Of all the musicians we’ve featured in this series, Don Cherry might be the most adventurous. From his early days in the late 1950s playing with the saxophonist Ornette Coleman to his tinkering with electronic funk and R&B in the ’80s, Cherry proved himself a worthy anarchist, broadening the depth of his art through the […]
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5 Minutes That Will Make You Love John Coltrane
Yes, it’s time for this series to focus on John Coltrane — perhaps the most sanctified musician in the whole Black American tradition, who other artists sometimes refer to simply as “St. John.” Born in Hamlet, N.C., and raised in High Point, Coltrane arrived on the New York scene in the 1950s, by way of […]
Read MoreThe Saxophone Master Shabaka Hutchings Is on a New Journey: Flutes
It was a different kind of practice: thoughtful, free and natural. Hutchings was living in Kingston, in southwest London, close to the expanses of Richmond Park. Like Sonny Rollins, who would play his sax on the Williamsburg Bridge in New York, Hutchings took his instruments into the deserted public spaces and conducted his practice under […]
Read MoreThe Rich History of Jazz in Queens
Dizzy Gillespie helped make Minton’s Playhouse famous. Minton’s in Harlem was where jazz musicians, from out-of-towners to locals performing in nearby big band theaters in Harlem, sought refuge during late-night jam sessions and a new genre, bebop, was born. Gillespie, together with Charlie Parker, is largely considered a pioneer of the rebellious jazz style that […]
Read MoreLes McCann, a Jazz Pianist and Singer, Dies at 88
Les McCann, a jazz pianist and vocalist who was an early progenitor of the bluesy, crowd-pleasing style that came to be known as soul jazz, and who, although he released more than 50 albums, was best known for a happenstance hit from 1969, died on Friday in Los Angeles. He was 88. His death, at […]
Read MoreWillie Ruff, Jazz Missionary and Professor, Dies at 92
Willie Ruff, who fashioned an unlikely career in jazz as a French horn player and toured the world as a musical missionary in the acclaimed Mitchell-Ruff Duo while maintaining a parallel career at the Yale School of Music, died on Sunday at his home in Killen, Ala. He was 92. His death was confirmed by […]
Read MoreZita Carno, Concert Pianist, Coltrane Scholar and More, Dies at 88
When the Bronx-bred pianist Zita Carno auditioned for the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1975, she played short excerpts from the orchestra’s repertoire for the music director, Zubin Mehta. “Then Mehta said, ‘Come back tomorrow. I want to hear you play the Boulez,’” she recalled years later, referring to the French conductor and composer Pierre Boulez. […]
Read MoreCarlos Lyra, Composer Who Brought Finesse to Bossa Nova, Dies at 90
Carlos Lyra, a Brazilian composer, singer and guitarist whose cool, meticulous melodies helped give structure and power to bossa nova, the samba-inflected jazz style that became a worldwide phenomenon in the early 1960s, died on Dec. 16 in Rio de Janeiro. He was 90. His daughter, the singer Kay Lyra, said the cause of his […]
Read More10 New Christmas Albums for 2023
Jon Pardi, ‘Merry Christmas From Jon Pardi’ For the past decade Jon Pardi has been, quite successfully, a country singer mindful of how the country singers before him conducted themselves. He’s a lightly unruly traditionalist, with an ear that favors Texas and Bakersfield and the, um, funkier sides of honky-tonk Nashville. So naturally, his first […]
Read More5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Jazz Flute
Listen on YouTube ◆ ◆ ◆ Marcus J. Moore, jazz writer “Just a Love Child” by Bobbi Humphrey “Love child, falling off your cloud, for just a minute. Running around love, and then you’re in it.” I keep coming back to this line as a reset for life in general: The first half contextualizes our […]
Read More5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Jazz Flute
Listen on YouTube ◆ ◆ ◆ Marcus J. Moore, jazz writer “Just a Love Child” by Bobbi Humphrey “Love child, falling off your cloud, for just a minute. Running around love, and then you’re in it.” I keep coming back to this line as a reset for life in general: The first half contextualizes our […]
Read MoreFive Minutes That Will Make You Love Thelonious Monk
Listen on YouTube ◆ ◆ ◆ Nikki Yeoh, composer, jazz pianist and educator “Trinkle, Tinkle” In the ’90s I was watching TV. An inventor was revealing their latest creation: a suit jacket that could record movement. The clever blazer would “remember” the motions and make the “model” involuntarily move in the same way. My mind […]
Read More5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Sarah Vaughan
Listen on YouTube ◆ ◆ ◆ Samara Joy, vocalist “Time After Time” I admire how much care she puts into every word, making sure that the story of the song is heard and felt. Any improvisatory changes made to the melody are done with taste and feeling. I also love how she uses the full […]
Read MoreBobby Schiffman, Guiding Force of the Apollo Theater, Dies at 94
“The big stars would say, ‘We love you, Bobby, but we can play the Apollo and sell 1,500 tickets or play Madison Square Garden and sell 18,000,’” Howard Schiffman said. Mr. Schiffman finally shuttered the theater in 1976. The Apollo reopened under new management in 1978 but closed again the next year. In 1981, the […]
Read MoreRichard Davis, Gifted Bassist Who Crossed Genres, Dies at 93
Richard Davis, an esteemed bassist who played not just with some of the biggest names in jazz but also with major figures in the classical, pop and rock worlds, died on Wednesday. He was 93. His death was announced by Persia Davis, his daughter. She did not say where he died but said he had […]
Read More5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Max Roach
The opening track, “Abstrutions,” subtly invites the listener to explore Roach’s innovative approach to rhythm, form, timbre and improvisation. “Abstrutions” arguably challenges the traditional idea of the blues form, extending the final four-bar phrase with a captivating unison horn call met with a powerful drumroll to carry us back to the top. With support from […]
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