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Jazz's Past Revisited; Interviews with Joe Schwab, Miho Hazama, Callum Au, May Yu, Eliane Elias and Davide Sgarra; Live Coverage from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Bonn and Victoriaville; Songs of the Week and more
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It's another exceptionally strong week for coverage, and there are several ways to discover what's new across All About Jazz. Start with the home page and click the Next button in the ARTICLES section to view more stories. You can also visit our Big Jazz Scroll, a bottomless page featuring all articles and news announcements. Created years ago for fun, Big Jazz Scroll has become especially useful as our coverage has expanded. You can also visit our Trending page to see what is capturing the attention of fellow readers.
We recently updated the ENGAGE section on the home page to include a random Big Question. If you spot a question that resonates with you, we encourage you to join the conversation by posting a comment. Column two of the ENGAGE section now also includes a link to our most recent poll. Speaking of...
Seven years have passed since our last Top Venues poll. The jazz venue landscape has changed dramatically. Some clubs have closed, while many new venues have opened their doors—including six in New York City alone.
Help us identify the world's top jazz venues today. You may select up to ten venues where you most enjoy hearing live jazz. Last time, thousands of readers participated, and we're hoping to exceed 5,000 votes this year.
CAST YOUR VOTE(S) TODAY
Housekeeping update: We optimized the Radio & Podcast Show Guide page—it loads much faster. We also added a Bandcamp / SoundCloud embed code box to the album update / submission form for our musician and record label friends.
There is a received wisdom in jazz that goes unchallenged. The greatest female jazz vocalists are a fixed trio: Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Sarah Vaughan. Critics repeat it. Jazz education enshrines it. This is one of the great misreadings in American music history. Peggy Lee is the third seat. She also holds a case for number one. She did not write just a few tunes, nor was she a bombshell girl singer who simply got lucky with Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, one of the greatest ensembles in American music history and a major draw. Lee was a master at vocal prosody. She is a contender for the most complete female musical artist who ever lived. She helped revolutionize the role of the big-band singer by introducing an equal instrumental partnership. Continue reading...
Just as the 1920s were defined by the Jazz Age, the 1930s were also defined by swing, the popular music of the time. Jazz had become danceable. But as America swung through the decade, the country endured two horrendous disasters: the Great Depression that followed the stock market crash of 1929, and the Dust Bowl caused by drought, erosion and wind storms that drove millions of people off their lands in the Great Plains. They packed up, jammed into their Model As and headed west for California, the "promised land." Their story was told in the classic novel, John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Millions were unemployed and many homeless. They lived in tent cities and stood in line for bowls of soup. But despite the hard times, America found inspiration in song and dance. Continue reading...
Black musicians in circus and carnival sideshow bands from the late 1800s well into the Twentieth Century brought ragtime and what would become jazz and rhythm and blues to white audiences deep into Midwest agricultural regions. Trumpeter Lester Bowie, later known for the avant-garde Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), Art Ensemble of Chicago, and Brass Fantasy, joined circus and carnival bands early in his career when he needed any job he could get, he told writer Ted Panken in a series of interviews for WKCR-FM in New York. He also played in small combo R&B rhythm and blues bands, and big bands that backed soul and R&B performers but were populated with such jazz players and arrangers as Kenny Dorham, Blue Mitchell, and Johnny Coles who needed the work too. "To work then, you had to work in that kind of situation," Bowie related. Continue reading...
Vinyl seems to show up everywhere these days. Department stores, clothing outlets, and even bookstores now carry small selections of records. Yet serious music fans still seek out independent record stores, and the reasons are fairly obvious. It takes much more than inventory to make a great record store. Although many factors are involved, three things stand out. An exceptional record store needs a welcoming atmosphere, a unique personality, and a genuine sense of community. The employees should make customers feel like they belong in the store, not just at the cash register. That spirit is immediately evident at Euclid Records, at both its St. Louis and New Orleans locations, which is why it is among the most respected independent record stores in the United States. Continue reading...
Eliane Elias is a jazz musician of the highest order. Her skills as a superlative pianist became known not long after she arrived in New York City from her São Paulo, Brazil, home in 1981. She drew notice as a member of Steps Ahead, a groundbreaking fusion group of the early 1980s that included Mike Mainieri and Michael Brecker, among others. As her career grew, she became a prolific composer and interpreter of songs across a broad spectrum of genres. She slowly worked singing into her repertoire, with albums of Antonio Carlos Jobim music. (As a teenager and prodigy, she worked with Jobim in Brazil.) A bona fide star, she has toured the world several times and continues to do so. Her work is never done. Elias doesn't pull on the reins of her imagination despite some physical setbacks that would have stifled others. Continue reading...
