T he legendary comedian and actor Jackie Gleason often listed “musician,” “composer” and “conductor” as a part of his ...

J ust because we’re deep in autumn’s serenade for John Coltrane’s 100th birthday doesn’t mean we can’t break off some love and respect for Thelonious … Read More "From Paris and New York, Live, with L ...

n Labor Day weekend, downtown Detroit’s Hart Plaza overflowed with jazz fans eager to hear local and national musicians at the 47th annual Detroit Jazz Festival (September 4–7). One of the few major ...

John Zorn’s Flatlands at Solar Myth, John Zorn conducting. L-R: Simon Hanes, Zorn, Ches Smith, Matt Hollenberg. Photo by the author. f you had to credit/blame any one person for twisting the jazz ...

arly on in this memoir-of-sorts from Al Schackman (via A.G. Dunewood Publishing Co.), the venerable guitarist (93 this October) mentions that he has perfect pitch and a photographic memory. Both serve ...

rom 1969 through the late ’90s, listeners to jazz radio in England, Germany, Denmark, Holland and other European countries heard one of the most seductive sounds ever to come out of their speakers: ...

Among the leading photojournalists of the 1960s, Steve Schapiro rose to prominence by chronicling the Civil Rights Movement: Martin Luther King Jr., James Baldwin, John Lewis, the Freedom Riders. His ...

The Sound of Philadelphia got a little quieter this week as Dexter Wansel, the jazz fusion keyboardist, singer and composer behind the hit album Life on Mars — a space-soul classic that turns 50 this ...

The 1966 album Miles Smiles is readily available in all formats. Listeners will have no trouble locating and listening to “Circle,” a Miles Davis composition, the album’s second track. But they will ...

In his 2004 memoir, Chronicles, Volume One, Bob Dylan writes about his early days in New York’s Greenwich Village, when the 21-year-old would eagerly seek out musicians, writers and artists, anyone ...

Perhaps you’ve read my commentary on Pat Metheny’s new Side-Eye album. But there’s more guitar this season. As a start, here are four releases from the first quarter of 2026 that set the bar high and ...

Altoist Jesse Davis opens Jazzcultural. All screenshots by the author. In the days leading up to the grand opening of Jazzcultural, the new miracle midtown sibling of Smalls and Mezzrow, Spike Wilner ...