Results for "Matt Hooke"
Scenes from the 2023 DC Jazz Festival

by Matt Hooke
An embassy may seem like an unusual place to kick off the 2023 DC Jazz Festival, but it made for a good indication of the international and collaborative atmosphere fostered by the annual event. The DC Jazz Festival opening night at the House of Sweden, the embassy for Sweden and Iceland, began with a ...
43rd Annual Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland, Part 2

by Matt Hooke
Part 1 | Part 2 After a year online and a year at the suburban Cain Park, the Tri-C JazzFest made a triumphant return to downtown jny: Cleveland in 2022. The downtown location gave the music a wider audience than at Cain Park, as it was more likely that someone returning home from a ...
Ibrahim Maalouf: 40 Melodies

by Matt Hooke
The age of 40, in America at least, is looked at with fear as the start of middle age. For many, it is a state of limbo; the knee pains say they are not young; however, that black hair says they are not old either. Many people buy a motorcycle or start an ill-conceived fling with ...
Branford Marsalis at The Ohio Theatre

by Matt Hooke
Branford Marsalis Quartet Ohio Theatre Cleveland, Ohio October 10, 2019Branford Marsalis is a jazz chameleon. Few saxophonists could go from playing his brother Wynton's straight-ahead outfit to pursing cross over opportunities with pop-star Sting and hip-hop legend Guru to now making music with Gabriel Prokofiev, the great-grandson of ...
l'Oumigmag: Habitant

by Matt Hooke
L'Oumigmag's Habitant is an ambitious reimagining of traditional Quebecois folk, based on the environment and natural beauty of the area around the St. Lawrence River. It has a feeling of comfort that is often reminiscent of a friendly bluegrass jam. Habitant is a reference to the first French settlers of the St. Lawrence River. ...
Stick Men at the Beachland Ballroom

by Matt Hooke
Stick Men, CuDa Sheif & CuDaBeachland Ballroom Cleveland Ohio August 4, 2019 The audience at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland on August 4 witnessed the Stick Men develop a new canon for a new breed of instruments. Markus Reuter and Tony Levin both play instruments that are less ...
Jazz, Zen, and Hip-Hop: The 2019 Montreal Jazz Festival

by Matt Hooke
Exploring the grounds of the Montreal Jazz Festival is like going to all you can eat Las Vegas buffet. Look over there at table four; there's Dixieland. Wait at table six, there's Latin jazz, supposedly the main table as a new head chef, let's go there." You can stuff yourself by going ...
Remembering Dr. John

by Matt Hooke
Dr. John, Ph'd in jny: New Orleans piano with a minor in voodoo, died at the age 77 on June 6. Dr. John honored his roots, learned from masters like Professor Longhair, and added his own special herbs to create a gumbo that can never be recreated, even if someone manages to find a recipe. Dr. ...
Sam Wilkes: Wilkes

by Matt Hooke
A debut album by a bassist sometimes features displays of tremendous virtuosity, an attempt to expand the boundaries of an instrument often relegated to the background. Think of Jaco Pastorius's self-titled debut album. On Wilkes, LA session musician Sam Wilkes, best known for backing electronic duo Knowner, goes in the opposite direction, and that's what makes ...
Nik Bärtsch's Ronin At The Bop Stop

by Matt Hooke
Nik Bartsch's Ronin Bop Stop Cleveland, Ohio October 28, 2018 The way Nik Bärtsch dresses reveals a lot about his music. He steps up to the piano wearing a Samue, the traditional dress of Zen Buddhist monks, and sneakers. One represents a spiritual tradition thousands of years old, requiring the utmost ...