"Make the Silence Louder" by Cento Threeo
Record Label: SecondBridge Records
Released: 2026
"One for Joe" by Carl Clements
Record Label: Greydisc Records
Released: 2026
Jazz Journeys: A Conversation with Violinist May Yu (read); Miho Hazama: Where Groove Meets Orchestra (read); Miguel Zenon Quartet at Sam First (read); Introducing Vocalist Ava Preston (read); Terence Blanchard & Ravi Coltrane: Miles Davis & John Coltrane Centennial At Miner Auditorium (read); Callum Au: Ellington, Basie, Wheeler And Gillespie Were The Mozarts Of Their Generation (read); Fuchsthone Orchestra featuring Evi Filippou & UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra featuring Jazzmeia Horn at Jazzfest Bonn 2026 (read); Take Five with Clarinetist Davide Sgarra (read); Benjamin Herman: NRFS (listen); Dida Pelled: Blues in the Night (listen); Bill Evans: Nardis (listen); Sonny Rollins Blows His Last At 95 (read); Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville 2026 (read).
Ben Boddie On Jazz: Jacques Lesure, Lakecia Benjamin, Emmet Cohen, Carlos Henriquez and more (listen); Allston Boylston: New Music from Lakecia Benjamin, Yazz Ahmed, New Jazz Underground and Brad Goode with Ernie Watts (listen); JazzNow: Four new releases including Chick Corea's last concert, Chris Hazelton, The Sistering and Billy Childs (listen); Exploration: Celebrating Miles Davis's 100th Birthday! Music Representing Three Time Periods (1950-1964, 1965-1968, and 1969-1982) (listen); Mondo Jazz: Seu Jorge, Bobby Previte, Jamile, Vinicius Gomes, Joe Lovano & More (listen); One Man's Jazz: Marta Warelis, Marion Brown & Hypomaniac (listen); A Broad Spectrum: Rachelle Garniez, Virginia MacDonald, Jeff Lederer, Matt White's Dolly Parton Tribute, Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band & More (listen); Neon Jazz: Roy Hargrove, Monika Herzig, Sharon Minemoto & Emilio Solla (listen); The Jazz Disturbance: Gabrielle Cavassa, Joe Lovano, Phillip Golub, Amrita, James Wengrow (listen); The Tonearm: Meredith Bates: The Quiet Science Of Sound Worlds (listen); Mondo Jazz: Paulo Almeida, Roy Hargrove, Gegè Telesforo, Jazztropicante, Beto Paciello (listen); Jazz Connections: Miles on Miles: Collaborations with Gil Evans & The 2nd Great Quintet (listen); Mondo Jazz: Dida Pelled, Carla Bley, Harry Skoler, Joachim Kühn, Ben Flocks, Joe Webb (listen); Injazz: Exclusive jazzahead! recordings featuring the Sol Jang Trio and the Peter Somuah Group (listen); Ben Boddie On Jazz: Barry Greene, Blue Moods, Sharon Minemoto, Judith Owens and more (listen); World of Jazz: New Music From Harry Skoler, Joe Syrian, Emie R Roussel, Ava Mendoza And More (listen); Rotations: Refractions Of Miles Davis At 100 (listen).
Timely announcements covering new album releases, tours, special events and more. View all recent announcements.
Tickets Now On Sale For 15th Annual TD James Moody Jazz Festival In Newark, November 6-22, 2026 (read); Drummer Mike Clark Offers A Varied But Ceaselessly Swinging Program On 'Kuon Ganjo (Time Without Beginning,' Set For August 7 Release On Wide Hive Records (read); Cinematic Jazz Conjunctio Debut Album 'Unannounced'—Live At Silvana on June 8 (read); All About Jazz Top 10 Songs: May 2026 (read); JazzWeek Radio Chart: June 1, 2026 (read); Terri Lyne Carrington + Social Science Releases New Single 'Identity Song' In Support Of The Queer Communities (read); Renowned Saxophonist Gary Bartz Receives Honorary Doctorate From New England Conservatory (read); The Man Behind The Sessions: Why Artists, Producers, And Studios Keep Calling Jose Luis Castro (read); Jose Castro Is Creating Music For A World Without Borders (read); Soccer Watch Night Jazzes Up World Cup Fans With Exclusive Recording (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
We recently updated the ENGAGE section on the home page to include a random Big Question. If you spot a question that resonates with you, we encourage you to join the conversation by posting a comment. Column two of the ENGAGE section now also includes a link to our most recent poll. Speaking of... Seven years have passed since our last Top Venues poll. The jazz venue landscape has changed dramatically. Some clubs have closed, while many new venues have opened their doors—including six in New York City alone.
Help us identify the world's top jazz venues today. You may select up to ten venues where you most enjoy hearing live jazz. Last time, thousands of readers participated, and we're hoping to exceed 5,000 votes this year.
