Live Review
Reporting on live jazz from around the globe.
Jean Toussaint At Dock Street Jazz Club
by Ian Patterson
Jean ToussaintDock Street Jazz Club Belfast, N. IrelandNovember 28, 2025 A filthy night in Belfast. Relentless rain. The real wet stuff, as they say here. The sort of Sunday night where it would take a damned good reason to venture out. Jean Toussaint was reason enough. It is not every day, after all, that one of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers comes to town. In the warmth of The American Bar, in Belfast's old docks quarter, a ...
Continue ReadingBilly Hart Quartet Birthday Bash
by Chris DeRosa
Billy Hart Quartet Multidirectional Album Release & Hart's 85th Birthday Celebration Smoke Jazz & Supper Club November, 30, 2025 Hello, my name is Chris DeRosa, and this is what I heard... The show took place at the legendary New York City venue Smoke Jazz & Supper Club. This venue is not only a hub for some of the finest live jazz performances today, but it also supports the jazz community through ...
Continue ReadingNigel Price Organ Trio At Magy's Farm
by Ian Patterson
Nigel Price Organ Trio Magy's Farm Dromara, N. IrelandNovember 29, 2025 You probably have to go back to the Duke Ellington Orchestra in the '50s to find a harder-touring jazz outfit than the Nigel Price Organ Trio. Between the beginning of April and the end of June 1950 Ellington led his musicians through 74 gigs in 77 days on a European tour. Talk about logistical headaches. Ellington might have smiled wryly at the notion of a ...
Continue ReadingStefon Harris & Blackout / Theo Croker at Miner Auditorium
by Steven Roby
Stefon Harris & Blackout/Theo Croker Miner Auditorium Terence Blanchard's UpSwing Series San Francisco, CA November 29, 2025 The UpSwing series, curated by Terence Blanchard at SFJAZZ, acts as a key indicator of the health of American improvised music. It is more than just a showcase; it functions as a laboratory. By bringing together established masters and emerging talent innovators in the expansive Miner Auditorium, the series fosters a dialogue essential for the genre's future. ...
Continue ReadingJohn Santos at Miner Auditorium
by Steven Roby
John Santos Sextet Miner Auditorium John Santos 70th Birthday ConcertSan Francisco, CA November 28, 2025 A warm, familial feeling filled the Miner Auditorium this Thanksgiving weekend, creating a noticeable shift from its usual formal reverence. When John Santos stepped onto the stage--tall, slim, and dressed in a crisp white suit and pork-pie hat--the sold-out audience welcomed him not just as a performer, but as a familiar relative. However, the superficial excitement of the birthday ...
Continue ReadingOrlando Molina At Scott's Jazz Club
by Ian Patterson
Orlando Molina Scott's Jazz Club Belfast, N. Ireland October 28, 2025 One of the great things about Scott's Jazz Club is that musicians are often invited back. You get to see the first steps and evolution of a band or a leader new to the scene. You experience the growth and development of established acts, and you witness the different skins that many hard-gigging musicians inhabit. Venezuelan Chilean guitarist Orlando Molina first played the Ballyhackamore venue ...
Continue ReadingMavis Staples at The Carver
by Katchie Cartwright
Mavis StaplesThe Carver Community Cultural CenterJo Long Theatre San Antonio, Texas November 21, 2025 As liner notes to her 2025 album, Sad and Beautiful World (Epitaph Records) rightly maintain, “Few people wield the combination of moral authority and musical artistry that Mavis possesses." The sounds that come out of her mouth seem to emanate directly from her soul. At age 86, Mavis Staples is still in command of the sublime and earthy voice that ...
Continue ReadingRobert Plant at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House
by Geoff Anderson
Robert Plant and Saving Grace Ellie Caulkins Opera House Denver, Colorado November 15, 2025 Robert Plant enjoys digging up obscure songs to present to his fans. Maybe it is a response to the hyper-popularity of songs from his Led Zeppelin legacy. Or perhaps it is simply an enjoyable musical hobby. In the jazz world, Cecile McLorin Salvant does the same, and she does not have the heavy legacy of her past hanging over her like ...
Continue ReadingMaria Schneider & UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra at Savoy Theater, Helsinki
by Artur Moral
Maria Schneider & UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra Savoy-teatteri Helsinki, Finland November 13, 2025 The Finnish jazz community is celebrating--and by extension, so are those of Europe and, truth be told, the entire world. The reason is no small matter: the UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra marks its 50th anniversary, remaining faithful to the principles that have made it one of the most compelling European ensembles active today. Arguably the most creative, versatile and experimental--within the boundaries ...
Continue ReadingThree Visitors At Joe Henderson Lab
by Steven Roby
Three Visitors Joe Henderson Lab San Francisco, CA November 22, 2025 The first notes of Edward Simon 's “What If" emerged out of the dark at the Joe Henderson Lab, cutting through the reflections of car lights sliding across the room's glass walls. Inside the 100-seat club, the city was a flickering backdrop rather than a distraction; the real weather was being made onstage by Three Visitors, the long-standing trio of Simon, bassist Scott Colley, and ...
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