Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify. It is fitting that four-time Grammy Award winning bassist Christian McBride would eventually record at the Village Vanguard, the most hallowed and historical nightclub in jazz: an underground Mt. Olympus where the gods of the music—from John Coltrane to Bill Evans—have cast their syncopated spells. “You …
Jazz Under the Stars 2015 came to an end August 27 with a great performance by Shade of Blue at the McGrath Amphitheatre. The 2016 concert series will mark the 30-year anniversary of Jazz Under the Stars!
Pianist Donald Vega’s origins were in Sandinista-era Nicaragua, where he spent the first fourteen years of his journey. His mother then brought him to Los Angeles, where he would eventually meet drum icon Billy Higgins. Higgins nurtured Vega’s will to swing, to play jazz without a ‘Latin accent,’ turning him on to Bud Powell and …
In a musical world where keeping a working band has been difficult for many bandleaders, drummer Steve Smith has managed to keep three bands working for the past three decades. His jazz-rock band Vital Information has been touring and recording for more than thirty years, while his straight-ahead groups Buddy’s Buddies, made up of Buddy …
Charenee Wade is not one to hold back or let fear stand in her way. The first artist ever to enter two Thelonious Monk Vocal competitions, she walked away from the second in 2010 with instant buzz and second place to her new friend Cecile McLorin Salvant. Known for expert vocal improvisational ability and her …
Ten years after making his Blue Note Records debut, and following two Grammy Award-winning volumes of his critically and commercially successful rhythm-and-blues-oriented “Black Radio” albums, Robert Glasper has announced a return to his acclaimed acoustic jazz trio for his new CD, “Covered.” Along with Glasper on piano, the trio features Vicente Archer on bass and …
The Bad Plus has almost exclusively performed as a trio for its nearly 20-year existence. Guests occasionally join the band in concert, but only one of their previous 10 discs has included a fourth member. In 2011, bassist Reid Anderson, pianist Ethan Iverson and drummer David King invited saxophonist Joshua Redman to join them for …
There are certain venues that become a home away from home for many musicians. Places where the vibe is right, the crowd is always involved and management is friendly. The Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, California is one of these places and the favorite venue of pianist Benny Green. Returning to the site where …
