GRACE JONES

Grace Jones: Statuesque, Iconic, and Timeless
by Raul da Gama

The legendary British-born, Jamaican-based producer Chris Blackwell (with Graeme Goodall as his initial partner) not only knew how to spend a 2000 pound stipend from his mother, but had an eye for the supremely-gifted and highly visible Jamaican artists for his newly-minted Island Records. Among his first signings for Island were Bob Marley and Grace Jones. Bob was riding the crest of the reggae wave - making it move to the beat of his own "riddim."

Grace always seems to be taller than almost any proverbial wave that would rise in Jamaica and crash in Britain. Even sitting on an interviewer’s couch, which she literally takes over as she drapes herself upon it. She is a celebrated supermodel, an actress, singer, a revolutionary presence, and is larger than life in each of the roles she plays.

Life? That began in Spanish Town, Jamaica, where Grace was born to Marjorie (née Williams) and Robert Jones, a local politician and Apostolic clergyman. “I grew up living in a bubble,” she says, gesticulating with both hands to the British ITV host Jonathan Ross, suggesting how small a space her life once occupied. Growing up in Jamaica, “…there was nothing except church and school which was in church and school which was church,” she continues, explaining the need to break on through to another side. That was not long in coming. Grace was always a singer, and being a striking presence, she naturally gravitated to the stage.

JANELLE MONÁE

From Afrocentric Roots to Android Futures: The Evolution of Janelle Monáe

by Raul da Gama

Somewhere in Janelle Monáe’s orbit, there’s a wall of accolades that reads like a mosaic of artistic triumphs. Among them: a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Children’s and Family Emmy Award, the ASCAP Vanguard Award, and Billboard Women in Music’s Trailblazer of the Year honor. Even more impressively, Monáe boasts ten GRAMMY nominations, including one for Album of the Year at the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards for her groundbreaking 2023 project, The Age of Pleasure (Wondaland/Bad Boy/Atlantic).

But beyond the trophies, Monáe—the actress, songwriter, rapper, and cultural icon—might be even more proud of how her art has transcended boundaries. From her Afrocentric origins to the Afrofuturist universe of Cindi Mayweather, she has expanded not only her creative reach but also the representation of Black women in music, film, and speculative art. In her conceptual work, she becomes Mayweather: a crested android messiah confronting belonging, alienation, identity, and power in a world few artists dare to imagine—let alone embody.

ANAT COHEN

ANAT COHEN - Leading the Resurgence of the Jazz Clarinet

By John Zaff

Virtuoso clarinet and tenor saxophone player Anat Cohen has traveled the world, both literally and figuratively, in her quest to expand her musical palette and hone her formidable improvisation skills. The figurative travels she’s embarked on have been musical forays undertaken with an international cast of musicians, with the ultimate goal of soaking up the wide array of styles and sub-genres of music that make up the larger jazz idiom. Throughout her journey, Anat has assimilated an encyclopedia’s worth of musical styles into her playing, drawing from such disparate sources as classical, New Orleans style, klezmer music and Brazilian Choro, all the while synthesizing her own unique personal style of playing.

Anat grew up in Israel, in a musical family, studying and learning music alongside brothers Yuval and Avishai, both great players in their own right. Older brother Yuval plays saxophone, which was also Anat’s first instrument, and Avishai plays trumpet. She frequently collaborates with them in a group called the 3 Cohens. Anat’s mom played the accordion and taught music to kindergartners. Her dad also had a great love for music, but Anat’s grandparents both made it clear to her parents that music would not be an acceptable career to pursue. Perhaps because of their denial, things worked out differently for Anat and her brothers. She says, “Unlike our grandparents, our parents never put any doubts in our minds that we could make music a major part of our lives. We went to special schools for the arts and our parents chauffeured us to music lessons. For me, it all started in junior high school.”

JALEEL SHAW

Shaw in the Raw
by Raul da Gama

Sometimes (not often), you can tell the depth and erudition of an artist in the first few notes they play. Music seems to flow with every breath they take. And not simply music but history – human history. This is just the special kind of music that Jaleel Shaw seems to create when he plays his alto saxophone.

