Home » Community Blog » All About Jazz Newsletter
1
Concert Reviews: Don Was, Maria Schneider, Great Osby and Wynton Marsalis; New Blue Note Portal; Mike Clark and Phil Haynes; and Songs of the Week
By
49 Views
Between All About Jazz and Jazz Near You, we send 104 newsletters a year, and each week we try to share something newsworthy—a recent development, a new feature, a helpful tip. The wheels are always turning at AAJ, but sometimes we go through stretches, like right now, when we're focused more on planning for what's ahead. And like 2025, we have big plans for 2026 and we'll soon share several exciting projects that will expand the content we offer and expand how our members engage with the website.
Seeing the Maria Schneider Orchestra is always a singular experience. It's not just the music, although that is unfailingly rich and distinctive. In person, Schneider also disarms, and in the best way. At Birdland last Wednesday, the Minnesotan managed to marry the sophistication of jazz with the homespun directness of small town America through both her music and her Midwestern charm.
A case in point came early in the set by her 18-piece orchestra—for which, as usual, Schneider conducted and composed all the material. She introduced a family in attendance from her hometown, complete with their young boys, Amos and Reuben. The acknowledgment set up a piece dedicated to Windom, MN—population around 4,000, at least when Schneider was growing up there in the 1960s and 1970s. Continue reading...
Wynton Marsalis, the great trumpeter, composer and educator, founded New York City's Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) in 1987 and has served as its artistic director ever since. JALC, home to the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO), exists "to entertain, enrich and expand a global community for jazz through performance, education, and advocacy." The JLCO, a big band full of top-tier musicians, and Marsalis received a rapturous response on a cold January night at the beautiful 1800-seat Hancher Auditorium, located on the Big Ten campus of the University of Iowa in Iowa City. If the audience welcomed the JLCO like old friends, that is because they are: the group has performed at Hancher more than a dozen times since 1992. Continue reading...
What to make of Don Was? He was co-leader of the band Was (Not Was), a band known for Frank Zappa-esque irreverent, off-beat humor that drew musical inspiration from rock, funk, soul, r&b, dance music, jazz, pop, world music, country, fusion, reggae and more. How does someone like that end up as president of Blue Note Records, one of the most storied record labels in the history of jazz? Jazz ison that long list of musical influences. And Was has a great collection of cool hats. Maybe it was because Was produced albums by the B-52s, the Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt and others. But it was probably the hats. By the way, he has won six Grammys. That probably helps. Continue reading...
Alto jazz saxophonist Greg Osby has an impressive résumé. A St. Louis, Missouri native, Osby finished his studies at Howard University and the Berklee College of Music before moving to New York City in 1982. Since then he has performed and recorded with a number of legendary musicians, including pianists Jaki Byard, Muhal Richard Abrams, Andrew Hill, and John Abercrombie. He was also a member of Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition and became a founding member of the M-Base Collective. He has also toured with Phil Lesh. He has even developed the SYOS "OZ" custom alto saxophone mouthpiece, which meets the needs of both Osby and multitudes of other alto sax players. Continue reading...
"Whenever" by Paul Ricci
Record Label: Origin Records
Released: 2026
"Afro Blue" by Harold Mabern
Record Label: Smoke Sessions Records
Released: 2026
In Memoriam Richie Beirach: Chronicalling A Magical Encounter With A Jazz Hero I Never Met (read); Mozart in the Void: Air from Other Planets (read); Satoko Fujii: Indefatigable (read); The Birdland Big Band at Birdland Jazz Club (view photos); Mike Clark and Phil Haynes: Keep Beating The Drum(s) (read); Vincent Peirani: Magnetic Dancing on the Cliff (listen); Let Me Be Frank: The Extraordinary Life and Music of Frank Sinatra, Jr. (read); Patrick Watson: Peter, The Wolf, And The New Orleans Bayou Ghosts (listen); The Anna Webber Nonet at the Jazz Gallery: Reflections from the Edge of a World Gone Awry (view photos); A Wind For All Seasons (read).
