Most cocktail jazz gigs are not particularly rewarding on an artistic level, but they aren't supposed to be. They pay well but they usually go on for too long and most people there aren't listening to you. Of course, there are benefits. I once played a solo gig on a white piano surrounded by roses w ... More >>
Also, Dengue Fever, Jessie Baylin, Reigning Sound, Black Bananas and others
Duke Ellington and Richard Nixon spend some QTBy Sean J. O'Connell Sonny Rollins is one of the greatest living jazz musicians. Since his first recording session with trombonist J.J. Johnson in 1949, he has relentlessly dedicated himself to discovering the limits of the honking beast. This Th ... More >>
Also, Earth, Wind & Fire, Tinie Tempah, Arctic Monkeys, Woodsman and others
Timothy NorrisKCRW BROADCAST #112 for Saturday, April 30. Fanatics! This week our Fanatic Freak Flag is at half mast as we say goodbye to Poly Styrene, great vocalist of X-Ray Spex, who passed away last Monday from breast cancer. The band was one of the first on London's break out Punk Rock s ... More >>
The 32nd Annual Playboy Jazz Festival had its typical big-name veterans play - George Benson, Marcus Miller, Chick Corea, Manhattan Transfer - but it was the lesser known performers who almost stole the show. Trombone Shorty and Orleans Ave. and Naturally 7 made their first appearances and the Pete ... More >>
Also, Destroy L.A., Sunset Strip Music Festival, the Drones and others
Jazz picks around L.A.
Charlie Haden’s liberation music (1991 interview)
The once and future music of revolution
Dave Holland’s escape from the assembly line
How an Argentinean became the ultimate American musician
Charles Lloyd on ultrapolation, dehumidification and the sound
No-dress-code jazz releases
Music for the modern zombie
Victor Lewis Trios, Pell Mell, C4AM95
