Jan 28, 2013
The Sirens is acclaimed saxophonist Chris Potter's ECM debut as a leader, an album of mood and melody inspired by Homer's The Odyssey - both its epic atmosphere and its timeless humanity. Potter, who has been a featured player on ECM albums by the likes of Dave Holland and Steve Swallow, found the timeless tale a source...
Jan 28, 2013
Pianist Rahn Burton, also known as Ron Burton and best known for his work with Rahsaan Roland Kirk, died Jan. 25 in New York City. The cause of death was not reported. Mr. Burton is survived by his son Akemela Burton, who is also the administrator of his estate.
Burton was born in 1934 in Louisville, Ky., and began...
Jan 20, 2013
"I feel no need to explain any further the music herewith other than to say throw all other records of mine away except maybe one other [unnamed]" – Charles Mingus on The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady.
Fifty years ago today, Charles Mingus gathered eleven musicians into a New York studio and created one of his...
Jan 18, 2013
“We started the Messengers because somebody had to mind the store for jazz. No America–no jazz. It is the only culture that America has brought forth.” – Art Blakey
The 2013 U.S. Bank Portland Jazz Festival, presented by Alaska Airlines, will start in less than a month, running Friday, February 15 through
Jan 12, 2013
Fifty years ago today, Donald Byrd gathered a septet and gospel choir in Rudy Van Gelder's studios in New Jersey to record his latest project. Noted as a hard bop trumpet player, Byrd wanted to push the envelope a bit on this session, as he noted in the album liner notes:
I mean this album seriously. Because of my own...