CAST YOUR VOTE(S) TODAY
Housekeeping update: We optimized the Radio & Podcast Show Guide page—it loads much faster. We also added a Bandcamp / SoundCloud embed code box to the album update / submission form for our musician and record label friends.
Album Reviews
The album reviews below represent our most popular from the past week. View more recent reviews. Members... Don't! Tyshawn Sorey |  Universal Truth Emmet Cohen |  Thank You Notes—The Music of Gregg Hill The Paul Keller Orchestra |  Hangin' In Joan Fort |
 Sounds Have Dreams Asteroid Ekosystem |  The Aftermath Ingeborg Gravem Sollid |  Tales of Consequence Whatever Happens Don't Be Yourself |  We Dream Lakecia Benjamin |
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 Myth of the Holy Trinity—It's Actually the Big Four
There is a received wisdom in jazz that goes unchallenged. The greatest female jazz vocalists are a fixed trio: Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Sarah Vaughan. Critics repeat it. Jazz education enshrines it. This is one of the great misreadings in American music history. Peggy Lee is the third seat. She also holds a case for number one. She did not write just a few tunes, nor was she a bombshell girl singer who simply got lucky with Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, one of the greatest ensembles in American music history and a major draw. Lee was a master at vocal prosody. She is a contender for the most complete female musical artist who ever lived. She helped revolutionize the role of the big-band singer by introducing an equal instrumental partnership. Continue reading...
The 1930s: Soup Kitchens, Shirley Temple and Swing
Just as the 1920s were defined by the Jazz Age, the 1930s were also defined by swing, the popular music of the time. Jazz had become danceable. But as America swung through the decade, the country endured two horrendous disasters: the Great Depression that followed the stock market crash of 1929, and the Dust Bowl caused by drought, erosion and wind storms that drove millions of people off their lands in the Great Plains. They packed up, jammed into their Model As and headed west for California, the "promised land." Their story was told in the classic novel, John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Millions were unemployed and many homeless. They lived in tent cities and stood in line for bowls of soup. But despite the hard times, America found inspiration in song and dance. Continue reading...
In Circuses and Carnivals, Sideshows Brought Black Music To The Heartland
Black musicians in circus and carnival sideshow bands from the late 1800s well into the Twentieth Century brought ragtime and what would become jazz and rhythm and blues to white audiences deep into Midwest agricultural regions. Trumpeter Lester Bowie, later known for the avant-garde Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), Art Ensemble of Chicago, and Brass Fantasy, joined circus and carnival bands early in his career when he needed any job he could get, he told writer Ted Panken in a series of interviews for WKCR-FM in New York. He also played in small combo R&B rhythm and blues bands, and big bands that backed soul and R&B performers but were populated with such jazz players and arrangers as Kenny Dorham, Blue Mitchell, and Johnny Coles who needed the work too. "To work then, you had to work in that kind of situation," Bowie related. Continue reading...
More Than Inventory: How Euclid Records Built a Community Through Music
Vinyl seems to show up everywhere these days. Department stores, clothing outlets, and even bookstores now carry small selections of records. Yet serious music fans still seek out independent record stores, and the reasons are fairly obvious. It takes much more than inventory to make a great record store. Although many factors are involved, three things stand out. An exceptional record store needs a welcoming atmosphere, a unique personality, and a genuine sense of community. The employees should make customers feel like they belong in the store, not just at the cash register. That spirit is immediately evident at Euclid Records, at both its St. Louis and New Orleans locations, which is why it is among the most respected independent record stores in the United States. Continue reading...
Eliane Elias: Lively and Live
Eliane Elias is a jazz musician of the highest order. Her skills as a superlative pianist became known not long after she arrived in New York City from her São Paulo, Brazil, home in 1981. She drew notice as a member of Steps Ahead, a groundbreaking fusion group of the early 1980s that included Mike Mainieri and Michael Brecker, among others. As her career grew, she became a prolific composer and interpreter of songs across a broad spectrum of genres. She slowly worked singing into her repertoire, with albums of Antonio Carlos Jobim music. (As a teenager and prodigy, she worked with Jobim in Brazil.) A bona fide star, she has toured the world several times and continues to do so. Her work is never done. Elias doesn't pull on the reins of her imagination despite some physical setbacks that would have stifled others. Continue reading...
