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Article: Interview

The Ditties: Finding Freedom in Swing

by Matthew Vasiliauskas
May 15, 2023

When asked what interested her about the jazz art form, Nina Simone responded, “I had spent many years pursuing excellence, because that is what classical music is all about. But jazz is dedicated to freedom, and that is far more important." Typically, what drives an artist's ambition, is the desire to hold mastery over ...

Article: Radio & Podcasts

New Releases Plus Birthday Celebrations for Ella Fitzgerald, Blossom Dearie & More

by Mary Foster Conklin
May 8, 2023

This broadcast includes new releases from the JOI (Jazz Outreach Initiative) Jazz Orchestra, Luis Russell and Grace Garland, plus birthday shoutouts to Blossom Dearie, Ma Rainey, Rebecca Martin, Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald, among others. Thanks for listening and please support the artists you hear by seeing them live and online. Purchase their music so they ...

Article: Album Review

Planet D Nonet: Blues to Be There

Read "Blues to Be There" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
April 11, 2023

The subtitle of Blues to be There, the Detroit-based Planet D Nonet's latest album (recorded in June and July 2022), is “A Salute to Duke Ellington." As with almost any bow to the Duke, it encompasses a healthy measure of Billy Strayhorn as well. Ellington wrote or co-wrote thirteen of the album's persuasive numbers, Strayhorn five ...

Article: Catching Up With

José James: Why The Female Of The Species Is Groovier Than The Male

by Peter Jones
April 4, 2023

Jazz singer José James considers Erykah Badu to be the Joni Mitchell of his generation, a woman who has constructed a world of her own in order to tell her own alternative story. To prove the point, earlier this year he released On & On (Rainbow Blonde), a whole album of Badu songs, which he has ...

Article: Liner Notes

Wycliffe Gordon: What You Dealin' With?

by C. Andrew Hovan
April 2, 2023

Privy to the entire history of jazz trombone via the technological age in which we live, Wycliffe Gordon seems to have utilized this information in such a way that his own playing displays elements from various periods and a technical competence that is indeed remarkable. “I was most familiar, at first, with guys who played with ...

Article: Live Review

MetJazz 2023

by Neri Pollastri
March 20, 2023

Metastasio Jazz 2023 Prato Vari luoghi 11.2--11.3.2023 Dedicato all'intreccio tra tradizione e innovazione che da sempre caratterizza jazz e musica improvvisata, MetJazz 2023 s'è aperto il pomeriggio di sabato 11 febbraio, alla scuola di musica Giuseppe Verdi di Prato, con uno degli appuntamenti off, ovvero con una conferenza del direttore artistico ...

Article: Liner Notes

Billy Lester: Unabridged

by Howard Mandel
March 18, 2023

Pianist Billy Lester is a musical original. That's obvious from the first, oh, 17 seconds of Unabridged, his sixth album and second all-solo recording. Listen to the unusual, brief motif with which Lester opens “Overture: Passionate Musings," then develops, complicates and completes it faster than you'd tie a shoelace. Pause--and he continues. Not to ...

Article: Live Review

Paul Clarvis Trio At Magy's Farm

by Ian Patterson
February 25, 2023

Paul Clarvis Trio Magy's Farm Dromara, N. Ireland February 19, 2023 The last gig of Paul Clarvis Trio's fifteen-date UK tour to promote its debut album Freight Train (Village Life, 2022) was likely its smallest and furthest removed from bright city lights. Magy's Farm, a rural venue with a capacity of ...

Album

Louis Wishes You A Cool Yule

By Louis Armstrong

Label: Verve Music Group
Released: 2022
Track listing: Cool Yule; Winter Wonderland (Single Version); I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm; 'Zat You, Santa Claus? (Single Version); Christmas In New Orleans; White Christmas (Single Version); Christmas Night In Harlem (Single Version); Baby, It’s Cold Outside; Moments To Remember; What A Wonderful World; A Visit From St Nicholas.

Article: Year in Review

2022: The Year in Jazz

by Ken Franckling
December 29, 2022

Current events impacted the jazz world in significant ways throughout 2022. In its third year, the coronavirus pandemic continued to lurk in some settings, while others recovered in robust fashion. Russia's war on Ukraine was felt by musicians and triggered an outpouring of support for its victims. Initiatives to ensure greater equity in jazz advanced. The ...