Our November 2018 issue is on sale now!
Highlights include:

BRIAN BLADE
Twenty-five years and going on 150 albums into his recording career, Blade is inarguably one of the most talented drummers working today. For this Bright Moments feature, he took David R. Adler on a tour through a back catalog that’s as impressive as it is eclectic, including music by Kenny Garrett, Wayne Shorter, Daniel Lanois, Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan.

VIBRAPHONE SUMMIT
Let’s make sure we have this straight: Warren Wolf plays in a duo with Joe Locke, who used to teach Stefon Harris, who in turn used to teach Joel Ross. So what happens if you put all four of these great vibraphonists in a room together? As Lucy Tauss learned, you get an engaging conversation, with an emphasis on music education techniques and glockenspiel jokes.

TONY ALLEN
Alongside Fela Kuti in the ’60s, he helped create Afrobeat—a polyglot style deeply rooted in jazz. Now the celebrated Nigerian drummer is delving even further into the music with tributes to his heroes Art Blakey and Tony Williams. In a chat with Geoffrey Himes at the Newport Jazz Festival, Allen covered all the above, as well as dynamics, hi-hat pedals, and Christmas parades

DRUM SOLOS
Some people love them, others wish they could fast-forward through them. What’s the point of a drum solo anyway, and how do you define a good one? Shaun Brady asked these questions to some of jazz’s top drummers—Andrew Cyrille, Rudy Royston, Nasheet Waits, Sherrie Maricle, and Billy Hart among them—and got a fascinating range of responses.

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Alan Braufman’s Valley of Search reopens a door to ’70s NYC
Tyshawn Sorey produces an epic
Nate Smith looks to the future
Allison Miller and Carmen Staaf make their first album as co-leaders
JT Notes: In pursuit of learning

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A Before & After listening session with Adam Nussbaum
An Overdue Ovation for Eliot Zigmund
AudioFiles: Brent Butterworth samples the burgeoning vinyl accessories market
Chops: Kendrick Scott, Chris Dave, and other drummers define what it means to be from Houston
Artist’s Choice: Barrett Martin selects tracks with a distinctive balance of melody and rhythm

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Album reviews: Gilad Hekselman, Miguel Zenón, Kandace Springs, Barre Phillips, Steve Coleman, and many more

BONUS: 2018-19 JAZZ EDUCATION GUIDE

PLAY-ALONG TECHNOLOGY
In 1967, Jamey Aebersold started a jazz-education revolution with the first volume of his Play-A-Long series. Today, the play-along concept has been adopted and expanded by web-based software and mobile app developers. With help from Eddie Palmieri, Christian Scott, Jim Snidero, and others, we look back at what happened along the way and attempt to predict where the technology may go from here.
By Jennifer Odell

MEET THE PROFESSOR
Most JazzTimes readers know Ashley Kahn best as an author of books on Miles Davis and John Coltrane, among others, and as a frequent contributor to this magazine. What they may not know is that he’s also been a college professor for 15 years, teaching students at NYU and elsewhere how to better appreciate jazz. In this essay, he discusses his instructional approach and reports on some recent educational events abroad.
By Ashley Kahn

JAZZ AFTER COLLEGE
College jazz education programs are turning out more well-qualified musicians than ever before. But what do they do with themselves after graduation? We spoke with recent alumni from some of America’s most highly regarded jazz schools to see where their career paths have taken them so far. The stories they told us underscore the traditional value of being ready for anything.
By Michael J. West

GREAT SOUND ON A STUDENT BUDGET
It’s a simple, age-old fact of life that students don’t have the space or the cash to get themselves a decent sound system. Or is it? Recent advances in technology have put clear and realistic audio within reach of just about anyone. JT’s resident audiophile takes a look at the best inexpensive options for young people who care about the fidelity of the music they listen to—or make for themselves.
By Brent Butterworth

COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY BAND CD ROUNDUP
By Ken Franckling

DIRECTORY OF SCHOOLS AND PROGRAMS

FINAL EXAM
JT’s Lee Mergner talks to saxophonist/clarinetist Oran Etkin about his Timbalooloo program, which brings jazz education to the very, very young