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Videos Recommended by Scott Lichtman
Birks' Works
Christian McBride
Duration: 6:52
153 views
How often does one get to hear two top-notch upright basses, alternately walking and soloing as a duo? {{m: Russell Hall = 51650}} (seen on the right) is known for his work with {{m: Emmet Cohen = 35616}}, as well as {{m: Wynton Marsalis = 1914}}, {{m: Jon Batiste = 20740}} and {{m: Wayne Shorter = 4301}}. Christian McBride is arguably the most prolific and accomplished bassist / project leader in jazz today. Here they ease into {{m: Dizzy Gillespie = 7040}}’s modified minor blues, "Birks’ Works." McBride picks up steam at 3:25 and the pair have real fun together starting 5:06. Before you finish, turn off your ears and simply visualize the joy exchanged between the two. For a peppier version, search YouTube for the {{m: Red Garland = 6951}} Quintet take on the same song.
Featured on November 15, 2026
Allan Holdsworth: Frankfurt '86
Allan Holdsworth
Duration: 02:51
270 views
While it’s impossible to substitute for a top notch musical spirit, there are times where technology can serve as a soulmate. Such is the case with British guitar maestro Allan Holdsworth. He developed an electronics-driven sound that incorporated long-sustain / constant volume lines and a fat tone that was equal parts distorted guitar, violin and '80s synth pad. To top it off, his improvisational lines contained turns and leaps that forged a new vocabulary for guitarists. His performance at the Deutsche Jazz Festival in Frankfurt, 1986, capture Holdsworth at the cutting edge. He starts out on a Stratocaster copy plus heavy doses of digital delay, compression, pitch shifters and distortion. The instrumentalist then switches to the SynthAxe Guitar Synthesizer, a whole new invention that uses triggers under the frets and a separate set of short strings to track the guitarist’s playing and map it to synth modules (search YouTube for "Allan Holdsworth plays SynthAxe" ). Sadly, the “bionic guitarist” passed away in 2017.
Featured on November 8, 2026
Live at Transition Festival
Emma Rawicz
Duration: 22:24
257 views
Emma Rawicz (pronounced Rah’-veech) is an high-flying tenor and soprano saxophonist based in London. To give a sense of her accelerating maturity and popularity, she won the prestigious UK Parliamentary Jazz Award for Best Newcomer in 2022 and for Best Instrumentalist just two years later. Her playing combines impressive technical command with natural musicality, and compositions that shift between lyrical passages, probing grooves and modern harmonic twists. Rawicz tours prodigiously and is at home in a live setting (read the review {{a: Emma Rawicz At Roscommon Arts Centre = 585001}}. Listen to the opener “A Wide, Wide Sea” from this Transition Festival performance in the Netherlands. Rawicz builds intensity without simply turning up the volume, while pianist {{m: Ivo Neame = 31395}}, bassist {{m: Kevin Glasgow = 41291}} and drummer {{m: Asaf Sirkis = 2832}} continually reshape the music underneath her. The three-piece set also includes “The Oak Tree” (at 08:18) and “Rebecca” (15:16).
Featured on November 1, 2026
People Will Say We're in Love
Lucy Yeghiazaryan
Duration: 7:23
272 views
The AAJ community is great at uncovering emerging performers. Here, credit goes to R.J. DeLuke for interviewing {{a: Lucy Yeghiazaryan: Serious And Seriously Talented = 588876}} and capturing her story of learning jazz as a child in Armenia and carving out her mark based in the New York City metro area. Ultimately, listening is all the proof one needs of her joyful, swinging talents. Here, she covers a “classic’s classic” -- “People Will Say They’re in Love,” from the Broadway smash musical, Oklahoma! Her assertive, lower alto voice, elastic phrasing and talk-sung interjections are simply mesmerizing. Dare one say, her styling would be apropos if it were translated to {{m: Louis Armstrong = 3483}}’s horn. As a special treat, {{m: Emmet Cohen = 35616}} and {{m: Benny Benack III = 20701}} deliver masterful multi-chorus solos on piano and trumpet, respectively. Emmet also brings along top-of-the-line session bassist {{m: Mark Lewandowski = 34208}} and drummer {{m: Joe Farnsworth = 14750}}. To concentrate on Yeghiazaryan’s vocals, begin with the first chorus, followed by trading 4’s at 4:55 and the out chorus at 5:55. Want more? For a lovely ballad, search YouTube for Yeghiazaryan’s intimate “Isn’t It a Pity?” on which she is accompanied by the delicate {{m: Rossano Sportiello = 14188}}.