The Outer View: Ralph Towner (RIP), Brandon Sanders, and Anat Fort (listen); Exploration: Classic Jazz From Vinyl, including Herbie Hancock and Dinah Washington, and new music from Betty Bryant and Soulive (listen); Mondo Jazz: Gard Nilssen, Shoko Nagai, Aaron Parks, Maryanne de Prophetis & More (listen); Backstage Bay Area: Inside Trio Grande's Genre-Defying Sound (listen); The Jazz Disturbance: Heisenberg Uncertainty Players, Brodie McAllister's Wattle, Laura Ann Singh (listen); A Broad Spectrum: Alyssa Allgood, Michael Dease, Lena Bloch, The Sistering (Lois Deloatch, Nnenna Freelon, Lenora Zenzalai Helm, Kate McGarry) (listen); Neon Jazz: Cannonball Adderley, Baltimore Jazz Collective, Joel Ross & Paul Litteral (listen); North Star Sounds: Music from Camila Nebbia, Anais Drago, Ayumi Ishito, Tomeka Reid, Maria Faust & Luise Volkmann (listen); Mondo Jazz: Miho Hazama, Simon Jermyn, Dan Rosenboom, Deadeye & More (listen); The Tonearm: Noah Franche-Nolan: Music-Making As Spiritual Practice (listen); Mondo Jazz: Celia Kameni, David Binney, AMG, Kassa Overall & More (listen); Backstage Bay Area: Greg Osby on Minimalism and the Evolution of Modern Jazz (listen); Ben Boddie On Jazz: NOLA Resistance Quintet, Joel Ross, Bellbird, Alex Robinson and more (listen); Jazz Connections: Improvising the Russian Classical Composers: Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky and Borodin (listen); Jazz Odyssey: Pat Metheny, George Coleman! Vocals from Jose James and Gregory Porter. Deep UK music and jazz-funk (listen); The Jazz Disturbance: Gianpaolo Venditti, Joel Ross, Tomeka Reid, Nicols-Mitchell-Al-Sultani (listen); Jazz Bastard: NYT '25 Top 10 (listen); World of Jazz: New Music From Lage, Tarentino, Berndt, Saber, Magris And More (listen).
Timely announcements covering new album releases, tours, special events and more. View all recent announcements.
Composer, Guitarist, and Inventor Jack West Releases 'Guitars On Life,' An Acoustic Guitar Duo Album Featuring West and Guitarist Walter Strauss (read); Freshly Awarded 3x Grammy Winner Sullivan Fortner Bookends The 2026 Gilmore International Piano Festival, April 30-may 10 (read); 'The Bus Came By And I Got On' is a Three-Time Winner At The World Entertainment Awards (read); 'Powerhouse' Levy De Andrade: Orchestrating A New Era Of Jazz Fusion Excellence (read).
Got news? Share it in our newsletter and on our website. Learn how, here.
Posted to All About Jazz Newsletter IN THE All About Jazz GROUP
Read more posts by Michael Ricci
Album Reviewers Wanted
All About Jazz is looking to expand our album review staff and you're welcome to join us. If you are knowledgeable about jazz (any style) and have a passion for the music, this could be a great opportunity. Complete this form and we'll get back to you. Thank you.Album Reviews
The album reviews below represent our most popular from the past week. View more recent reviews. Live in Chicago Kenny Reichert |  Umwelt Denman Maroney Quintet |  Four Freedoms Dave Douglas |  Purity Of Intent Jerome Sabbagh |
 In Action Roberto Magris / Denis Razz Quartet |  Duologues 5 Ivo Perelman and Wadada Leo Smith |  The Solastalgia Suite Kris Davis and the Lutoslawski Quartet |  Plans & Drawers Florian Ross/WDR Big Band |
Looking for an album review?
If you're a musician, publicist, or record label seeking album review coverage on All About Jazz, please first read our review submission guide, then complete the coverage request form here. When submitting your request, include up to five AAJ album reviewers who best align with your music. For example, if it's a big band or large ensemble recording, select Jack Bowers. You can familiarize yourself with our staff, here.The Maria Schneider Orchestra at Birdland
Seeing the Maria Schneider Orchestra is always a singular experience. It's not just the music, although that is unfailingly rich and distinctive. In person, Schneider also disarms, and in the best way. At Birdland last Wednesday, the Minnesotan managed to marry the sophistication of jazz with the homespun directness of small town America through both her music and her Midwestern charm.
A case in point came early in the set by her 18-piece orchestra—for which, as usual, Schneider conducted and composed all the material. She introduced a family in attendance from her hometown, complete with their young boys, Amos and Reuben. The acknowledgment set up a piece dedicated to Windom, MN—population around 4,000, at least when Schneider was growing up there in the 1960s and 1970s. Continue reading...
