Home » Jazz Musicians » The Weekend
The Weekend
Vel Lewis Ignites Memorial Day Weekend 2026 With New Smooth Jazz Single 'Smoovee'
Source:
Vel Lewis
“Smoovee" By Vel Lewis Featuring Marion Meadows Available May 22, 2026 | Impacting radio May 25, 2026 Hammond organist and keyboardist Vel Lewis presents his new single, “Smoovee,” a sophisticated and engaging track that blends classic Smooth Jazz groove with a modern, polished sound. The release arrives on all digital platforms on May 22, 2026, with radio promotion beginning May 25. Anchored by Vel Lewis’s signature melodic style, “Smoovee” is further elevated by special guest saxophonist Marion Meadows, whose smooth ...
read more
2026 Berks Jazz Fest Stellar Concerts This Weekend
Source:
Valerie Vaccaro
This March marks the momentous celebration of the 35th annual 2026 Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest located in Reading, Pennsylvania. The fest is a few hours’ drive from New York City and is presented by the Berks Arts Council. The Berks Jazz Fest has a multitude of major concerts and local shows featuring smooth jazz, contemporary jazz, traditional jazz, blues, R&B, funk, soul and more. The major concerts are ticketed events, but many of the local shows and events are free ...
read more
Announcing Smoke Jazz Club’s November Line-up Celebrating Steve Davis' New Smoke Sessions Records Album, 80th Birthday Of George Cables, Thanksgiving Weekend With Vocalist Tierney Sutton And More
Source:
AMT Public Relations
SMOKE Jazz Club continues its 25th anniversary season with a month of some of today’s most essential jazz artists. November begins with audience favorites: trumpeter Nicholas Payton leading his improvisational project Nouveau Standards (Oct 30-Nov 3) followed by trombonist Steve Davis at the helm of his All-Star Sextet celebrating a new SMOKE Sessions Records album (Nov 6-10). SMOKE is thrilled to celebrate the 80th birthday of piano giant George Cables (Nov 13-17), the return of pianist Renee Rosnes (Nov 20-24) ...
read more
Weekend Extra: Clifford Brown
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
The recent post featuring the Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet in the 1950s led a couple of Rifftides readers to suggest that we hear more of Brown’s sparkling trumpet playing. He became a major jazz artist before his death at 26 in an automobile accident in 1956 and has been a major influence on every generation of trumpet players since. Let’s listen to his composition “Tiny Capers,” with Clifford leading an ensemble that also includes Zoot Sims, tenor saxophone; Bob Gordon, ...
read more
Weekend Extra: George Russell’s “Honesty”
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
When the 1960s jazz avant-garde was cranking up, George Russell (1923-2009) set an example, as was his way. It had been more than two decades since the intrepid composer captured the attention of the jazz world with his 1947 “Cubano Be-Cubano Bop” for the Dizzy Gillespie big band. He had gone on to compose and arrange for leaders as varied and influential as Artie Shaw, Buddy DeFranco and Lee Konitz. Russell’s Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization became an influence ...
read more
Weekend Extra: Meet The Mrudangam
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
There may be a longshot chance that you are unfamiliar with the mrudangam. It is a South Indian percussion instrument that Rajna Swaminathan has introduced into American music since she became a part of the New York City jazz community in 2011. She is a protégé of the renowned mrudangam maestro, Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman and tours with him and other Indian musicians. She also collaborates with prominent jazz artists based in New York, including the influential pianist Vijay Iyer, himself ...
read more
Terri Lyne Carrington: A Bi-Coastal Weekend
Source:
All About Jazz
By Cristofer Gross On Friday evening, November 9, drummer-composer-educator Terri Lyne Carrington will headline a special concert in UCLA's Royce Hall. Two days later she will be at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark for her half of another special concert entitled “Jazz Vinyl Revisited." In addition to having Carrington on the bills, there is a thematic connection between the two events. Both include tributes to Joni Mitchell, who turned 75 on November 7. On Sunday, “Jazz Vinyl ...
read more
Celebrate Valentine's Day weekend 2019 with Poncho Sanchez, Pete Escovedo, and more aboard the Latin Love Boat
Source:
All About Jazz
Latin Cruise Events is proudly announcing “Latin Love Boat“ Valentines Weekend Jazz Cruise. The luxurious Carnival Imagination will depart on Thursday, February 14th sailing from Long Beach, California to Ensenada Mexico and returning February 17th, 2019 (Thursday to Sunday). This 3-Day Music Festival Cruise will include: Legendary Jazz artists, Poncho Sanchez, Pete Escovedo, as well World Famous “SaSoul Godfather" Joe Bataan, PLUS Southern California's own The B-side Players and Northern California's Mike Torres Band and more. The Cruise concerts will ...
read more
Weekend Listening (And Viewing) Tip: Brent Jensen
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
Bassist Bren Plummer’s live radio broadcast a couple of days ago (scroll down two items) prompted me to check out the KNKX-FM website. There, I found a post about another Pacific Northwest jazz luminary, alto saxophonist Brent Jensen, who was recently video-recorded in one of the station’s live sessions. (Jensen and bassist Jeff Johnson are pictured left.) KNKX host Abe Beeson put together an entry that includes four pieces by Jensen and his quartet with Johnson, guitarist Jamie Findlay and ...
read more
Imagining The Guitar: An Interactive Workshop Weekend With David Torn
Source:
Michael Birnbaum
Woodstock Sessions Announces Imagining the Guitar: An Interactive Workshop Weekend with David Torn, December 10 & 11 Gear Provided by Fryette and Sound City Amplification Woodstock Sessions today announced a special interactive workshop weekend led by guitar prodigy, David Torn, December 10 & 11. This intimate workshop at Applehead Studios in idyllic Woodstock, NY will present possibilities for participating guitarists to develop their 21st century approach to use of the guitar along orchestrational lines. The workshop will be rooted in ...
read more
