Articles by Andrew Schinder

Album Review

Ella Thompson: Triumph and Sadness

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by Andrew Schinder
October 12, 2026

While the United Kingdom's relationship with and interpretations of American soul, jazz and R&B music are rightly celebrated, Australia has a rich history with Black American music as well. In fact, Aboriginal and indigenous Australians first encountered African-Americans as early as the late nineteenth century, when a choir from Fisk University, one of the United States' first Black colleges, traveled to and spent six years in Australia, where they introduced their traditional music. Jazz music made its way ...

Album Review

Christian McBride and Ursa Major: Points of Light

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by Andrew Schinder
October 7, 2026

Bass superstar Christian McBride seemingly has an infinite number of active projects at any given moment, but his group Ursa Major may be his most exciting. With Ursa Major, McBride leads a group of dynamic young musicians whose collective mission is to essentially fulfill McBride's creative impulses--an “all-in" band, as McBride has described it. Over the course of his distinguished career McBride has seemingly explored every jazz and jazz-adjacent genre and sub-genre out there, and he created Ursa Major to tie all ...

Album Review

Joey DeFrancesco: Live at Keystone Korner

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by Andrew Schinder
October 5, 2026

Joey DeFrancesco is one of the most tragic stories of 21st-century jazz. After the deaths of mid-twentieth-century organ greats Jimmy Smith and Larry Young, the Hammond B-3 became somewhat unfashionable until DeFrancesco's dynamic, virtuosic style helped reignite the jazz community's passion for the instrument. DeFrancesco was prolific and engaging and the perfect ambassador for the organ, until a sudden heart attack tragically cut short his life at age 51, while he was still in the prime of his career. A ...

Album Review

Ekep Nkwelle: Caged Bird

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by Andrew Schinder
September 28, 2026

At a time when the jazz music community is blessed with no shortage of upstart young vocalists, Ekep Nkwelle has risen above the fray by embracing the diversity of styles within the jazz idiom, moving from time-honored standards to progressive modernity with ease, and working with masters ranging from Kenny Barron to David Murray. The daughter of Cameroonian immigrants, Nkwelle grew up in the rich jazz culture of Washington, DC and trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts as well as ...

Album Review

Linda May Han Oh & Melissa Aldana: Beneath Lifted Skies

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by Andrew Schinder
August 22, 2026

Bassist Linda May Han Oh and tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana, two modern jazz powerhouses, have recorded one of 2026's most delightful jazz surprises, the duet album Beneath Lifted Skies (Biophilia Records, 2026). Oh and Aldana are two of the music's strongest contemporary players, potent in both overall skill as well as sound, and that intensity serves them well on the album. The atmosphere is robust without the forcefulness overwhelming the form. The album consists mostly of standards that span ...

Album Review

Julian Wittich 紀安: Tidelines

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by Andrew Schinder
August 15, 2026

Young bassist Julian Wittich 紀安's debut album, Tidelines, successfully introduces the musician to the contemporary jazz canon. Based in New York (though a fixture of the Taiwanese live music scene), having Taiwanese and Dutch ancestry, and educated in Amsterdam, Wittich is certainly a citizen of the world. That global outlook informs the diverse, colorful music heard on the album. Confident and assured, Tidelines radiates promise, and certainly elevates expectations for Wittich's output going forward. On Tidelines, Wittich keeps ...

Album Review

Sullivan Fortner: Leave That In There

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by Andrew Schinder
July 17, 2026

Pianist Sullivan Fortner is on a roll. Already one of the most respected contemporary jazz pianists, Fortner leveled up in 2025 with the Grammy-winning Southern Nights (Artwork Records, 2025), a tribute to his New Orleans heritage that was a critical and commercial smash. Along with the collaboration albums Wildflowers Vol. 1 (Edition Records, 2024) (with vocalist Kurt Elling) and Play (ACT Music, 2025) (with trumpeter Theo Croker) and playing to packed houses both as a leader and accompanist, the year was an unqualified success. ...

Interview

Sullivan Fortner: Nothing's Ever Finished

by Andrew Schinder
July 9, 2026

Modern jazz musicians are often faced with the impossible, and frankly unfair, task of honoring the music's history and traditions while adding modern elements and contemporary facets to make a 125-year-old musical genre sound fresh. This burden falls even more acutely on musicians hailing from, or who are particularly associated with, the City of New Orleans. New Orleans is celebrated as the birthplace of jazz, but its ongoing connection to the music is complicated. Cities such as New York and ...

Live Review

The Bad Plus Brings Its Farewell Tour to New York's Sony Hall

by Andrew Schinder
July 2, 2026

The Bad Plus Farewell Tour Sony Hall New York, NY June 19, 2026 The Bad Plus has spent the better part of the 21st century as one of jazz's most successful crossover acts. The band, formed in Minnesota, broke through in 2003 with These are the Vistas (Columbia Records), featuring founding members Reid Anderson (bass), Dave King (drums), and Ethan Iverson (piano). Both the jazz and overall music communities bestowed quite a bit of attention to the album, ...

Live Review

Three Icons Celebrate Miles Davis Centennial at Smoke Jazz Club

by Andrew Schinder
June 10, 2026

Eddie Henderson, Gary Bartz, and Billy Hart Smoke Jazz and Supper Club Miles Davis 100th Celebration New York, NY May 29, 2026 In late May 2026, the music community was in the throes of Miles Davis centennial mania. Music labels released fancy, often expensive re-packages of Davis' music. Davis' autobiography was given a flashy re-release. Anyone who has ever picked up a trumpet participated in a tribute concert--or so it seemed. Countless journalists--music and otherwise--published features, tributes, ...