By Colin Fleming Put a “the” in front of a name and it acquires historical heft. The Thelonious Monk who entered New York City’s WOR Studios as Halloween approached in 1947 was both man and figure. The man had lived—as he seemingly always would—several…
Tom Harrell: IOak Tree/I (HighNote)
By Philip Booth Would it be overpraising Tom Harrell to describe his long recording career as practically peerless? Album after album, sometimes year after year, the Midwest-bred trumpet and flugelhorn virtuoso—leading quartets, quintets, and sometimes…
The Frost Duo
By Client Services The Frost Duo is comprised of vocalist/songwriter LeahBeth Evans and multi instrumentalist/composer Christian Gratz. The award winning duo is based out of Blakely, Pennsylvania and they write and compose their own music. The group sh…
Jason Miles: IThe Extraordinary Journey of Jason Miles/I (Book Writing Cube)
By Bill Meredith Seventy-one-year-old Brooklyn-born keyboardist/producer Jason Miles has charted an impressive recording career that includes credits with Miles Davis, Luther Vandross, and David Sanborn. And it’s all documented in his new autobiography…
Tyshawn Sorey Trio: iMesmerism/i (Pi)
By Ken Micallef To be mesmerized is to be hypnotized, which I’ve been when listening to the dense music of 42-year-old drummer/composer/academic Tyshawn Sorey. An astute and perhaps visionary musical thinker, Sorey once told me he enjoyed the music of …
Lizz Wright: iHolding Space/i (Blues & Greens)
By Andrew Gilbert Lizz Wright’s seventh album, Holding Space, is a glorious declaration of independence. It’s the first release on her artist-centric new label Blues & Greens Records, a platform that allows musicians to retain the masters and rights to…
Audio Files: The Best Audio Gear for Traveling
By Brent Butterworth We travel (for pleasure, at least) to leave our world behind for a while. Still, bringing along the things we love most is often a good idea, whether they be family and friends, a beloved Chihuahua, or our jazz albums. Not long ago…
Les Bon Temps Are Back at the Montreal Jazz Festival
By Sharonne Cohen In its first full edition since the onset of the pandemic, and with a new director of programming, the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal returned for a 42nd go-round from June 30 to July 9. With a revamped site and a solid, d…
Stan Killian: iBrooklyn Calling/i (Sunnyside)
By Andrew Hamlin Figure guitar-playing newcomer (to this band) Paul Bollenbeck as the most common provocateur to the leader. Over seven tunes swinging as a suite, Bollenbeck first scintillates with enigmatic suction sounds behind Killian’s tenor. Elsew…
“A Light in Darkness” at the 2022 Vision Festival
By JazzTimes The 2022 Vision Festival —edition number 26, “A Light in Darkness”— took place from June 21 to June 26 in New York City, including hundreds of performers and featuring tributes to two giants of the avant garde: Wadada Leo Smith and Oliver …