For whatever combination of reasons, from geography to stylistic restlessness, the breadth and depth of 84 year old woodwind virtuoso Bennie Maupin’s work have long been underappreciated. His playing is at times simple and at times cerebral and complex, at times emotionally uninhibited and at times patient and restrained, at times presented in highly modern…

Saxophonist George Coleman turns 90 today, and what a gift that he still graces our presence! If his only claim to fame were his couple years of creative, soulful, and muscular contributions to the burgeoning 1960s Miles Davis Quintet, that would be enough to go down in the history books, but of course his hundreds…

Today (Feb 4, 2025) marks the 80th anniversary of John Stubblefield’s birth. Stubbs is one of my favorite saxophonists and in a sense an exemplar of the “lost generation” of folks like Victor Lewis and James Williams who, while beloved within the jazz community, fell in the cracks in the 1980s landscape of straight-ahead jazz’s…

The spreadsheets get more and more nuanced and my attempts to pare down without missing stuff remain earnest yet quixotic (4-5 full albums and 5-6 partial ones per week on average, though really more than that with some gaps where my ears are consumed by things related to performing or teaching). I’m so awed by…

Safe passage to pianist Martial Solal, who passed last week at the age of 97. He was a great composer and bandleader, but a truly superlative pianist. I find myself thinking of ways to articulate this. With all due respect to Art Tatum and Earl Hines, he’s one of the all-time greats of solo piano….

I was inspired to write about Abdullah Ibrahim (formerly Dollar Brand) for two reasons. One, the 90 year old South African pianist and composer is performing in New Haven tonight and I’m excited and moved that I will get to soak in his inimitable vibes. Two, his role as a voice against the oppression of…

Alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson, who has moved on at the ripe age of 98, is perhaps the foremost example of how intertwined bebop and the blues are. Once a major heir to the Charlie Parker throne, he made a striking number of successful records in the funky acoustic “boogaloo” vein. Yet a focused listen reveals…