind his unlikely genre mashups
JT Notes: A celebration of jazz’s renegades, old and new

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A Before & After listening session with Lewis Porter
An Overdue Ovation for Marilyn Crispell
AudioFiles: Brent Butterworth plugs into headphone amps
Chops: David Binney looks beyond New York
Gearhead: Products from Hal Leonard, D’Addario, MXL, and D’Angelico, plus Remo’s kick-drum collab with Dave Weckl
Artist’s Choice: Amina Claudine Myers selects her favorite AACM tracks

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Album reviews: Snarky Puppy, Joshua Redman, Betty Carter, and more