News

The Latest Jazz News from Around the World

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• Nate Smith + KINFOLK (feat. Kokayi, Michael Mayo), 'Square Wheel'

  Tue, 22 Jun 2021 21:30:32 GMT

  That this music proudly defies classification is only natural — it's a core part of Smith's message.

• You Have To Fight For The Vision: Wynton Marsalis Talks With Lara Downes

  Sat, 19 Jun 2021 12:24:42 GMT

  The musical polymath offers ideas on everything from Russian satellites and hip-hop, to Bach and football, and how they shape the musical education of America.

• Don And Moki Cherry's Organic Dreams Made Real

  Fri, 18 Jun 2021 09:00:27 GMT

  In the late '60s through the '70s, Don and Moki Cherry imagined a world where creative music, education and the arts all lived together.

• Jazz Elder Statesman Anthony Braxton Continues To Defy Expectations

  Thu, 17 Jun 2021 09:04:00 GMT

  Maverick jazz composer Anthony Braxton was set to spend his 75th birthday performing at events around the world, but then... well, you know. He has two new boxed sets out this month.

• Pino Palladino + Blake Mills: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

  Thu, 17 Jun 2021 09:00:24 GMT

  The prolific bassist and two-time Grammy-nominated producer and guitarist come together to distill the sonic creativity of their album, Notes With Attachments.

• Floating Along In Uncertainty With Vijay Iyer

  Wed, 09 Jun 2021 09:09:00 GMT

  For the final entry in Morning Edition's Song Project series, Vijay Iyer wrote a rhizomatic, inviting — and not entirely placating — instrumental piece to encapsulate his past year.

• Hear Bach's Music Like You've Never Heard It Before: Upside Down

  Fri, 04 Jun 2021 09:02:00 GMT

  For most artists, 2020 was a year of forced isolation and few opportunities. But Dan Tepfer, a jazz pianist and composer, had a busy year, partly thanks to his technological acumen.

• Jazz Singer Nnenna Freelon Works Through Grief With New Album And Podcast

  Sat, 29 May 2021 11:29:00 GMT

  "Time Traveler," Nnenna Freelon's first new album in more than a decade, is a passionate expression of love enduring as she grieves the loss of her husband and other family members.

• Branford Marsalis' 'Ma Rainey' Score Makes 100-Year-Old Blues Sound Relevant Today

  Wed, 26 May 2021 18:22:40 GMT

  Ma Rainey's Black Bottom made its debut last year with a striking cast of characters, but it was Branford Marsalis' job to make the music take flight.

• Melvin Gibbs (feat. Kokayi), 'Message From The Streets'

  Tue, 25 May 2021 13:00:00 GMT

  Vibration is always critical for Melvin Gibbs, whose electric bass has motored everyone from Ronald Shannon Jackson to Rollins Band.

• Mario Pavone, Hard-Hitting Bassist And Respected East-Coast Educator, Dead At 80

  Wed, 19 May 2021 15:32:07 GMT

  The Connecticut-born bassist was known both for his attack on the fingerboard and the decades he spent nurturing the next generation of players.

• Marking Legendary Golden-Age Pianist Erroll Garner's Centennial

  Mon, 17 May 2021 19:10:30 GMT

  The Erroll Garner Jazz Project is collaborating on a deep, retrospective reissue of the composer and piano prodigy's live work, marking his 100th birthday in September.

• One Year Later, Pianist Helen Sung Returns To The Stage

  Thu, 13 May 2021 19:34:57 GMT

  Filmed at Dizzy's Club, Helen Sung's quartet plays several pieces born out of the sorrow, loss and anxiety caused by the pandemic.

• Curtis Fuller, Leading Trombonist Of Jazz's Detroit Wave, Dies At 88

  Mon, 10 May 2021 18:09:00 GMT

  After cutting his teeth in Detroit, a move to New York near the middle of the century found him directly in the center of a deeply important moment for jazz.

• Moses Boyd: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

  Fri, 07 May 2021 09:00:27 GMT

  The U.K. jazz drummer and producer helms a Tiny Desk from Church Studios in North London.