Songs of the Week
Two tunes that ebb and flow with one for Joe. Enjoy them. "Make the Silence Louder" by Cento Threeo
L I S T E N
Album Information
Title: Halfway to MellowtownRecord Label: SecondBridge Records
Released: 2026
"One for Joe" by Carl Clements
L I S T E N
Album Information
Title: RetrospectiveRecord Label: Greydisc Records
Released: 2026
Top Songs
The songs below represent the most heard in the past four weeks. View the Song of the Day archive. No Entiendo From the album Consenso By Sal La Rocca |  The Lucky Hustle & The Side Show Shuffle From the album The Lucky Hustle & The Side Show Shuffle By Billy Brandt |  Chain of Hopes From the album Projections By Ilija Nikolic |  Crazy World of Love From the album Crazy World of Love By Louise Alexandra |
 Nap On The Sofa From the album Nap on the Sofa By Rowan Flack |  Navegante From the album Navegante By Manoel Cruz |  Inner Light From the album Inner Light By Mike DiRubbo |  On Different Paths From the album On Different Paths By Marlon Simon |
Choice Content
Jazz Journeys: A Conversation with Violinist May Yu (read); Miho Hazama: Where Groove Meets Orchestra (read); Miguel Zenon Quartet at Sam First (read); Introducing Vocalist Ava Preston (read); Terence Blanchard & Ravi Coltrane: Miles Davis & John Coltrane Centennial At Miner Auditorium (read); Callum Au: Ellington, Basie, Wheeler And Gillespie Were The Mozarts Of Their Generation (read); Fuchsthone Orchestra featuring Evi Filippou & UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra featuring Jazzmeia Horn at Jazzfest Bonn 2026 (read); Take Five with Clarinetist Davide Sgarra (read); Benjamin Herman: NRFS (listen); Dida Pelled: Blues in the Night (listen); Bill Evans: Nardis (listen); Sonny Rollins Blows His Last At 95 (read); Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville 2026 (read).
Radio & Podcasts
Tune into our extensive collection of quality programs every week.Ben Boddie On Jazz: Jacques Lesure, Lakecia Benjamin, Emmet Cohen, Carlos Henriquez and more (listen); Allston Boylston: New Music from Lakecia Benjamin, Yazz Ahmed, New Jazz Underground and Brad Goode with Ernie Watts (listen); JazzNow: Four new releases including Chick Corea's last concert, Chris Hazelton, The Sistering and Billy Childs (listen); Exploration: Celebrating Miles Davis's 100th Birthday! Music Representing Three Time Periods (1950-1964, 1965-1968, and 1969-1982) (listen); Mondo Jazz: Seu Jorge, Bobby Previte, Jamile, Vinicius Gomes, Joe Lovano & More (listen); One Man's Jazz: Marta Warelis, Marion Brown & Hypomaniac (listen); A Broad Spectrum: Rachelle Garniez, Virginia MacDonald, Jeff Lederer, Matt White's Dolly Parton Tribute, Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band & More (listen); Neon Jazz: Roy Hargrove, Monika Herzig, Sharon Minemoto & Emilio Solla (listen); The Jazz Disturbance: Gabrielle Cavassa, Joe Lovano, Phillip Golub, Amrita, James Wengrow (listen); The Tonearm: Meredith Bates: The Quiet Science Of Sound Worlds (listen); Mondo Jazz: Paulo Almeida, Roy Hargrove, Gegè Telesforo, Jazztropicante, Beto Paciello (listen); Jazz Connections: Miles on Miles: Collaborations with Gil Evans & The 2nd Great Quintet (listen); Mondo Jazz: Dida Pelled, Carla Bley, Harry Skoler, Joachim Kühn, Ben Flocks, Joe Webb (listen); Injazz: Exclusive jazzahead! recordings featuring the Sol Jang Trio and the Peter Somuah Group (listen); Ben Boddie On Jazz: Barry Greene, Blue Moods, Sharon Minemoto, Judith Owens and more (listen); World of Jazz: New Music From Harry Skoler, Joe Syrian, Emie R Roussel, Ava Mendoza And More (listen); Rotations: Refractions Of Miles Davis At 100 (listen).
News Announcements
Timely announcements covering new album releases, tours, special events and more. View all recent announcements.
Tickets Now On Sale For 15th Annual TD James Moody Jazz Festival In Newark, November 6-22, 2026 (read); Drummer Mike Clark Offers A Varied But Ceaselessly Swinging Program On 'Kuon Ganjo (Time Without Beginning,' Set For August 7 Release On Wide Hive Records (read); Cinematic Jazz Conjunctio Debut Album 'Unannounced'—Live At Silvana on June 8 (read); All About Jazz Top 10 Songs: May 2026 (read); JazzWeek Radio Chart: June 1, 2026 (read); Terri Lyne Carrington + Social Science Releases New Single 'Identity Song' In Support Of The Queer Communities (read); Renowned Saxophonist Gary Bartz Receives Honorary Doctorate From New England Conservatory (read); The Man Behind The Sessions: Why Artists, Producers, And Studios Keep Calling Jose Luis Castro (read); Jose Castro Is Creating Music For A World Without Borders (read); Soccer Watch Night Jazzes Up World Cup Fans With Exclusive Recording (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
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