Articles by Funk / Groove / Acid Jazz

Radio & Podcasts

Joey DeFrancesco, Alexis Cole, Mark Isham, Stella Heath & Ken Lovern

by Joe Dimino
October 25, 2026

It's an honor to kick off the 981st Episode of Neon Jazz with Kansas City's own acclaimed organist Ken Lovern and his ambitious new project, Blind Boone! We open with “Boone Plays It Back," a musical journey that reaches beyond the album into the pages of a comic book and onto the stage in a production planned for the latter part of 2026. It's a bold celebration of music, history, and storytelling you won't want to miss. From there, we ...

In Pictures

The Monterey Jazz Festival 2026 Did Not Disappoint

by Ronald Davis
October 19, 2026

A collection of photos from the Monterey Jazz Festival in Monterey CA from September 25, 2026 to September 27, 2026 featuring Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Ron Carter, Melissa Aldana, Veronica Leahy, Emmanuel Michael, Christone Kingfish" Ingram, David Sánchez, Shemekia Copeland, David Virelles, Dezron Douglas, Ravi Coltrane, Elé Howell, Brian Blade, Linda May Han Oh, Sylvia Cuenca, Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, Rufus Reid, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Kyle Poole, Joey Alexander, Reuben Rogers, Ron Blake, Gerald Clayton, Gregory Hutchinson, Emmanuel Michael, ...

Live Review

Marcus Miller At Miner Auditorium

by Steven Roby
September 30, 2026

Marcus Miller Miner Auditorium, SFJAZZ Center “We Want Miles" Centennial Celebration San Francisco, CA September 27, 2026 On Sunday at Miner Auditorium, Mino Cinélu stepped down from his percussion riser, carried a large black gourd to center stage, and drew a startling range of sounds from it, wowing the crowd. No one onstage seemed in a hurry to leave. They had reason to linger. This was the final show of Marcus Miller's ...

Radio & Podcasts

Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Jazz - Part 3

by Ludovico Granvassu
September 28, 2026

The third and final part of our celebration of 50 years of Stevie Wonder's Songs In The Key Of Life--with more jazz renditions of this timeless masterpiece.Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Gato Barbieri “Ngiculela--Es una Historia--I Am Singing" Ruby Ruby (A&M) 0:16 Host talks 6:00 Brandee Younger “If It's Magic" Brand New Life (Impulse!) 7:39 Host talks 11:07 Becca Stevens feat. Jacob Collier “As" Regina (GroundUP) 12:07 ...

Radio & Podcasts

Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Jazz - Part 2

by Ludovico Granvassu
September 27, 2026

Stevie Wonder's cult classic may not be a jazz album, but its jazz connections run deep--from Herbie Hancock, Dorothy Ashby, George Benson, Glenn Ferris, and Bobbi Humphrey involved in its recording to Alice Coltrane, Chick Corea, Quincy Jones, David Sanborn, and Lenny White among the influences acknowledged in the liner notes. No wonder its songs have inspired hundreds of jazz renditions--and here's the second part of our playlist featuring some of the best, following the sequence of the original record. ...

Radio & Podcasts

Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Jazz - Part 1

by Ludovico Granvassu
September 26, 2026

Fifty years after Stevie Wonder released Songs In The Key Of Life, we celebrate the anniversary song by song, in the exact sequence of the original double LP and the related Something's Extra EP--with one twist: every track is a jazz rendition. Happy listening! Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Jalen Baker “Love's In Need of Love Today" This Is Me, This Is Us (Outside In Music) 0:16 Host ...

Radio & Podcasts

Skinny Hightower, Ralph Alessi, Neves E Silva, Buster Williams, Jon Madof, Rob Dixon

by Ludovico Granvassu
September 18, 2026

Lineage and traditions as springboards for new ideas, in this playlist of recent releases. Happy listening! Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Neves E Silva “Das Neves" Ladeiras De Santa Teresa (Far Out) 0:16 Host talks 3:28 Skinny Hightower “Chain Reaction" Feels Like Destiny (CastOver) 5:16 Rob Dixon “I Want You" Naptown Soul (Strikezone) 13:22 Host talks 18:50 Jon Madof Trio “Invisible Alchemy" Netzach (Tzadik) 20:16 Ralph Alessi ...

Radio & Podcasts

Bill Laswell, Kronos Quartet, Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, And More.

by Lawrence Peryer
September 18, 2026

The first half of our show is a deep dub run: an obscure mid-1990s compilation cut, Harry Mudie's 1976 session with King Tubby, Scientist's early-'80s Channel One sound, Prince Far I, and Bill Laswell, who shows up twice, once under his own name and once as the producer who reassembled Bob Marley's catalog into ambient dub on 1997's Dreams of Freedom. The second half slows all the way down: a new quartet session built around Christer Bothén's donso n'goni, Kronos ...

In Pictures

2026 Newport Jazz Festival, Part 2

by Mark Robbins
September 4, 2026

Jazz at Newport has always been about more than keeping a tradition alive. It is also about seeing where the music is going. At the 72nd Newport Jazz Festival, that was clear in the wide range of music heard throughout the weekend, from jazz and soul to R&B, hip-hop, funk and experimental music. Artists from different generations shared the stages at Fort Adams. Herbie Hancock and Charles Lloyd represented generations of jazz history, while artists such as Robert ...

In Pictures

Herbie Hancock Quintet at Mondavi Center for Performing Arts

by Ronald Davis
August 24, 2026

A collection of photos from the Herbie Hancock Quintet concert at Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts in Davis, California on August 16, 2026, featuring Hancock, Terence Blanchard, Lionel Loueke, James Genus and Jaylen Petinaud. ...