Jazz Articles
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Reggie Watkins: Rivers
by Paul Rauch
Jazz on an international scale is actually just a network of smaller, local jazz scenes that in 2025 exist in virtually every nation on earth. Most of the music happens on the local scene, where the closest of musical alliances are formed. Trombonist Reggie Watkins has managed to take us to that sacred place on his fourth album as a leader. Rivers (BYNK, 2025). Needless to say, “Rivers" can refer to the geographic location of Watkins' adopted home ...
Continue ReadingKaren Akers at Birdland
by Mark Edelman
Karen AkersBirdland New York, NYMarch 17, 2025 The two blocks between Birdland and Broadway melted away on a recent Monday eve when chanteuse Karen Akers brought her classy cabaret act to the 44th Street jazz mecca. Elegantly assisted by musical directing stalwart Alex Rybeck and bassist Ritt Henn, the Tony Award nominee (for Nine, the stage adaptation of Fellini's 8 ½) made it clear from her first golden tones that she richly deserved the accolades ...
Continue ReadingStephanie Nakasian at the Attucks Jazz Club and Congregation Beth El
by Mark Robbins
Stephanie Nakasian did not start out as a vocalist. Majoring in economics at Northwestern University, she received her BA and MBA, then entered the world of financial consulting for major banks in New York City and Chicago. Growing more and more dissatisfied with her career, she decided in 1981 to leap into the world of music, and she hasn't looked back. Her debut record, Comin' Alive, earned a four-star rating from esteemed critic Leonard Feather. Nakasian toured with vocal jazz ...
Continue ReadingHamid Drake, Pasquale Mirra, Sun Ra, James Brandon Lewis & More
by Ludovico Granvassu
Tons of music continues to orbit around Sun Ra. Here some fascinating new and archival recordings.Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 James Brandon Lewis Trio “Remember Brooklyn and Moki" Apple Cores (Anti-) 0:16 Host talks 5:00 Sun Ra Arkestra “Friendly Galaxy" Lights on a Satellite (IN+OUT) 7:16 Sun Ra “Honeysuckle Rose / Enlightment" Uncharted Passages (Sundazed) 20:30 Host talks 28:30 Michael Sarian, Matthew Putman, Ledin Mola, Federico Ughi ...
Continue ReadingSohrab Saadat: SoSaLa: 1994-Live At CBGB
by Hrayr Attarian
Saxophonist and composer Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi, who goes by the stage name SoSaLa, has had a fascinating and varied career. A musicians' rights advocate and label owner, Saadat was born in Zurich to Iranian parents and is currently based in New York. He, however, spent several years working in Tokyo. The provocative and captivating 1994-Live at CBGB comes from this phase of his life. Recorded at the storied club of the title with a Japanese quartet, the music is dubbed ...
Continue ReadingZev Feldman: Guardian Of Jazz Legacies
by Stephen Braunginn
Zev Feldman, co-president of Resonance Records and a highly accomplished jazz producer and historian, delves into the process of discovering and curating legacy jazz music, including the importance of identifying great recordings, obtaining permissions, and creating captivating album packages. Feldman also highlights the significance of Record Store Day in bringing these projects to life and recounts his experiences working on specific projects, such as those featuring Charles Mingus, Freddie Hubbard, Kenny Dorham, and Bill Evans. Playlist Freddie Hubbard ...
Continue ReadingShai Maestro "Solo" Piacenza Jazz Fest 2025
by Danilo Codazzi
A collection of photos from the Shai Maestro “Solo" concert at Piacenza Jazz Fest in Piacenza on March 21, 2025. ...
Continue ReadingPhillip Golub: Recording The Impossible Piano
by Lawrence Peryer
Brooklyn pianist Phillip Golub is taking his music in bold new directions.Phillip's new project, Loop 7 (greyfade, 2025), is a set of minimalist compositions performed on a piano tuned to 22 notes per octave instead of the usual 12. Working with producer Joseph Branciforte, he's created something that lives between acoustic chamber music and studio art.It's a groundbreaking approach--Phillip's performance was captured on a special Yamaha piano in a unique way he tells us about. The ...
Continue ReadingCharles Lloyd, Enjoying the Comforts and Poetics of Home, at the Lobero
by Josef Woodard
Charles Lloyd Delta Trio Lobero Theatre Santa Barbara, CA March 14, 2025 Seasoned saxophonist Charles Lloyd, now 87 and alighting major stages, festivals and accolade zones around the world, is considered one of the last of the old school jazz legends standing--and going strong, in his mellowed, wise and distinctively voiced way. And yet, global and cosmic standing notwithstanding, some special alchemy settles in when Lloyd plays one of his long-standing “homecoming" gigs in the ...
Continue ReadingSteve Lehman Trio and Mark Turner: The Music of Anthony Braxton
by Troy Dostert
Anthony Braxton has long had a reputation as being one of the most abstruse and forbidding musicians of the jazz avant-garde. Whether it is his impossibly esoteric notation systems, or the bizarre instrumentation he sometimes features on his recordings--his Composition No. 19 (For 100 Tubas) being just one example--one must tread carefully when engaging this unique musical mind. Hence it is a pleasure to encounter saxophonists Steve Lehman and Mark Turner joining forces for a tribute to the maverick composer. ...
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