Gary Fukushima

In New Orleans, trumpet is king. Buddy Bolden, King Oliver and Louis Armstrong triumphantly announced the arrival of jazz to the world, and their legacy has continued on through modern-day brass-men Wynton Marsalis, Terrence Blanchard and Nicholas Payton, themselves all native sons of New Orleans. Enter Irving Mayfield, who with......

She has the goods required of every aspiring Hollywood starlet: talent, charisma, youth, country girl charm, a who’s-who contact list and an unforgettable name. But this Grace Kelly is attempting to achieve her stardom as a jazz musician. The 21-year-old Korean-American (her last name was Chung before her mom remarried)......

Creative improvisers of music in Los Angeles are familiar with the name Rocco Somazzi. The Swiss-born impresario got his start programming adventurous music at various clubs in L.A., then stepped it up in 2006 with the inaugural Angel City Jazz Fest at Barnsdall Park, a hidden oasis just south of......

The saxophonist's new album is titled Still Casual, his fourth and a thrice-removed follow-up to his debut, Casually Introducing Walter Smith III. Smith is the epitome of casual-cool; anyone who has heard him in person knows they cannot be as cool as he is without trying too hard. But the......

This guitar phenom just released his debut album, Boiling High Idol, an uncategorizable mash-up of punk, electronica, Balkan folk melodies and unending, repeated melodic fragments that will leave you delighted and stimulated, if it doesn't drive you to madness first. You'd think it's the work of a lunatic, or maybe......

Most septuagenarians try to stay spry with long walks and crossword puzzles. Chick Corea does it by assembling a band of exciting young virtuosos, recording new originals and touring the world. The new group, The Vigil, has been dubbed "Corea's elektrokoustic band" for its integration of fusion with other modern......

The three most popular exports out of Cuba are cigars, baseball players and musicians. Cuban versions of those things have this in common: They are rare, of the finest quality, and can take a while to make it to the United States. Pianist Dayramir Gonzalez has been a star in......

Quetzal's 2012 album, Imaginaries, won a Grammy for Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album, a zenith for the 20-year-old band, which almost disbanded when leader Quetzal Flores and lead singer/percussionist Martha Rodriguez decided to focus more on graduate studies and raising a family. Luckily for their ardent fans, the......

In 1961, Allan and Sandra Jaffe founded Preservation Hall in New Orleans, where they held nightly concerts of traditional jazz music played by those who had seen jazz being born. Defying decades of Jim Crow laws, they integrated blacks and whites in their audiences and even in their band. All......