Apr 29, 2015
In November 2011, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) officially designated April 30 as International Jazz Day in order to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe. International Jazz Day is chaired and led by Irina Bokova, UNESCO...
Apr 23, 2015
As an English major at Clark University (Class of '77) I spent many a fond moment with one of my favorite professors, Dr. Virginia Vaughan discussing the Immortal Bard, William Shakespeare. Although Shakespeare's birthdate is unknown, it is traditionally celebrated on April 23, St. George's Day. He was born 450 years...
Apr 13, 2015
1965 was in many ways just another busy year in the life of Lee Morgan. He had established himself as a major talent in the late Fifties, lending his trumpet talents to classic albums like John Coltrane’s Blue Train, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messenger’s Moanin’, and Johnny Griffin’s A Blowing Session. He began...
Apr 9, 2015
The hoopla surrounding Billie Holiday’s Birthday Centennial gives us the change to have some musicians of differing styles, fame and sexes release tribute CDs to Lady Day, each one interesting and highly listenable in its own right.
Jose James' third CD for Blue Note is entitled Yesterday I Had The Blues - The Music...
Apr 8, 2015
"The Orphic Machine is the poem: a severed head with face turned away that sings." -- Allen Grossman
Beauty can often be found in unexpected places. On his new album, Orphic Machine, clarinetist/composer Ben Goldberg creates some of his most beautiful, lyrical – and oddly accessible - music to date....