Journey into Jazz
Record Store Day Black Friday 2022 - Jazz Releases
by Kyle Simpler
Black Friday is a term that has different meanings depending on the context. For some music lovers, it might bring up the Steely Dan song from the 1975 album Katy Lied (ABC). For other music lovers, however, Black Friday is significant because it means there is another Record Store Day event. Originally established to promote independent record stores, each Record Store Day drop features a wide variety of vinyl and CD releases in practically every genre, and jazz ...
read moreRecord Store Day April 2022 Jazz Releases
by Kyle Simpler
April 23, 2022 marks the fifteenth anniversary of Record Store Day. Over the years, RSD has grown from a small once-a-year experience to multiple events depending on the year. Each RSD drop features limited-edition vinyl releases, which are popular among collectors. More importantly, though, RSD draws attention to independent record stores, many of whom have flourished due in part to being participants in the events. As always, there are several jazz releases in each RSD drop, and this is a ...
read moreRecord Store Day 2020
by Kyle Simpler
Twice a year, I find myself in a long line before sunrise waiting for my local record store to open. It might be rainy or cold, but I'm always there along with a large group of other people waiting patiently. Why do we do it? Simply because it's Record Store Day, and for many record collectors, this is an event you don't want to miss. While many already know about RSD, there are plenty of music lovers who ...
read moreNo Future Without New Fans
by John Beaty
The Stretch Movement's main goal is to build a new young audience. This seems like it should be an obvious statement, but jazz has ignored the fact that new young listeners are not flocking to the music. The vast majority of listeners that end up at jazz shows are students, who are studying the music, or older fans, who will not be around forever. The way things are currently set up will not result in a self-sustaining long-term system. The ...
read moreThe State of Jazz Education
by John Beaty
For my entire childhood, up through the moment I graduated high school, I was told of the importance of the SAT Reasoning Tests and attending college. I believe this was a message my entire generation heard from our parents, teachers, and society at large. While I was in eighth grade, I was introduced to jazz and immediately fell in love with the music of John Coltrane. I shared this passion with my twin brother, trombonist Joe Beaty. We were lucky ...
read moreStretch: Interactive Holograms
by John Beaty
It feels nice to finally be able to share what I've been up to since I last wrote for All About Jazz more than two years ago. In those articles I chronicled my journey from first learning Jazz, attending Music School and finally life as a touring Jazz musician. Through this process I came to understand some very fundamental problems with the current state of jazz. I also came to realize that there was a great difference between the reality ...
read moreStretch, BAM and the Future of Jazz
by John Beaty
A few months ago Felix Pastorius, Chris Ward, Zaccai Curtis and I started something called The Stretch Movement. We started quietly amongst our friends and launched our website, mymomthinksimgreat.com on November 2, 2011. Why quietly? I was worried; it was the uneasiness of being the first to do something. In our mission statement we were acknowledging that jazz was not only dead but that that word didn't aptly describe the music we play. We started Stretch for all the amazing ...
read moreRecord Store Day 2011
by Greg Simmons
Is April 15th—Tax Day, for Americans—a painful experience? Well, Saturday April 16th, 2011 has the antidote, at least for music lovers. It's been designated Record Store Day to promote the unique culture, and the experience of buying music from local, independently owned record stores. Brick and mortar shops all over the United States—virtually all mom-and-pop establishments—will be opening early, running specials, and selling limited edition albums pressed just for the occasion. Record stores are important to a column ...
read moreBack in the Saddle
by AAJ Staff
Hi there readers,This is Max Babi, back in the saddle to continue our saga My Journey Into Jazz once again after a short hibernation.I had a close brush with death, as a result of a minor surgery after which over-medication resulted in my being on oxygen for a day: a miraculous return actually. Had it not been for an alert physician at the hospital where I spent almost a week and then six weeks in bed ...
read moreTranscendental Jazz: Does It Exist?
by AAJ Staff
Aparna is a close friend who not only blessed with a heavenly voice, a deep insight into vocal music and a restless questioning mind... it's fun to sit discussing with her all the pros and cons of music right from downright trivial to the soul-uplifting philosophical ones. More about her can be found at www.aparnapanshikar.com . I did startle here with the observation that a perceptive American psychiatrist has said that dialogue between two humans is usually doomed ...
read moreShowcase
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