Oct 11, 2019
Today marks the centennial of the birth of perhaps the most influential drummer - if not the most influential band leader - of the second half of the 20th century. I speak of Art Blakey.
His career spanned all of modern jazz, from learning in the big bands of Fletcher Henderson and Billy Eckstine to cutting...
Sep 26, 2019
Jazz and theatre as art forms have not intersected that often. One thinks of The Connection, a play form the 1950’s featuring music from Freddie Redd and performances onstage by Redd and a young Jackie McLean as one outstanding exception. More recently, Sideman and Blue Paradise dealt with jazz and musicians, but...
Sep 21, 2019
For years Peter Eldridge has remained at the forefront of both the singer-songwriter and jazz realms as a vocalist, pianist, composer, and arranger. Head of the Manhattan School of Music’s jazz voice department for eighteen years, he is now Professor of Voice at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Peter and iconic...
Sep 20, 2019
Wallace Roney has been a significant force on the scene ever since he emerged at Ali’s Alley at the age of sixteen with Philly Joe Jones. Roney has been featured on impressive work with McCoy Tyner, Dizzy Gillespie, Elvin Jones, Chick Corea, and Ornette Coleman. As a member of the Tony Williams Quintet, Wallace took...