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra With Wynton Marsalis at Hancher Auditorium
Wynton Marsalis, the great trumpeter, composer and educator, founded New York City's Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) in 1987 and has served as its artistic director ever since. JALC, home to the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO), exists "to entertain, enrich and expand a global community for jazz through performance, education, and advocacy." The JLCO, a big band full of top-tier musicians, and Marsalis received a rapturous response on a cold January night at the beautiful 1800-seat Hancher Auditorium, located on the Big Ten campus of the University of Iowa in Iowa City. If the audience welcomed the JLCO like old friends, that is because they are: the group has performed at Hancher more than a dozen times since 1992. Continue reading...
Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble at the Newman Center
What to make of Don Was? He was co-leader of the band Was (Not Was), a band known for Frank Zappa-esque irreverent, off-beat humor that drew musical inspiration from rock, funk, soul, r&b, dance music, jazz, pop, world music, country, fusion, reggae and more. How does someone like that end up as president of Blue Note Records, one of the most storied record labels in the history of jazz? Jazz ison that long list of musical influences. And Was has a great collection of cool hats. Maybe it was because Was produced albums by the B-52s, the Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt and others. But it was probably the hats. By the way, he has won six Grammys. That probably helps. Continue reading...
Greg Osby at SFJAZZ Center
Alto jazz saxophonist Greg Osby has an impressive résumé. A St. Louis, Missouri native, Osby finished his studies at Howard University and the Berklee College of Music before moving to New York City in 1982. Since then he has performed and recorded with a number of legendary musicians, including pianists Jaki Byard, Muhal Richard Abrams, Andrew Hill, and John Abercrombie. He was also a member of Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition and became a founding member of the M-Base Collective. He has also toured with Phil Lesh. He has even developed the SYOS "OZ" custom alto saxophone mouthpiece, which meets the needs of both Osby and multitudes of other alto sax players. Continue reading...
Songs of the Week
A contemporary romp from my long lost cousin and a bravado rendition of the Mongo Santamaria classic. "Whenever" by Paul Ricci
L I S T E N
Album Information
Title: The PathRecord Label: Origin Records
Released: 2026
"Afro Blue" by Harold Mabern
L I S T E N
Album Information
Title: Afro Blue (10th Anniversary Edition)Record Label: Smoke Sessions Records
Released: 2026
Top Songs
The songs below represent the most heard in the past four weeks. View the Song of the Day archive. Whispering Images From the album Angel Falls By Sylvie Courvoisier |  Spirit of Summer From the album Spirit Of Summer (Featuring Eumir Deodato) By Ithamara Koorax |  Bossa Breeze From the album Bossa Breeze By Alex Sino | Afro Blue From the album Afro Blue (10th Anniversary Edition) By Harold Mabern |
![Read Full Moon [Feat. New York Voices, Mark Egan]](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/a07a6f1d5edcd6c801f0e1c3b527da37.jpg) Full Moon [Feat. New York Voices, Mark Egan] From the album Full Moon [Feat. New York Voices, Mark Egan] By Luiz Millan |  To Our Land Pt.1 From the album To Our Land By James Wylie |  Reflection From the album Dear Cleveland, By Dimitri Nassar |  Train's Window From the album Northern Train By Pedro Neves |
Choice Content
In Memoriam Richie Beirach: Chronicalling A Magical Encounter With A Jazz Hero I Never Met (read); Mozart in the Void: Air from Other Planets (read); Satoko Fujii: Indefatigable (read); The Birdland Big Band at Birdland Jazz Club (view photos); Mike Clark and Phil Haynes: Keep Beating The Drum(s) (read); Vincent Peirani: Magnetic Dancing on the Cliff (listen); Let Me Be Frank: The Extraordinary Life and Music of Frank Sinatra, Jr. (read); Patrick Watson: Peter, The Wolf, And The New Orleans Bayou Ghosts (listen); The Anna Webber Nonet at the Jazz Gallery: Reflections from the Edge of a World Gone Awry (view photos); A Wind For All Seasons (read).
