Articles by Dan Bilawsky

In Pictures

2026 Tilles Jazz Fest

by Dan Bilawsky
July 23, 2026

72 hours before the 2026 Tilles Jazz Fest, the mercury hit 100 degrees on Long Island; 48 hours ahead of the event, Canadian wildfires sent orange skies and unsafe air quality; and one day before everything was set to get underway, the forecast looked seriously grim--heavy rain(s), thunderstorms, a chance of hail and even a tornado warning showed on the apps. So what did the Tilles staff due? Weather the weather together, of course. With mere hours to pivot, they ...

In Pictures

Bennie Wallace Quintet at The Jazz Loft

by Dan Bilawsky
July 9, 2026

Tempus Fugit (Time Flies). In May of 2026, Dr. Tom Manuel, the President and Founder of The Jazz Loft in Stony Brook, NY, celebrated that museum/performing arts venue's 10th anniversary. And in June, saxophonist Bennie Wallace, who'll turn 80 before year's end, dropped in with an all-star quintet featuring longtime collaborators--Anthony Wilson, pianist Donald Vega, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Herlin Riley. Together, those five (plus rising star vibraphonist Simon Moullier) appear on Wallace's French Postcard (BackCountry Jazz, 2026), essentially ...

Album Review

Ron Carter & Yotam Silberstein: Duets

by Dan Bilawsky
June 13, 2026

The concept of virtuosity is often misunderstood as an outsized display of technique. In truth though, by definition and in reality, it's about mastery. Such expertise is just as likely to be shown in measured command as it is to appear as fireworks, and this absorbing duo date is a firm reminder of that fact. Legendary bassist Ron Carter and eminent guitarist Yotam Silberstein each possess extraordinary skills and have the wisdom and experience to know when ...

Album Review

Daniel Rotem: Solo II - Under Construction At Bluewhale

Read "Solo II - Under Construction At Bluewhale" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
May 30, 2026

This album plays as a story of second comings, both for a beloved West Coast jazz spot and a compelling artist's solitary explorations. Back in the fall of 2024, bluewhale--one of L.A.'s most welcoming clubs, permanently shuttered at its original location during the pandemic--was in the midst of starting a new lease on life in a different space. On November 10 of that year, venue proprietor Joon Lee held an open house to signal the shape of a scene to ...

In Pictures

The Birdland Big Band at Birdland Jazz Club

by Dan Bilawsky
February 10, 2026

Happy hour on Friday is for unwinding, leaving the work week's burdens behind and--if you're lucky, and in the New York City area--catching The Birdland Big Band. That ensemble has long been holding court at its namesake club in a liminal space between afternoon and evening, filling the gap between life's structured nine-to-five commitments and the weekend's reprieve. Its music, mirroring both sides of that reality, walks a line between tight team work and personal freedom, allowing and encouraging ace ...

Multiple Reviews

A Wind For All Seasons

by Dan Bilawsky
February 5, 2026

There is something positively elemental in the artistry of Martin Wind. Beyond being one of the music's premier bassists, he is a creatively driven composer and leader--a seemingly bottomless font of expression in action--and his work most certainly represents the breadth, and breath, carried in his name. One minute he's conjuring a Brazilian Nordeste with buoyant allure, the next he's evoking a warm and enveloping zephyr with his woody tones. His fertile imagination draws out föhns, sondos, mistrals, kogorashis, siroccos, ...

Album Review

Benjamin Jephta: Homecoming Revisited

Read "Homecoming Revisited" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
December 15, 2025

At 22 years of age, the up-and-coming Cape Town-reared bassist Benjamin Jephta introduced himself to the wider world via Homecoming (Self Produced, 2015), an engrossing debut featuring South African standouts like tenor saxophonist Sisonke Xonti, trumpeter Marcus Wyatt, pianist Kyle Shepherd, drummer Sphelelo Mazibuko and vocalist Spha Mdlalose. A decade later, he gives us Homecoming Revisted, re- envisioning that material with a large community of collaborators and some hard-won perspective. Opening on “Prayer for... (revisited)," with Mazibuko and percussionist Tlale ...

Album Review

Omar Sosa: Sendas

by Dan Bilawsky
November 21, 2025

Omar Sosa's Sendas--"paths," as it translates--pursues courses of catharsis. A solo piano session recorded live at Fazioli Concert Hall in northern Italy during a period of global uncertainty just a few short years ago, it offers a series of improvisations that speak to reflective resolve. The music draws on both individual perspective and universal positioning, creating an overlay that binds artist and listener through the act of creation, a yearning for understanding, and the ceaseless movement of time.

In Pictures

The Jazz Loft's Harbor Jazz Festival: Winard Harper & Jeli Posse / Eric Alexander Trio

by Dan Bilawsky
October 15, 2025

The Jazz Loft's 10th Annual Harbor Jazz Festival, which ran from Wednesday, September 17 through Saturday, September 20, 2025, offered high-caliber hits to please both jazz neophytes and the fully initiated. Things kicked off with an opening reception and the Frank Hansen-helmed Jazz Loft Trio running the venue's weekly jam session; newly-installed Stony Brook Director of Jazz Roxy Coss took the baton from there, putting her stellar saxophone work on display while showcasing her quartet on the following night; trumpet ...

Album Review

Michael Dease: Flow

by Dan Bilawsky
September 17, 2025

Michael Dease is always on the go. A flurry of activity seems to surround the prolific trombonist, composer, bandleader, sideman, educator, and doubler. Yet he's always operating in the moment, never distracted by all of the spinning plates. Dease absolutely personifies the flow state, fully immersing himself in every one of his pursuits. This, his 11th album for the Posi-Tone imprint and 18th in all since his 2005 debut, demonstrates that fact as well as anything. Mixing it up with ...