Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify. Though she originally studied and performed in the classical field, the past few years have found bass trombonist Jennifer Wharton in many more diverse situations, especially in the world of jazz. She is a regular in the Broadway pit orchestras of New York City and is also a …
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.A protégé of Quincy Jones, who took him under his wing when he defected to the U.S. in 2009, pianist Alfredo Rodriguez was schooled in the rigorous classical conservatories of Havana. His riveting artistry is informed as much by Bach and Stravinsky as it is by his Afro …
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify. Juno Award-winning saxophonist, composer and arranger Allison Au was born to a Chinese father and Jewish mother, and was raised in the multicultural metropolis of Toronto. Exposed to a wide array of musical styles growing up, Allison was captivated by the unhinged freedom of jazz, which became …
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify. Bassist and composer Iris Ornig is one of the most original female voices on today’s New York jazz scene. Since her arrival in 2003 from Germany, she has played with an impressive roster of some of the most influential contemporary jazz musicians in New York, including Ambrose Akinmusire, …
“The Lion, Camel & Child” is the second release from Toronto saxophonist Johnny Griffith’s all-star quintet—a band made up of four of Toronto’s leading jazz lights, along with legendary New York trumpeter Jeremy Pelt. Griffith drew inspiration from the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche—specifically his book, “Three Metamorphoses.” As the reedman explains, “Metamorphoses is …
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify. German-born, Canada-raised Johannes Wallman spent his twenties and early thirties making his living on the New York jazz scene, teaching at NYU and the New School. He moved to Oakland in 2007 and, since 2012, Wallman’s been based in Madison, where he serves as Director …
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify. John Shifflett (1953-2017) was a beloved bassist, well-known as THE sideman in many of the San Francisco Bay Area’s foremost ensembles and for traveling jazz dignitaries. Born and raised in Dubuque, John got his start teaching at the University of Iowa, his alma mater. He played on …
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify. Jazz duo recordings can provide an exceedingly wide range of musical expression including, but not limited to, profundity, humor, tenderness, introspection and exuberance. This type of mercurial interplay is on full display on “Montreal Memories,” a previously unreleased live set from saxophonist Frank Morgan and pianist George …
