Results for "Seton Hawkins"
Mark Ruffin: Bebop Fairy Tales

by Seton Hawkins
Celebrating 40 years as a jazz broadcaster, music producer, and writer this year, Mark Ruffin--perhaps best known as the program director for the Real Jazz channel on SiriusXM --stands as one of jazz's unsung heroes. Countless artists owe their career successes and prominence to his tireless efforts, boundless enthusiasm and advocacy, and encyclopedic knowledge of the ...
Matthew Shipp: Poetic Connection

by Seton Hawkins
It is difficult to describe the impact of pianist and composer Matthew Shipp without descending into hyperbole. A core figure in the now-legendary David S. Ware Quartet, a bandleader with a staggering recording output, a groundbreaking curator for the influential Blues Series of Thirsty Ear Records, Matthew Shipp has also more recently broken new ...
Sisonke Xonti: A Leap of Faith

by Seton Hawkins
Known for years as an outstanding saxophonist and first-call collaborator in a variety of top South African Jazz ensembles, in recent years Sisonke Xonti has rightly earned acclaimed for his own talents as a bandleader and a composer. Notably, Xonti's 2017 debut release Iyonde not only provided a stellar showcase for his superlative horn ...
Most Read Articles: 2019

by Michael Ricci
All About Jazz tracks how often an article is read, and the articles listed below represent our most popular in 2019. The number to the right of the date published represents the article's read count as of December 30th. Live Reviews Documenting Jazz 2019 by Ian Patterson ...
Claude Cozens: Reimagining Rhythm

by Seton Hawkins
The Cape Jazz sound of South Africa is known to international audiences primarily thanks to the music of pianist Abdullah Ibrahim. However, the music and traditions of Cape Town and the Western Cape run much deeper, reflecting an extraordinary, sometimes contradictory, and exceedingly complex set of cultures and traditions reflected in the area. Within this environment ...
Sam Tshabalala: Returning Home

by Seton Hawkins
The late 1970s saw a surge of extraordinary musical creativity in South Africa. Driven in part by a changing political climate reflecting the youth-led Soweto uprising of 1976, a younger generation of South African artists harnessed the arts to give voice to a new chapter in the anti-apartheid struggle. Indeed, rising ensembles like Movement ...
Carlo Mombelli: Angels and Demons

by Seton Hawkins
One of music's criminally underrated geniuses, South African electric bassist and composer Carlo Mombelli has carved out a most extraordinary performing and writing career in music. Throughout his four decades as a performer, Mombelli has forged one of the most distinctive electric bass approaches in Jazz, established himself as South Africa's most exceptional composer, and has ...
Aaron Rimbui: Nairobi to New York City

by Seton Hawkins
Kenya is noted for an extraordinary array of musical offerings yet its jazz scene has historically been quite slim. However, Nairobi-born pianist Aaron Rimbui may change that dynamic. Drawing on the musical traditions of Kenya and East Africa, Rimbui has established a singular and absolutely arresting approach to jazz piano. With several ...
Ronan Skillen: Telepathic Euphoria

by Seton Hawkins
When one thinks of South African jazz, the didgeridoo and the tabla don't immediately jump to mind. Nevertheless, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and engineer Ronan Skillen has made them vital additions to a range of South African ensembles. While acclaimed for his work in the genre-smashing South African ensemble Babu, Skillen has engaged in ...
Jazz of the New South Africa, Part Two

by Seton Hawkins
South Africa celebrated its first democratic elections in April 1994, entering a new phase of its history. During that decade, an incredible new array of Jazz artists emerged in the country, exploring Jazz's role in the New South Africa. Playlist Hilton Schilder Email to the Ancestors" from No Turning Back (Mountain Records) 1:11 ...