Jazz Articles
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Thelonious Monk: Bremen 1965
by Pierre Giroux
The first official release of the Bremen concert, carefully remastered from the original tapes, is more than just an archival curiosity; it is a revelation. Recorded on an evening characterized by generous tempos and a relaxed exchange, Bremen 1965 reaffirms Thelonious Monk and his experienced quartet as they pay their most fundamental tributes: the uneven poetry of his time, the crystalline bite of Charlie Rouse's tenor saxophone, the steady ballast of Larry Gales's bass, and Ben Riley's propulsive subtleties on ...
Continue ReadingKonstantin Rega's Best Jazz Albums Of 2025
by Konstantin N. Rega
Even as the world seems to spin faster and faster, jazz has got your back. With albums responding to the current musical dialogue as well as those looking back to the past, 2025 offered a wonderful assortment of delicious earworms. It was a year of tasteful tunes, imaginative expressionistic freestyling, and generous arrangements of time-favoured oldies. Italia Till Bronner earMUSIC Oh Snap
Continue ReadingChad LB: The Shadow Of Your Smile
by Jack Bowers
Chad LB (for Lefkowitz-Brown), a shining star and technical wizard on the saxophone who has already recorded a full album with strings, uses them on only one number (the hymn “Ave Maria") on The Shadow of Your Smile, leading an able quartet the rest of the way on this generally pleasing studio date. While his choices of material are diverse (Eric Clapton, Bill Withers, Johnny Mandel, Buck Ram, and J.S. Bach among them), Chad LB is pretty much ...
Continue ReadingMożdżer & Szymanowski at Love Polish Jazz Festival 2025
by Marek J. Śmietański
A collection of photos from the Możdżer & Szymanowski concert at Ice Arena in Tomaszów Mazowiecki (Poland) on September 19, 2025 featuring Leszek Mozdzer and Karol Szymanowski. The duo paid homage to the legend of Polish jazz--saxophonist Jan Ptaszyn Wroblewski (who passed away in May 2024)--by reinterpreting his compositions. ...
Continue ReadingDavid Sneider: Introducing David Sneider
by Jack Bowers
What better way to introduce young trumpeter David Sneider than with one of his half-dozen buoyant new compositions, “Marvelous-Lee," the opening number on Sneider's congenial debut recording. That delightful salute to fellow trumpeter Lee Morgan also introduces one of Sneider's two front-line partners, tenor saxophonist Jacob Chung, and the ensemble's able rhythm section: pianist Tyler Henderson, bassist Joey Ranieri and drummer Willie Bowman. Sneider, who placed first in the 2021 Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Competition, is ...
Continue ReadingImprovising the Classics: Roll Over Beethoven
by Larry Slater
Beethoven was a musical revolutionary. He transformed every musical form he used to create his body of music.The pianist and composer Jon Batiste said “Beethoven's work taps into a universal connective, magnetic truth in music." Beethoven was a master of motivic development, taking small musical ideas and expanding them into long and varied ideas, just like the art of improvisation.In 1998, Elvin Jones, the legendary drummer who anchored John Coltrane's quartet, was a guest artist at ...
Continue ReadingAnat Cohen’s Musical Evolution & 50th Birthday Celebration
by Steven Roby
In this episode of Backstage Bay Area, Steven Roby sits down with Grammy-nominated clarinetist and saxophonist Anat Cohen. Known for her expressive virtuosity and infectious charisma, Anat is bringing a massive milestone celebration to San Francisco.We discuss her intimate “Quartetinho" ensemble and her expansive 10-piece “Tentet." Anat opens up about growing up in a musical household in Tel Aviv, her “student for life" philosophy while pursuing a master's degree in Rio de Janeiro, and the creative visualization behind ...
Continue ReadingMakaya McCraven, Sam Ospovat, Johnathan Blake
by Ludovico Granvassu
Here is a playlist that gives the drummers some, actually more than some as it focuses exclusively on records released by remarkable modern drummers and composers/bandleaders like Makaya McCraven, Sam Ospovat, and Johnathan Blake.Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Johnathan Blake “Last Breath" My Life Matters (Blue Note) 0:16 Host talks 7:12 Makaya McCraven “Venice" Off the Record: PopUp Shop (Nonesuch/International Anthem) 9:25 Makaya McCraven “News Feed" Off ...
Continue ReadingNigel Price Organ Trio At Magy's Farm
by Ian Patterson
Nigel Price Organ Trio Magy's Farm Dromara, N. IrelandNovember 29, 2025 You probably have to go back to the Duke Ellington Orchestra in the '50s to find a harder-touring jazz outfit than the Nigel Price Organ Trio. Between the beginning of April and the end of June 1950 Ellington led his musicians through 74 gigs in 77 days on a European tour. Talk about logistical headaches. Ellington might have smiled wryly at the notion of a ...
Continue ReadingStefon Harris & Blackout / Theo Croker at Miner Auditorium
by Steven Roby
Stefon Harris & Blackout/Theo Croker Miner Auditorium Terence Blanchard's UpSwing Series San Francisco, CA November 29, 2025 The UpSwing series, curated by Terence Blanchard at SFJAZZ, acts as a key indicator of the health of American improvised music. It is more than just a showcase; it functions as a laboratory. By bringing together established masters and emerging talent innovators in the expansive Miner Auditorium, the series fosters a dialogue essential for the genre's future. ...
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