Les McCann Tribute Meets AAJ 30th Anniv. Celebration; Revisiting the AAJ Orchestra; More Cool Vic; Meet A Jazz Tribe's Stephanie Matthews; Brick Lane Jazz Festival; Songs of the Week and more

This past Sunday, I learned what happens when you combine a Les McCann Tribute Concert with an All About Jazz 30th Anniversary celebration—it turns into an epic party that rocked the charming Rizzoli Bookstore in NYC.Joe Alterman, Adam Dorn, Lenny White, Steven Bernstein, John Ellis and Daniel Sadownick absolutely brought it. Great stories were shared, great music was played and everyone had an absolute blast. I was seated front and center, and the moment the show ended, I sprang from my chair, made a beeline for the drum kit and shook Lenny White's hand. I've been at this for three decades and my fandom is still very much intact.

After the show, I connected with trumpeter Chris Thompson, brother of my late friend Scott Thompson. Seeing Chris brought back another wonderful AAJ memory from 2009, when the AAJ Orchestra performed a day before All About Jazz's 14th anniversary at Pier 66 on the Hudson River in New York. The original announcement is here, and saxophonist Peter Cobb—who performed with the orchestra that evening—covered the event beautifully. I included a link to his article below.

Musician, Composer or Educator College Scholarship Alert!

If you are a high school senior or college freshman living in Fairfield County (CT), enrolled, or enrolling in a music degree program at an institution of higher education, you can apply for the scholarship offered by the Jazz Society of Fairfield County, aka JazzFC.

Created to honor the memory of Myron "Micky" Golomb, a well-regarded area saxophonist, educator and habitué of the Jazz Society's Thursday evening performances, the scholarship is offered to students expressing financial need who are dedicated to pursuing a career in jazz performance and/or jazz education. It is open to instrumentalists, vocalists, and composers.

JazzFC will offer up to $10,000, which may be awarded to a single recipient or split among finalists, as tuition paid directly to the educational institution.

Learn more about the scholarship.

Album Reviews

The album reviews below represent our most popular from the past week. View more recent reviews.

Jazz Dreams Kathy Ingraham	Bern Roy Hargrove	The Oscar Peterson Trio at Baker's Keyboard Lounge Oscar Peterson Trio	At The BBC 1965 Bill Evans
Balkan Soul in the Brave New World Alma Mićić'	Indigo Nabou	Honey Sparks In The Dark Kristijan Krajnčan Quartet	Loon & Thrush Club D'Elf

Looking for an album review?

If you're a musician, publicist, or record label seeking album review coverage on All About Jazz, please 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. 

The Jazz Learning Innovator: Stephanie Matthews

For many jazz musicians, the focus is often on the stage, the rehearsal room, or the studio. But increasingly, another part of the ecosystem is shaping how the music is created, shared, and experienced: the world of education, community engagement, and creative programming. Stephanie Matthews is at the center of that shift. As Executive Director of A Tribe for Jazz, she has built a platform that approaches jazz not only as an art form, but as a framework for learning—one that values curiosity, emotion, and creative expression alongside technical skill. Through initiatives like Jazz Lab and An Exploration of Emotions and Color through Jazz Music, Matthews explores how jazz can function beyond performance, serving as a tool for education, collaboration, and personal well-being. Her work reflects a broader effort to rethink how people engage with the music, particularly in learning environments. Continue reading...

Brick Lane Jazz Festival 2026

2026 was the 5th edition of The Brick Lane Jazz Festival, and once again featured a variety of jazz-leaning acts from across the musical spectrum. There was a strong focus on young, mainly UK-based and often unsung artists, plus a smattering of fully qualified legends of the scene. Weekend passes had sold out, astonishing value at £150 to see over 100 acts. As always, choosing who to see, along with allowing time for serendipitous discovery, was a challenge, but all part of the experience in the vibrant multi-venue location in East London. There's no reason to complain here. I chatted to someone who came over from San Francisco especially for the festival, who told me there is nothing quite like this in his hometown. Continue reading...

Introducing Saxophonist Paloma Ximena

In May 2022, Rio Americano High School in Sacramento, CA, was a finalist in Jazz at Lincoln Center's Essentially Ellington competition, and sophomore Paloma Ximena won two solo awards: Outstanding Clarinetist and Outstanding Alto Saxophonist. "That was really the start of my career," she said. "That was the moment when I really decided to pursue music."During the fall of 2021, Ximena was playing competitive soccer as a goalie and "trying to go to college for soccer. But that year I suffered six concussions. I was forced to stop playing soccer. I had only been playing music for five or six years, but it had never been my priority. When I wasn't playing soccer, I had so much more time to play music. Continue reading...

Case File: The Ambulance Job

Ok Vic,  Reader Kevin Doucette thinks Angine de Poitrine might secretly be members of Misc. Both are Quebec acts, both get weird, and Misc's album Partager l'ambulance means "Share the Ambulance," while Angine de Poitrine means chest pain. Coincidence... or somebody leaving breadcrumbs?  Read Vic's case...

AAJ @ 30: The Sound and HTML—Introducing the AAJ Orchestra

In many discussions about jazz's future, people have argued that the Internet will be the next 52nd Street for the music. Sadly, like many things Web, there has been more sizzle than steak. But not always—this past weekend I played a gig with the All About Jazz Orchestra (AAJO), a group that existed purely in binary code up and until the moment we performed. The orchestra grew out of the lively online forums on the All About Jazz website, probably the oldest and definitely the largest jazz website in existence. It's a tremendous resource to the jazz community, a place to learn about the music's history, recordings, new releases, venues and individual artists. Continue reading...

