Lou Marini: 80 is the new 50; Cassandra Wilson, Charlie Haden, Elias Haslanger and Percy France; A Poll & A Survey; Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition (update); and more

This week we have a new installment from John Ephland's Reanimating Conversations Past series, resurfacing a Charlie Haden interview from 1991 (see below). We also have an early newsletter-exclusive peek at part 4 of The Mystery of Artie Shaw: "Art Goes Artie." Author Alan Bryson is back, too, with a new time-traveling alternate-reality story that brings musicians from the future face-to-face with The Beatles at a pivotal moment in their history.

The Jazz Scroll Is Taking Shape

Years ago, we built what is now called The Jazz Scroll as a proof of concept—a place where we could experiment with a new way to discover and experience jazz on All About Jazz. It's gone through a handful of name changes and iterations since then, but this year we committed to completing the project and transforming it into our flagship app.

Our current All About Jazz app, though perfectly functional, is essentially the website presented as an app, minus the browser overhead. The Jazz Scroll is different. It's a natural fit for the way we use feed-based apps—scrolling, exploring, and continually discovering something new. Earlier this year, we added Album Reviews. This week, we expanded the experience with Videos and Song of the Day, with Born Today coming soon. We also refreshed the header and footer.

From there, we'll turn The Jazz Scroll into an app and release it free to our members. Look for it before the end of the year.

A Poll and a Survey

Top Venues Poll. Our jazz venues poll will remain active through the end of the year, and we want to hear from many more of you. If you have a few seconds, weigh in and help us identify the jazz venues that stand out from the rest. You can cast your vote here.

Bluesky Survey. We're curious to know if you use Bluesky, an app that functions much like Twitter/X. We need only another half dozen votes before we close the survey, so please weigh in. Just answer yes or no.

Remembering Cassandra Wilson

We were saddened to learn of the passing of Cassandra Wilson, one of the most distinctive and influential voices in contemporary jazz. With her deep, unmistakable contralto and an approach that freely drew from jazz, blues, folk, country and beyond, Wilson created a musical language entirely her own.

Over the years, All About Jazz had the opportunity to speak with Wilson on two occasions. We invite you to revisit those conversations, beginning with R.J. DeLuke's 2008 interview, Cassandra Wilson: Creating Loverly Sound, published as Wilson released her Grammy-winning Loverly. In it, she discusses her musical influences, her years with M-Base, the making of the album and her lifelong relationship with jazz.

Also from the archives...
A Fireside Chat With Cassandra Wilson (2003)
Cassandra Wilson on Belly of the Sun—from WBGO (2003)

Explore Cassandra Wilson's Musician Orbit
Watch Run The VooDoo Down

Album Reviews

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

Bolts Møster!	Fifteen Henry Threadgill Vijay Iyer Dafnis Prieto	Eve Again... Naturally Eve Cornelious	Tony Williams Lifetime Emergency! Reference: With John McLaughlin & Larry Young Tony Williams Lifetime
North York Skies Ben Crosland Quintet	Desolation Row David Maranha / Rodrigo Amado	The Golden Era of Art Pepper on Contemporary Records (1957-1960) Art Pepper	2014 NYC King Crimson

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.

Lou Marini: A Solo Career Starting At The Age Of 80

Saxophonist "Blue" Lou Marini came to the fore in the 1970s as a member of the Saturday Night Live Band and with The Blues Brothers on film, albums and stage. After a lifetime as an in-demand sideman (notably 26 years and counting with James Taylor), Lou has finally started to release albums under his own name, including Playtime (Hip Pickles, 2026) by Lou Marini and the Italian Groovers. Lou was in Rimini, Italy at the end of a short Italian tour during the conversation. He was excited to have been granted an audience with Pope Leo XIV the previous day; the Pope is known to have been a Blues Brothers fan in his youth and insisted that time be made in his own schedule for the meeting. Continue reading...

Charlie Haden: Anatomy of a Jazz Classic

It was a phoner from the suburban Chicago offices of DownBeat to bassist Charlie Haden in L.A. Our talk, which was held on September 15, 1991, was periodically interrupted by his needing to say, "Hold on one second." The occasion? The 30th anniversary of the release of saxophonist Ornette Coleman's groundbreaking LP Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation. To this day, though, I do not recall this interview ever being published at the magazine. And to think that I talked with Charlie Haden, 54, for two hours! In retrospect, I'm guessing the "Hold on one second" padded the time spent together a wee bit. Fall 2026 marks 65 years since Free Jazz—recorded on December 21, 1960 for Atlantic Records and released in September 1961, produced by Nesuhi Ertegun at A&R Studios in New York City—made it's appearance, an appearance that both shocked and delighted. Continue reading...

Elias Haslanger: Music for 2026, Not 1956

Tenor saxophonist and composer Elias Haslanger  has spent much of his career carrying several generations of jazz history at once. An Austin native and longtime presence on the Central Texas jazz scene, he has absorbed lessons from mentors including Ellis Marsalis, Dr. James Polk and Maynard Ferguson while developing his own identity as a bandleader and composer. Legacy (Bandstand Presents, 2026), his ninth recording as leader, was released July 24 and features ten original compositions performed with trumpeter and flugelhornist Mike Sailors, pianists Andy Langham and Ross Margitza, bassist Ryan Hagler and drummer Daniel Dufour. The title suggests retrospection, but Haslanger does not view the project as an exercise in nostalgia. The music connects mentors, family, Austin, New York, years on the road, composition and the community that developed around his long-running Church on Monday residency. Continue reading...

