Articles by Funk / Groove / Acid Jazz

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. ...

Radio & Podcasts

Herbie Hancock, Christian Dillingham, Miki Yamanaka & Jeremy Monteiro

by Joe Dimino
August 23, 2026

From the Kansas City-based French hornist and composer Loren Broaddus, we launch the 972nd Episode of Neon Jazz with new music from his 2026 album Blackout!--a fitting spark to ignite this hour. From there, we turn our ears toward the legendary Herbie Hancock, spinning music from his landmark 2007 album River: The Joni Letters in celebration of his visit to Kansas City on August 8, 2026. Then we get inside the creative minds of Jeff Cosgrove and Christian Dilliagham, weaving ...

Interview

Petr Studený: Listening as a Creative Act

by Nenad Georgievski
August 22, 2026

For Petr Studený, music has never been a passive background hum. Since 1979, he has operated under the self-assigned title of “active listener"--a designation that treats the intake of sound as a foundational creative act. Based in Prague, a city whose “magical" atmosphere he credits as a silent collaborator, Studený has spent decades navigating the intersections of industrial noise, minimalism, and the historical avant-garde. He has emerged as a vital bridge between the radical traditions of the 20th century and the ...

Live Review

Lettuce at Miner Auditorium

by Steven Roby
July 23, 2026

Lettuce Miner Auditorium San Francisco, CA July 19, 2026 A funny thing happens when Lettuce comes to SFJAZZ. The Miner Auditorium--normally a model of concert-hall decorum--starts to feel less like a jazz temple and more like the world's hippest funk party in a neighborhood. Even before the first note, Sunday night's crowd suggested this wouldn't be an ordinary closer to the band's four-night residency. Fans embraced in the lobby like family at a reunion. ...

Play This!

Jah Wobble: Memories

by Geno Thackara
June 28, 2026

Reworking a classic album, even partially, always risks turning into a nostalgia exercise and/or a misguided attempt to experiment. The prospect is even trickier with something impossible to recapture, such as the lightning-in-a-bottle chaos of Public Image Ltd's landmark Metal Box (Virgin, 1979). Nonetheless, the inimitable Jah Wobble threaded that needle a few decades later with a hard-grooving makeover that ups the production while keeping the spiky edges. ...

Take Five With...

Take Five with Saxophonist Bernell Jones II

by AAJ Staff
June 19, 2026

Meet Bernell Jones Originally from Memphis, TN, Bernell Jones II is an NYC-based genre-fluid saxophonist and songwriter. His music showcases a variety of influences from his upbringing such as gospel, jazz, blues, r&b, etc. As a performing artist, he has worked alongside artists such as Ms. Lauryn Hill, Olivia Dean, Wyclef Jean, Philip Harper, Eric Bellinger, and more. As an artist, Bernell has three albums under his belt, including his acclaimed 2024 debut album Typewriter. In his music and his ...

Interview

Ellen Pieroni: Balancing Act for a Life in Music

by R.J. DeLuke
June 17, 2026

By day, a mild-mannered music teacher in the Buffalo public school system in western New York state--the city known for its brutal snowstorms and the NFL's Bills--Ellen Pieroni is, by night, ready to pour out streams of jazz-inflected, funk-infused solos from any given bandstand. From that vantage point, she's fierce and fun. Her band, the Encyclopedia of Soul, is gaining fans and growing a reputation known for delivering moving and memorable live experiences. Pieroni is a lifelong resident ...