As part of the Winter Jazzfest (all over town and now in its 11th year) Robert Glasper played a gig at Le Poisson Rouge in the west village with Vicente Archer on bass and Damion Reid on drums. Those guys go way back including the Grammy winning artist‘s first couple […]
Jazz
108 posts
2014 holiday season gift ideas include plenty of memoirs & biographies to read and documentaries & performances to watch…
I first heard Eric Johnson’s guitar playing when his debut album Tones came out in the mid 1980s. I had never heard anything like it. Nobody had heard anything like it! Since then whenever the Austin native put out something new, I felt I owed it to myself to hear […]
Ho Ho Ho! Here’s some suggestions if you’d like to give (or receive) the gift of music this holiday season whether it is boxed or unboxed.
The countdown of the top albums of 2014 begins! We start off with an album of instrumental music that has found its way into my player repeatedly this year – Golden Age – by Nir Felder, the outstanding guitarist from Katonah, New York, who celebrated the release of his debut […]
The Super Soul Revue last Thursday through Saturday at The Apollo was an excellent reminder at the tremendous talent found on Daptone Records. As I’ve been spending some time recently with the outstanding Burnt Offering by The Budos Band, I was keen to capture a taste of their performance and […]
The 8 night residency of Seu Jorge is a testament to the enduring appeal of the tasteful and tuneful Brazilian musician who spoke to me about his David Bowie covers and – despite singing in Portuguese in a New York room – transcended any language barriers with his captivating performance.
Eric Johnson & Mike Stern are, of course, tremendous guitar players with chops of doom – but they are also great listeners and intuitive partners – who are thrilled to be teaming up on stage and on their rewarding new album Eclectic.
The wildly talented Angelique Kidjo spoke about what a great inspiration Miriam Makeba – Mama Africa – is to her …
Careful what you carry ’cause the man is wise! Steely Dan did it again at The Capitol Theatre not far from where Walter Becker grew up. The 3 shows at The Capital Theatre cap the jazz rock band‘s Jamalot Ever After Tour.
Wax Poetic is about to head into the studio! Here’s a peek at their performance this past Saturday night (Sunday morning) and a chat with Ilhan Ersahin whose East Village club Nublu has been a magnet for creative musicians – spawning a record label, an orchestra, and a jazz festival.
Dr. Lonnie Smith reveals the moment he fell in love with the Hammond B3 organ and about playing his genius late 1960’s songs with a tough NYC octet. Chat and performance with the jazz keyboardist captured at 2014 Montreal Jazz Festival.
Kenny Garrett spoke about his band and his heroes and took no prisoners onstage at the 2014 Montreal Jazz Festival. A peak at the jazz saxophonist‘s performance there plus a chat including Kenny talking about Sonny Rollins and the lineage of jazz greats like Parker and Coltrane that serve as […]
Fela Kuti was a tremendous musical and political force. Finding Fela is the new documentary from Alex Gibney about him…
Montreal Jazz Festival 2014 attendees were spoiled with gigs from both Jack DeJohnette and Ginger Baker…
There are always a lot of difficult decisions at Montreal Jazz Festival (because many appealing shows are scheduled at the same time) and the 2014 event is no different – but when Tony Bennett and Elvis Costello are in town, that’s a no-brainer…
American blues musician Kenny Wayne Shepherd shows off chops and a mean rhythm section while Montreal Jazz Festival has depth and breadth.
Miles Davis Way is named in Manhattan, The Bootleg Series has unearthed some great performances from the jazz legend, and a biopic is scheduled to start production next month.
Nels Cline played a gig with the Les Paul Trio at Iridium this past Monday and spoke about the experience as well as some of his other myriad projects atop Wilco.
Steve Wilson led Wilsonian’s Grain through six nights at the Village Vanguard with tape machines rolling for the last two…
Steve Kuhn led his trio (Steve Swallow & Joey Baron) through a run of stellar performances at Birdland this week.
An all star band of New York based Brazilian Jazz musicians breathed new life into Getz Au Go Go as part of a series at Greenwich House Music School that celebrated the legacy of Cafe Au Go Go.