All About Jazz

"Georgia On My Mind" by Hoagy Carmichael

Great American Songbook composer, Hoagy Carmichael, (1899-1981) penned many more standards besides the timeless "Stardust" and "Georgia On My Mind..." He also is credited with writing...
Garana Jazz Festival 2017

Running from the 6-9th of July, the 21st edition of the Garana Jazz Festival saw the jazz world descending on its location near the Garana village, high in the Semenic Mountains, Romania...
Charles Lloyd: The Winds Of Grace

At seventy nine years young Charles Lloyd is showing no signs of slowing down. The summer months see the Memphis saxophonist/flautist on the North American and European festival circuits with...
Alfa Jazz Fest 2017

Jazz festivals are different in Europe. There are more of them, and they are crucial to the economic viability, social solidarity and creative evolution of the jazz art form. Many European towns that...
Steve Swell: Appreciating the Avant Garde Today

Steve Swell is a New York based trombonist who for forty years has pursued music at the frontier, variously called avant-garde, the new thing, free jazz, the "outside," music that goes beyond...

Reviews

Daily album reviews—from independent to major label releases.

Tohpati Ethnomission
Mata Hati

Live From A&R Studios New York August 26th 1971

The Allman Brothers...
Live From A&R...

Larry Dickson Jazz...
Donora Autumn

Anemone
A Wing Dissolved In...

Articles

Interviews, columns, concert reviews, and more.

Interview with Ravi Coltrane Live in Montreal and New York City

In Pictures: Ravi Coltrane Live in Montreal and New York City

In Pictures: Umbria Jazz 2017

Interview with Ancona Jazz Summer Festival 2017

In Pictures: Ancona Jazz Summer Festival 2017

In Pictures: Stuttgart Jazz Open 2017

Jazz/Concord

Five Women (plus Two) – MJ Territo, Laura Campisi, Mari...

Track of the Day

Discover new jazz! Download or stream a free tune every day.

Brian Landrus
Jeru Concerto, Mvmt. 1

Bob Holz
Bob's Blues

Rosario Di Rosa
Reaction N.3 - Density

Möbius Strip
Déjà Vu

News

Timely announcements from the industry.

6 Time Juno Nominee Internationally Acclaimed Jazz Piano/Vocalist Carol Welsman Turns To Social Media To Select Tracks For Forthcoming New Album "For You"

Recording 6 Time Juno Nominee Internationally Acclaimed Jazz Piano/Vocalist Carol Welsman Turns To Social Media...

Recording Composer/Arranger Mica Bethea Releases Stage ‘n Studio -- Unique Concept Double-disc Big Band Album

Sylvia Black's Sultry Debut Solo Single, "Walking With Fire," Featuring Saxophonist Jaleel Shaw, Released July 28

Recording Sylvia Black's Sultry Debut Solo Single, "Walking With Fire," Featuring Saxophonist Jaleel Shaw,...

Event Thelonious Monk 100th Birthday Tribute With The Ted Rosenthal Quintet

Festival Count Basie Theatre Announces First-Ever Basie Summer Jazz Fest

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Performance / Tour King Crimson To Tour The US Fall 2017

Recording Acclaimed Cuban Jazz Pianist, Dayramir Gonzalez, To Release "The Grand Concourse" Ep July 21, 2017

Website Support All About Jazz Through Amazon, Ticketfly, HDTracks, TicketWeb and more!

Festival Count Basie Theatre Announces First-Ever Basie Summer Jazz Fest

Recording Ethel Ennis Sings for Losers

Career A Look At Pandora's Artist Marketing Platform

Event Thelonious Monk 100th Birthday Tribute With The Ted Rosenthal Quintet

Recording Composer/Arranger Mica Bethea Releases Stage ‘n Studio -- Unique Concept Double-disc Big Band Album

Recording Sylvia Black's Sultry Debut Solo Single, "Walking With Fire," Featuring Saxophonist Jaleel Shaw, Released July 28

Music Industry How Congress Can Right Wrong For Music Released Pre-1972

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Website All About Jazz Top 10 MP3 Downloads: June 2017

Website Jazz Near You adds Jazz Gallery and Town Hall (NYC) events to calendar

Story of the Day

I love jazz because...it's in my blood! My late father, Billy Ainsworth, was a musical prodigy who dropped out of school at 17 after he stunned the seasoned musicians of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra with an in-off-the-street audition
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I love jazz because...it's in my blood! My late father, Billy Ainsworth, was a musical prodigy who dropped out of school at 17 after he stunned the seasoned musicians of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra with an in-off-the-street audition. He was on the band bus the next day as Dorsey's alto sax and clarinet player, and never looked back. He played with great bandleaders such as Freddie Martin, Tex Beneke and Ray McKinley, some before he was out of his teens (they had to lie about his age to get him into nightclubs). Many older musicians have told me he was the greatest alto sax player they ever worked with. He was equally great on clarinet and was clarinetist and harmony singer for cocktail jazz pioneers, the Ernie Felice Quartet. He eventually left the road and settled down, and that's when I came in. By that time, he was, by day, vocal group session leader/player/arranger for classic jingles and commercial music produced in Dallas. At night, he played in society bands, jazz combos and elegant showrooms. Tuesdays were slow in the showrooms, so band members' families got in free, and my mom took me to see him backing such legends as Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Steve and Eydie, and a very old Ella Fitzgerald. Between that, hearing his record collection, growing up around the legendary musicians and singers who were like aunts and uncles to me, and just listening to him practice around the house, filling the neighborhood with incredible jazz sax riffs, I couldn't help becoming that weird kid who was listening to Peggy Lee, Ella and Manhattan Transfer when my classmates were listening to rock, country and soul. Even though he died before I ever sang professionally, he remains my inspiration and all my CDs are dedicated to him. I like to think that he'd like my music, since it's built on the foundation he handed down to me.
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By Laura Ainsworth
Member since: 2010