Jan 30, 2015
One of the great Melting Pot bands working in jazz today, The Afro-Semitic Experience manages to resist definition as it finds new adjectives to describe the music they play. Co-founded by African-American jazz pianist Warren Byrd, and Jewish-American jazz bassist David Chevan in 1998, the seven-piece band combines an...
Jan 19, 2015
To honor the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King on the anniversary of his birth, here is the Official Straight No Chaser song of the holiday - “Martin was a Man, a Real Man” as recorded by Oliver Nelson in 1969. The band for the recording included Nelson, Pearl Kaufmann and Roger Kellaway (piano); Chuck Domanico...
Jan 12, 2015
“These are real experiences that I’ve had, and I want somebody else to know that they’re not alone. That’s what the blues is all about. It’s about togetherness. It’s not just, ‘I’ve got the blues.’ It’s not just, ‘I’m not OK.’ It’s ‘Let’s bear this all together.’” – Allegra Levy
A...
Jan 11, 2015
2015 has just begun, and I’ve already got a new CD on heavy rotation. That rapid-fire thumping you hear from my office – that’s Ali Bey.
A product of the fertile Detroit Jazz scene, Ali has been playing electric bass since the age of eleven. Ali’s musical development was strongly influenced by both parents - his...
Jan 11, 2015
On Tuesday, January 20, 2015, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Bobby McFerrin, Dianne Reeves and others will honor the memory of their friend and colleague, 15-time Grammy-winning saxophonist Michael Brecker, at The Nearness of You benefit concert in New York City.
Hugh Jackman and Deborra-lee Furness are the benefit chairs,...