Articles by Paul Reynolds
Samara Joy and Christian McBride at Summerstage
by Paul Reynolds
Samara Joy and Christian McBride Summerstage Verve's 70th Anniversary Celebration New York NY September 2, 2026 Founded 70 years ago, Verve Records was launched in part to treat female jazz artists with respect, who too often had been shortchanged within a music community that was male-centric to an extreme. It's fitting, then, that a concert held to honor the label's milestone birthday primarily showcased Verve's women singers over the years. The main event ...
Continue ReadingBill Frisell and Ambrose Akinmusire at NoMad Jazz Festival
by Paul Reynolds
Bill Frisell and Ambrose Akinmusire Baruch College NoMad Jazz Festival New York NY August 3, 2026 It's not uncommon to describe jazz duets as musical conversations. But the term, suggesting some silences and even disagreements, isn't quite right for an encounter as uninterrupted and musically telepathic as that of Bill Frisell and Ambrose Akinmusire at Baruch College on Monday night. Akinmusire recently (once again) won top honors as the best trumpeter in the prestigious ...
Continue ReadingMichael Leonhart Orchestra at the 2026 NoMad Jazz Festival
by Paul Reynolds
Michael Leonhart Orchestra Rizzoli Bookstore NoMad Jazz Festival New York NY August 2, 2026 Spontaneous creation in jazz usually doesn't extend to the arrangements for a 17-piece orchestra. But Michael Leonhart--who disclosed from the bandstand that his orchestra “did not rehearse for this performance"--wound up arranging on the fly for a chunk of his band's 95-minute twin tribute to Miles Davis and John Coltrane on Sunday. During the looser numbers of the set--which was ...
Continue ReadingJazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Play Ellington's Black, Brown, and Beige
by Paul Reynolds
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center Ellington's Greatest Masterpiece: Black, Brown, and Beige New York, NY July 23, 2026 Usually dark for the summer, Jazz at Lincoln Center, unusually, presented a concert event this month. Billed as the first performances of the 2026-2027 season for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the twin shows at Rose Hall featured the JLCO at its best. That is, playing compositions by Duke ...
Continue ReadingKate Kortum at Jazz In July, 92NY
by Paul Reynolds
Kate Kortum and the Aaron Diehl Trio 92NY Jazz In July New York NY July 22, 2026 Casual jazz fans likely may not yet recognize her name, but the growing reputation of Kate Kortum within the jazz community clearly preceded her appearance last week at the 92nd Street Y Jazz in July Festival. The show became one of the hottest tickets of the festival, with the performance selling out more than a week in ...
Continue ReadingMelissa Aldana Quartet at Wave Hill
by Paul Reynolds
Melissa Aldana Wave Hill Public Garden & Cultural Center Sunset Wednesday New York NY July 15, 2026 Wildfire smoke from Canada choked New York City last Wednesday night, including at Wave Hill, the garden and cultural center located north of Manhattan, which customarily offers outdoor shows with spectacular views of the Hudson River and New Jersey Palisades. Given the grimy air, the venue had little choice but to move its scheduled “Sunset Wednesday" ...
Continue ReadingThe Gil Evans Project at Birdland
by Paul Reynolds
The Gil Evans Project Birdland Sketches of Spain and Porgy and Bess New York NY May 27 and May 30, 2026 Among the many celebrations of Miles Davis during his centennial week, it's hard to rival the ambition of Ryan Truesdell's fine five-night takeover of the main room at Birdland to present Sketches Of Spain (Legacy Recordings, 1960) and Porgy and Bess (Columbia Records, 1959), two of the classic big-band collaborations between the trumpeter and ...
Continue ReadingJoe Alterman, Adam Dorn and Special Guests at Rizzoli Bookstore
by Paul Reynolds
Joe Alterman and Adam Dorn (aka Mocean Worker) and special guests Rizzoli Bookstore Les McCann Tribute / All About Jazz 30th Anniversary Party New York, NY May 3, 2026 A landmark birthday calls for a party, preferably with live music. And that's just what was thrown for All About Jazz on Sunday to celebrate the website's 30 years of history. In remarks to open the festivities, AAJ founder--and still the site's publisher--Michael ...
Continue ReadingDavid Murray, Amina Claudine Myers and Matthew Shipp At The Long Play Festival
by Paul Reynolds
David Murray, Amina Claudine Myers, and Matthew Shipp Theater for a New Audience Long Play Festival New York NY May 2, 2026 As the first full day of the Long Play Festival, Saturday offered the event's usual diversity of offerings, with 25-plus performances ranging from New-Music ensemble Bang on a Can All-Stars through avant-garde classical harp to music rooted in ancient Moroccan spirituals. And Long Play's wide artistic palette also brought jazz, ...
Continue ReadingBilly Hart Quartet and BlankFor.ms with Jason Moran and Marcus Gilmore at the Long Play Festival
by Paul Reynolds
Billy Hart Quartet and BkankFor.ms with Jason Moran/Marcus Gilmore Roulette Long Play Festival New York, NY May 1, 2026 It's the “most important classical music festival in New York City," according to the New York Times. Yet the programmers for the Long Play Festival in Brooklyn also have big ears. Woven between Long Play's 40-plus classical performances this year--mostly of the contemporary classical bent of Bang on a Can, the festival organizer--were a smattering of ...
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