Jazz Articles
Kinan Azmeh & CityBand at Stable Hall
by Katchie Cartwright
Kinan Azmeh & CityBAnd Stable Hall The New Season 2025/26 San Antonio October 12, 2025 The concert on October 12, 2025 was not Syrian-born Kinan Azmeh's first rodeo, you might say. He had performed in San Antonio a handful of times prior to the Stable Hall concert at the behest of Musical Bridges Around the World, which provides, as their website rightly proclaims, “free access to high quality global performing arts, with a ...
Continue ReadingPaul McCartney at Coors Field
by Geoff Anderson
Paul McCartney Coors Field Denver, CO October 11, 2025 A Paul McCartney concert, unlike most other musical events, is laden with cultural significance, bearing carts of baggage both good and bad; but mostly good. The weight of context complicates attempts at a dispassionate evaluation of the music. But it is music. It is inextricably intertwined with passion and emotion. Because of his longevity and cultural impact, McCartney's music just carries more of that ...
Continue ReadingChris Jonas: backwardsupwardsky
by Glenn Astarita
Few artists can translate geography into sound with the spatial clarity that Chris Jonas achieves on backwardsupwardsky. A saxophonist, composer and multimedia artist whose résumé includes collaborations with Anthony Braxton, Cecil Taylor and William Parker, Jonas has always favored creative risk. This two-LP set on Edgetone Records transforms desert solitude--specifically his winters camping on Arizona's Barry Goldwater Missile Range--into a sprawling, multi-ensemble work. The music captures both the intimacy of campfire sketches and the sheer scale of the landscapes that ...
Continue ReadingElana Sasson: In Between
by Katchie Cartwright
Elana Sasson's work is singularly intersectional and intercultural, by heritage, training and aesthetic preference. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, she was naturally steeped in American music of various sorts and learned fundamentals of Western classical music in school. At home, though, especially with her grandfather and through years of private lessons with the contemporary vocal duo Mahsa and Marjan Vahdat, she listened to and studied the Kurdish and Persian classical music of her ancestry. ...
Continue ReadingMette Henriette at ECM Warsaw Festival 2025
by Marek J. Śmietański
A collection of photos from the Mette Henriette Trio concert at Chopin University of Music (UMFC) in Warsaw on September 5, 2025 featuring Mette Henriette, Johan Lindvall and Judith Hamann. ...
Continue ReadingJason Forsythe: It's About Time
by Jack Bowers
It's About Time likely refers to the fact that although Jason Forsythe has been a jazz composer of note for decades, this is the first-ever recording he has released as leader of his own ensemble, in this case a world-class sextet whose heavyweight front line is manned by trumpeter Brian Lynch, tenor saxophonist Walt Weiskopf and trombonist Steve Davis. While Forsythe wrote eight of the album's nine songs--every one of which houses much to admire and commend--the ...
Continue ReadingNicholas Payton, Louis Armstrong, Grant Stewart & Pete Escovedo
by Joe Dimino
We hustle into the 928th Episode of Neon Jazz with a master of the Latin Jazz world in Pete Escovedo. He recently swung through Kansas City to kick off a roaring jazz schedule for the new Folly Theater season. From there, we dig into veterans with new music like Grant Stewart, Nicholas Payton, Jonathan Karrant, Ted Piltzecker and Al Muirhead. The UNLV Jazz Ensemble drops in with new music showing off the future of jazz. We also check in on ...
Continue ReadingGary Husband, EH 3 Trio, HII Trio,Tigran Hamasyan, Derek Sherinian, Jan Hammer
by Len Davis
We kick things off with drum and keyboard maestro Gary Husband, showcasing a rich span of previously unreleased music recorded between 1978 and 2021. Next up, Norwegian band EH 3 brings the groove with Funk Haus, followed by vibrant Brazilian jazz from drummer Igor Willcox and pianist Henrique Mota. Groundbreaking pianist Tigran Hamasyan returns with his signature blend of avant-garde textures and boundary-pushing sounds. From Mumbai, bass sensation Mohini Dey stuns with her irresistibly funky style, while Derek Sherinian and ...
Continue ReadingCarmen Staaf, Vincent Peirani, Rachel Eckroth, SML & More
by Ludovico Granvassu
Enjoy a few more memorable finds from our weekly listening so you can go straight to the heart of today's vibrant West Coast, East Coast and European jazz scenes.Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Vincent Peirani “Time Reflections: Clessidra" Living Being IV (Time Reflections) (ACT) 0:16 Host talks 8:12 Ballaké Sissoko, Vincent Segal, Vincent Peirani, Emile Parisien “Amir" Sou Kora (No Format!) 8:59 Host talks 15:02 Carmen Staaf ...
Continue ReadingStanley Clarke Band at The Carver
by Katchie Cartwright
Stanley Clarke The Carver Community Cultural Center / Jo Long Theatre The New Season 2025/26 San Antonio, TX October 11, 2025 A capacity crowd at The Carver's Jo Long Theatre celebrated the opening of San Antonio's 2025 season on October 11 with a high-spirited set from Stanley Clarke and his ensemble. The playbill promised “incredible, soulful, virtuosic" music, which the renowned bassist and his youthful ensemble delivered. Despite the intricate arrangements and ...
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