Live Review
Reporting on live jazz from around the globe.
SFJAZZ Collective At Miner Auditorium
by Steven Roby
SFJAZZ Collective Miner Auditorium San Francisco, CA November 2, 2025 San Francisco experienced a heartfelt, generous homage to Wayne Shorter on Sunday afternoon when the SFJAZZ Collective presented its second of three shows, the Native Dancer project, at Miner Auditorium. Led by music director and multi-reedist Chris Potter, the seven musicians approached Shorter's 1975 collaboration with Milton Nascimento as an open exploration rather than a fixed document, and the packed audience sensed that ...
Continue ReadingSaso Popovski Trio at Audiokultura
by Nenad Georgievski
Saso Popovski Trio Audiokultura Artchemistry Skopje, Macedonia October 28, 2025 State-of-the-art jazz bloomed Tuesday night at Skopje's Audiokultura club, as guitarist Saso Popovski took the stage with Ivan Bejkov on bass and Alek Sekulovski on drums. The performance, part of the Arthemija series, felt like a quiet celebration of intuition--three musicians listening deeply, shaping something alive in real time. They opened with “Kom Dipsan," a piece that began in an unusual ...
Continue ReadingBrandee Younger at Dazzle
by Geoff Anderson
Brandee Younger Dazzle Denver, CO October 28, 2025 The jazz harp is an unusual concept. The upside is that it makes the player instantly stand out because of the dearth of jazz harpists. A potential downside is that jazz fans may turn away, thinking a harp cannot possibly fit into jazz. Of course, those with a bit of knowledge of jazz history know that this ground has already been broken by Alice Coltrane and Dorothy ...
Continue ReadingLas Cafeteras Offer Evening Of Spiritual Storytelling
by Steven Roby
Las Cafeteras Miner Auditorium Día de los Muertos Celebration San Francisco, California October 31, 2025 A Día de los Muertos ritual of music, dance, and testimony transformed Miner Auditorium into a living ofrenda.Miner Auditorium resembled a communal altar on Halloween, with flickering candles, portraits of ancestors glowing, and a towering Día de los Muertos figure watching over. The stage was set as an ofrenda--the Día de los Muertos altar, filled with portraits ...
Continue ReadingRon Carter New Jazz Trio And Foursight Quartet At Birdland
by Paul Reynolds
Ron Carter New Jazz Trio and Foursight Quartet Birdland New York, NYOctober 16 and 23, 2025 Ron Carter turned 88 in May, 2025. That fact is hard to reconcile with the continuing vitality and frequency of his performances, including those with two small groups at Birdland Jazz Club this month--as part of his customary October residency at the midtown Manhattan venue. Carter's age was underlined, though, by an anecdote he told after ...
Continue ReadingGoldings/Bernstein/Stewart at SMOKE
by Chris DeRosa
Goldings/Bernstein/Stewart Smoke Jazz & Supper Club New York, NY October 23, 2025 Hello, my name is Chris DeRosa and this is what I heard... Tonight's festivities took place at the uptown New York City venue Smoke Jazz & Supper Club. The offering this evening was the organ trio consisting of Larry Goldings on Hammond B-3 organ (known for his Best Jazz Instrumental Album Grammy nomination with John Scofield and Jack DeJohnette for ...
Continue ReadingBranford Marsalis Quartet At Miner Auditorium
by Steven Roby
Branford Marsalis Quartet Miner Auditorium San Francisco, CA October 23, 2025SFJAZZ CEO Gabrielle Armand's warm welcome set the mood for Miner Auditorium, and Branford Marsalis stepped on stage with the dry humor of a seasoned bandleader, admitting to a tough travel day before dissolving any hint of fatigue with the first downbeat. A sold-out crowd leaned in; the group responded with focus and an easy intensity that only comes from years of shared work. In ...
Continue ReadingGunhild Carling at Jazz, TX
by Katchie Cartwright
Gunhild Carling Jazz, TX The New Season 2025/25San Antonio, TX October 23, 2025 Audiences at Jazz TX are accustomed to programming with a dash of camp. The 2025 fall season includes these theme shows: Soul'd Out (featuring Adam Carillo and His Quartet), Villains and Magic (A Disney Halloween), Vintage Vegas Song Night (with Noelle Goforth & Three Swings and a Miss), Jazz TX Breaks a Leg (The Magic of Broadway), The Music of Walt ...
Continue ReadingKristin Korb at The Muse Performance Space
by Geoff Anderson
Kristin Korb The Muse Performance Space Lafayette, CO October 15, 2025 In the first half of the 20th century, jazz borrowed heavily from pop music, turning many tunes of the day into jazz standards. When rock 'n' roll came on the scene, the pop appropriation almost went the way of Blockbuster stores. Sure, many jazz players covered The Beatles, but those efforts often sounded like they were produced at the orders of record companies. Jazz ...
Continue ReadingThe Cookers At Miner Auditorium
by Steven Roby
The Cookers Miner Auditorium San Francisco, California October 16, 2025 Some bands chase heat; The Cookers shape it--transforming velocity into design and treating their repertoire as a living lab for risk. On this night at Miner Auditorium, the seven-piece did not rely on memory. They played in the present tense, with charts that encourage lift, turn, and smooth landings, the way only a seasoned band with deep trust can deliver. The premise was simple and ...
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