Featured on October 25, 2026
Radar
Jonathan Barber
Duration: 6:48
302 views
You may not have heard of drummer Jonathan Barber, but he’s already arrived as a powerhouse. Word-of-mouth led him to transformative roles with tenor saxophonist {{m: JD Allen = 3363}} in 2013 and trumpeter {{m: Jeremy Pelt = 1329}} starting in 2017. After being named “#1 Up-and-Coming Drummer” in 2018 by Modern Drummer, he caught the ear of {{m: Pat Metheny = 9350}}, who brought him early into his Side-Eye project. Barber brings explosive intensity through muscular tom fills, rat-a-tat jabs on snare and sophisticated syncopation on cymbal. He leads the group Vision Ahead, blending fusion, bop and gospel feels, with his long-time personnel {{m: Andrew Renfroe = 53271}} on guitar, {{m: Taber Gable = 53270}} on keys, {{m: Matt Dwonszyk = 35149}} on bass and {{m: Matt Knoegel = 101440}} here on tenor. Captured live for the concert series “Musig im Pflegidach” (“Music in the Care Home Attic”), the performance of “Radar” unfolds under the aged wooden rafters of a Benedictine monastery founded in 1027 AD. Note the great blend of timbres, especially horn and guitar.
Featured on October 18, 2026
Jan Garbarek in Concert 2006
Jan Garbarek
Duration: 99:00
443 views
There are few modern jazz styles as distinctive as the atmospheric “Nordic Jazz,” and few artists who have contributed to that sound as much as tenor/soprano saxophonist Jan Garbarek. His use of space and reverb, combined with bent notes, created a plaintive sound that borders on sacred, especially on ballads. Taken at greater tempo, his bends sound more like squawks, his melodies are folk-like and his drum kit and percussion players favor world music rhythms. The result is a sense of unabashed joy and a unique feel that’s a far cry from syncopated swing. For your listening pleasure, revel in the mastery of Garbarek (pronounced Gar-Bah’-Rek, accent on the second syllable) and his group in their concert at Burghausen Wacker-Halle in Germany in 2006. Yes, you can listen to just one or two songs, but the whole concert is truly brilliant. For choice video viewing from an earlier period in his career, look on YouTube for the Jan Garbarek Group and “Molde Norwalk Concert 1982.”
Featured on October 11, 2026
Everything in its Right Place
Peter Martin
Duration: 04:53
496 views
Radiohead’s track “Everything in its Right Place” was seminal. It announced the transition of the band from indie guitar rock to ambient pulse music. The song, from 2000, has since been covered by several stars, including {{m: Robert Glasper = 14107}} and {{m: Brad Mehldau = 9313}}, but for the best version when it comes to a polished video, here’s a vote for the version from Open Studio. Open Studio is an online jazz teaching platform covering beginner to master class levels. Among its well-known teachers are the performers on this track: {{m: Peter Martin = 12603}} on piano, {{m: Adam Maness = 124669}} on synthesizer, {{m: Bob DeBoo = 48859}} on bass and bass synthesizer, and {{m: Kaleb Kirby = 120379}} on drums. Completed in a single take, this Radiohead cover tune offers an experience that should get any jazz fan’s head bobbing. Especially worth noting are the laid-back intensity; the dark visual backdrop contrasted with angled spotlights; the clever knob-turning effect from muffled tone to bright at 00:36; the reharmonized piano solo at 1:34, and the set-'em-loose drum solo.
Featured on October 4, 2026