Davidsson: A Lifeline from the Land of Fire and Ice

Icelandic artist Thorleifur Gaukur Davidsson grew up on a volcanic island called Heimaey, four miles off the coast of Iceland. He records by his Swedish patronymic surname, meaning "son of David." His debut album Lifelines (OPIA, 2024) is filled with memories and emotions culled from family and the natural beauty of his home island. Davidsson took up guitar and harmonica at age 15, playing blues and folk music then adding pedal steel to his tools. He joined the Icelandic blues rock band Kaleo Larson and still tours with them. After college at Berklee, he moved to Nashville where he has collaborated with another Icelander, Laufey, and played and performed with Tony Trischka, Chuck Leavell, Victor Wooten and Peter Rowan among others. He contributed pedal steel and harmonica to Sierra Farrell's hit Trail of Flowers album. Continue reading...

Songs of the Week

John Beasley and the SWR Big Band cover a James Taylor song while fellow pianist Jon Gold pays tribute to legendary recording engineer Rudy van Gelder. Enjoy them.

Top Songs

The songs below represent the most heard in the past four weeks. View the Song of the Day archive.

Rachmaninoff en Ritmo From the album Rachmaninoff en Ritmo By Terry Heimat	Somewhere with Charlie From the album Twelve and Twenty By Vic Dillahay	Oppression Is Nine Tenths Of The Law From the album Oppression is Nine Tenths of the Law By Organic Pulse Ensemble	Ghosts Of Havana From the album Bright Dawn By Harvie S
Rhythms Of Respiration From the album Two Sides of the Nonet—Live at Terraza By Dan Neville	Octavia's Stories From the album Neural Resonance: Tales from the OmniSphere By Jair-Rohm Parker Wells	One Summer's Day From the album The Ghibli Collection By Owen Chen	The Gatekeeper From the album Chasin' the Dream By Sam Robinson

Choice Content

That's Club Harlem in West Philly, NOT Club Harlem in Atlantic City (read); Harold López-Nussa at Whale Theatre (read); Billy Hart Quartet and BlankFor.ms with Jason Moran and Marcus Gilmore at the Long Play Festival (read); Roswell Rudd: Where Improvisation Lives (read); Sound-ing Paint (read); Jamie Cullum at The Great Theatre—Polish National Opera (view photos); Nicole Zuraitis Quartet in Vilnius: Precision Without Excess (read); Jazzkaar Interviews: Jason Hunter (read); Coltrane 100 at Freight and Salvage (read).

Radio & Podcasts

Tune into our extensive collection of quality programs every week.

The Outer View: Brian Citro, Meg Okura, and Dinah Washington (listen); Allston Boylston: Black Nile, Bria Skonberg, Arturo Sandoval and an interview with Jeff Lederer and Mary LaRose (listen); Jazz Odyssey: Tunes released on and inspired by Record Store Day, plus International Jazz Day flavours (listen); Mondo Jazz: Shalosh, Triple Blind, Shake Stew, Steve Khan, Miroslav Vitous, Jack DeJohnette (listen); A Broad Spectrum: Sarah L. King, Joe Gransden, Maria Grand, Rebecca Rafla, Emie R. Roussel, Andrea Miller & More (listen); Exploration: End Of Month Keyboard Special Including Music From Brian Charette, Shirley Horn, James Francies, and Others (listen); The Tonearm: Miho Hazama: The Conductor Who Leads With Love (listen); One Man's Jazz: International Jazz Day Special (listen); Neon Jazz: Ahmad Jamal, Billy Childs, Harry Skolar, Mike Clement & Jeff Lofton (listen); Bitches Brew: New music from John McLaughlin, Peter Fernandes,The Rewind Collective and Stephan Thelen, (listen); Liner Notes: Greg Hutchinson, Finger on the Pulse (listen); Allston Boylston: Poets and Jazzers Embrace + the Latest from Caroline Davis and introducing Clarinetist Virgina MacDonald (listen); The Jazz Disturbance: Steve Wilson, Harry Skoler, Yvonne Rogers, Jed Levy-Phil Robson, Udeigwe (listen); Live At The Bop Stop: Nathan Paul: Life's Notes (listen); Injazz: Brebl goes abroad with Michiel Braam, Harmen Fraanje and Fee Aaij (listen); Jazz Connections: The Legacy of Billy Strayhorn: the Unknown Strayhorn (listen); Jazz Bastard: More Sugar on the Frosted Flakes, Please (listen); World of Jazz: New Music From Joe Lovano, Peter Erskine, George J. Gilliam And More (listen); Rotations: Celebrating Duke Ellington's Late-Period Creative Music On His 127th Birthday And More (listen).

News Announcements

Timely announcements covering new album releases, tours, special events and more. View all recent announcements.

All About Jazz Unveils Enhanced Radio & Podcast Experience with New Streaming-Style Program Guide (read); Guitarist Brian Citro Releases 'Keep Moving (Home)' On Calligram Records (read); Apply Now for a Micky Golomb Jazz Musician, Composer or Educator College Scholarship—Deadline May 31, 2026 (read); Carli Muñoz Presents A New Salon Experience In New York City (read); Guitarist Paul Silbergleit Releases 'The Stillness Of July' On Calligram Records (read); Smoke Jazz Club Announces June Line-up Including John Patitucci, Danilo Perez, Terri Lyne Carrington And More (read); All About Jazz Top 10 Songs: April 2026 (read); The Café Society Releases 'Blame It On My Youth' on May 1, 2026 (read).

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Posted to All About Jazz Newsletter IN THE All About Jazz GROUP
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