The Beatles—Future Perfect, Part 1

Year 1968. Late February, and the Ganges ran the color of unpolished jade beneath the Himalayan foothills. The cold rolled off the mountains at dusk, but the afternoons still held on to warmth, sunlight streaming through the sal trees, laying bars of light and shadow across the stone veranda of a small brick guest house on the riverbank. Four people sat there as if they belonged wherever they happened to be. Two women, clearly sisters by the shape of their faces and the blending of their voices—one calling to the other in an accent that belonged to open cattle country, dry hills, and distant mountains. Continue reading...

Songs of the Week

Two spacious, exploratory tracks that build atmosphere in different ways—Mathias Kunzli through percussion-driven soundscapes, Christian Dillingham through soulful modern jazz interplay.

Top Songs

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

IT's Gotta B U! From the album It's Gotta B U! By Tony Adamo	Seer From the album Seer By Loren Stillman	Chalk From the album Katarahi By Myra Melford	Like a Rolling Stone From the album Jackson Plays Dylan By Javon Jackson
Guanabara Eyes From the album Anahí By Jon Gold	Four From the album Winter Songs By Steve Swallow	And I Miss You From the album Sketches of Tallinn By Rossano Snel	April From the album The Light Ahead By Sarah L King

Choice Content

Percy France: Live from the West End (read); Célia Kameni at Parc Floral de Paris: A Siren, a Calming Voice, and a Journey Through Sound (read); Tingvall Trio at Jazz in Ruins 2026 (view photos); Live From Tallinn: The Necks, Phlox & The Jimi Tenor Band (read); Introducing Saxophonist Jacob Chung (read); Grateful Dead: Meet-Up at the Movies 2026 - 6/17/91 at Giants Stadium  (read); The Beatles—Future Perfect, Part 2 (read); The Beatles—Future Perfect, Part 3 (read); The Beatles—Future Perfect, Part 4 (read); Jazz em Agosto 2026, Part 1 (view photos); The Young Mothers at the 19th Summer Jazz Academy (view photos); Robinson Khoury Quatuor Demi-Lune at the 19th Summer Jazz Academy (view photos); Lionel Loueke: Actual Proof (listen); Brian Bromberg: Top Down (listen); Orquesta Akokán at The Freight (read); Äether at the 19th Summer Jazz Academy (view photos).

Radio & Podcasts

Tune into our extensive collection of quality programs every week.

Allston Boylston: New Sullivan Fortner Also Trumpeter Matt White's Jazz Perspective on Dolly Parton Songs, Flautist Ali Ryerson, Pianist Enoch Smith Jr. and Matt Wilson's Good Trouble featuring Tia Fuller (listen); Mondo Jazz: Ingeborg Gravem Sollid, Ernst Reijseger, The Olympians, Petite Lucette & More (listen); Injazz: Alexander Beets Quartet, Emine Bostancı, Sunflower (Joost Lijbaart) and much more (listen); Mondo Jazz: Phoenix Trio, Ragini Trio, Weave4, Club d'Elf, Tito Mangialajo Rantzer & More (listen); Exploration: August Keyboard Special with Larry Goldings, Omar Sosa, Hiromi, and Others; Birthday Recognition for Wayne Shorter, Jim Beard, and More (listen); One Man's Jazz: Franklin Kiermyer, Pascal Niggenkemper & Lao Dan (listen); A Broad Spectrum: Nora Germain, Kelly Green, Dena DeRose, Greg Farnese, Carmen Lundy, Sounds of April & Randall & More (listen); North Star Sounds: 16 New Releases... and much more! (listen); The Stereo Image: Tom Burns: From Record Collector to Capri Records Label Owner (listen); Bitches Brew: Richard Hallebeek, Tohpati, Jizue,The Rewind Collective, Allan Holdsworth, Tribal Tech and Jean-Luc-Ponty (listen); Neon Jazz: Jeanie Bryson, John Hollenbeck, Paul Yonemura & Kenny Dorham (listen); Talk About Jazz: Terri Lyne Carrington: Renown Grammy-Award Jazz Drummer's Humanitarian Activist Focus (listen); Mondo Jazz: Miles Davis, Tony Williams, Flat Earth Society, Paolo Fresu & More (listen); The Tonearm: Azar Lawrence: Spiritual Jazz With The Funk Left In (listen); Jazz Connections: The John Coltrane Centennial, Part 3: Coltrane emerges as a leader (listen); Rotations: Azar Lawrence, Brad Mehldau, The Bad Plus, Joshua Redman And More (listen); Live At The Bop Stop: Dave Frank (listen); The Mystery Of Artie Shaw: Chapter 3: Manic in Manhattan (listen); World of Jazz: New Releases From New England Jazz Collaborative And More (listen); Ben Boddie On Jazz: Sullivan Fortner, Jim Rotondi & Dena DeRose, Ardeshir, Christian Wiggs & His Orchestra and more (listen); The Jazz Disturbance: Skúli Sverrisson / Bill Frisell, Jared Schonig Big Band, Dana and Alden, Terence Collie (listen).

News Announcements

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

Last Chance To Enter The 2026 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition (read); Lin Hsiao-feng Brings Taiwanese Flute Traditions And Free Improvisation To U.S. Stages (read); All About Jazz Top 10 Songs: August 2026 (read); JazzWeek Radio Chart: August 31, 2026 (read); Nicole Zuraitis: A Concept Of Intrigue (read).

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