Radio & Podcasts
Tune into our extensive collection of quality programs every week.The Outer View: Ralph Towner (RIP), Brandon Sanders, and Anat Fort (listen); Exploration: Classic Jazz From Vinyl, including Herbie Hancock and Dinah Washington, and new music from Betty Bryant and Soulive (listen); Mondo Jazz: Gard Nilssen, Shoko Nagai, Aaron Parks, Maryanne de Prophetis & More (listen); Backstage Bay Area: Inside Trio Grande's Genre-Defying Sound (listen); The Jazz Disturbance: Heisenberg Uncertainty Players, Brodie McAllister's Wattle, Laura Ann Singh (listen); A Broad Spectrum: Alyssa Allgood, Michael Dease, Lena Bloch, The Sistering (Lois Deloatch, Nnenna Freelon, Lenora Zenzalai Helm, Kate McGarry) (listen); Neon Jazz: Cannonball Adderley, Baltimore Jazz Collective, Joel Ross & Paul Litteral (listen); North Star Sounds: Music from Camila Nebbia, Anais Drago, Ayumi Ishito, Tomeka Reid, Maria Faust & Luise Volkmann (listen); Mondo Jazz: Miho Hazama, Simon Jermyn, Dan Rosenboom, Deadeye & More (listen); The Tonearm: Noah Franche-Nolan: Music-Making As Spiritual Practice (listen); Mondo Jazz: Celia Kameni, David Binney, AMG, Kassa Overall & More (listen); Backstage Bay Area: Greg Osby on Minimalism and the Evolution of Modern Jazz (listen); Ben Boddie On Jazz: NOLA Resistance Quintet, Joel Ross, Bellbird, Alex Robinson and more (listen); Jazz Connections: Improvising the Russian Classical Composers: Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky and Borodin (listen); Jazz Odyssey: Pat Metheny, George Coleman! Vocals from Jose James and Gregory Porter. Deep UK music and jazz-funk (listen); The Jazz Disturbance: Gianpaolo Venditti, Joel Ross, Tomeka Reid, Nicols-Mitchell-Al-Sultani (listen); Jazz Bastard: NYT '25 Top 10 (listen); World of Jazz: New Music From Lage, Tarentino, Berndt, Saber, Magris And More (listen).
News Announcements
Timely announcements covering new album releases, tours, special events and more. View all recent announcements.
Composer, Guitarist, and Inventor Jack West Releases 'Guitars On Life,' An Acoustic Guitar Duo Album Featuring West and Guitarist Walter Strauss (read); Freshly Awarded 3x Grammy Winner Sullivan Fortner Bookends The 2026 Gilmore International Piano Festival, April 30-may 10 (read); 'The Bus Came By And I Got On' is a Three-Time Winner At The World Entertainment Awards (read); 'Powerhouse' Levy De Andrade: Orchestrating A New Era Of Jazz Fusion Excellence (read).
Got news? Share it in our newsletter and on our website. Learn how, here.
Posted to All About Jazz Newsletter IN THE All About Jazz GROUP
Read more posts by Michael Ricci
PREVIOUS / NEXT
Become a Sustaining Member
Since 1995, All About Jazz has championed jazz as an art form and supported the musicians who create it. Over three decades, it has grown into one of the world's leading jazz resources, serving hundreds of thousands of readers, musicians, presenters and industry professionals each month.
Help Build the Future of All About Jazz
Your support helps us continue building All About Jazz for the next generation—expanding our editorial coverage, preserving jazz history, developing new community features and creating better ways to discover the music and the people behind it.
Become a sustaining member for as little as $20 per year and you'll immediately enjoy an ad-free experience along with access to subscriber features and future articles for a full year.
Together, we're not simply sustaining All About Jazz—we're building its future. Thank you for being part of the journey.
Recent
The Mystery of Artie Shaw; Jazz Talk on Bluesky; More Website Improvements; Miles at 100, Continued, and much more
Posted: August 27, 2026Views: 122
If You Build It...; New York's Hottest New Club; John Coltrane and Santana, Zela Margossian, plus Goldings, Bernstein & Stewart, and More
Posted: August 20, 2026Views: 133
Thirty Years Later, the Vision Remains; plus Dorota Piotrowska, Art Pepper, Adele Sebastian, Jimi Hendrix; Jazz Fiction and More
Posted: August 13, 2026Views: 93
Introducing Musician Orbit, plus five new interviews, festival coverage and much more
Posted: August 6, 2026Views: 422
Reanimating Conversations Past; Unearthing Hidden Gems; Why We Build, Part 2; Max Roach and Phil Schaap; Songs of the Week and more
Posted: July 30, 2026Views: 147
Have a post-related question? Contact us. Like our progress? Support us.