Somehow, the air that he breathes into his lungs becomes hot – jazz hot – as it is channeled into the invisible cauldron inside his chest and gets infused with a large measure of uncommon wisdom that comes from a life of contemplation of the human condition. The result: when the air is expelled from his lips through the vibrating reed, it sings and dances with the beautiful struggle that spells life itself.

Jaleel is sharply focused on the struggle of life. However, he is quick to point out a few things about his preponderance of that “struggle of life” that sets him apart from the kind of negativism that is prevalent in the world around him, and around all of us.

CAMILLE THURMAN

THE TWO VOICES OF CAMILLE THURMAN

By Ronald E. Scott

In the arena of jazz, it’s extremely difficult to become proficient with just one instrument, but Camille Thurman has become a creative improviser on tenor saxophone and a versatile singer, boosting four octaves.

Nina Simone, Shirley Horn, Carmen McRae, Sarah Vaughan and Hazel Scott, all great pianists and singers, but Camille has blossomed on saxophones, flute and clarinet, and her inventive scats to swooning ballads make her a rare treasure.

As a finalist in the Sarah Vaughan Vocal Competition in 2013, Camille could have become a major force on the depth of her vocals or her tenor saxophone. She restructured Horace Silver’s instrumental “Love Vibrations” into a song dancing with bluesy rhythms, she then seamlessly picks up her sax and comps on the song with a beautiful melody. She once joked on stage that playing and singing can become a tongue twister when trying to introduce a song, because it requires two different movements from her tongue. Her dual diversity onstage has earned her the reputation as being a double threat.

Camille has shared stages with jazz luminaries like Benny Golson, Roy Haynes, George Coleman, Diana Krall, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Terri Lyne Carrington, Kenny Barron and Jon Batiste. On the R&B and hip-hop scene, she’s accompanied Alicia Keys, Missy Elliot, Ciara and India Arie.

BIG CHIEF DONALD HARRISON

Big Chief Donald Harrison: Sparks the Revolution of Unity
by Raul da Gama

Sing it and swing it: “There is a Big Chief down in New Orleans/They call him Donald Harrison/He plays his horn and wears his plume/The big blue one he was born to wear…” Yes, indeed, the inimitable alto saxophonist and alum of one of the last iterations of Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers has earned the honorific in many more ways than one.

NEA Jazz Master Big Chief Donald Harrison Jr. says that he has his father, Big Chief Donald Harrison Sr. to thank for inculcating in him the study and knowledge and enabling him to pierce the enigmas of New Orleans's secret tribal culture and New Orleans's second-line culture. The sluice gates of music were not long in opening before Big Chief’s sound world came tumbling out like a flash flood, inundating the world of music. It’s something that Big Chief began to describe as “Nouveau Swing.”

All of this suggests that if anyone would be anointed as Big Chief of the Congo Nation Afro-New Orleans Cultural Group, it would be Harrison. No one could have predicted how far he would fly with New Orleans culture on the wing. True, he did cut his permanent teeth with Art, who never shied away from bringing a slew of new-generation players into the Messengers to rejuvenate the music; not ever.

PAUL CARR AND VANESSA RUBIN

Paul Carr and Vanessa Rubin: Rawhide Blues Meets the Seductive Elegance of Jazz

By Raul da Gama

To say “the blues begat jazz” is like preaching to the choir. Although there can be no substitute for a universally songful, modern blues in the 12-bar arrangement, there is something quite unique about the blues bred in Texas. The air around the Lone Star State is steeped in the nuclear fusion of lowdown blues, sharp-edged, gloriously inventive jazz, and the high and lonesome whinge of country music. It is no wonder: Blind Lemon Jefferson used his acoustic guitar to charm and bend notes in a minor key, describing heartache with an anguished glissando. He sang quintessentially evanescent blues for lost love and described the social despair of being Black in America. The sorrow he spun in his narratives influenced the future creation of the hard-nosed, diamond-in-the-rough jazz musician—one who wailed in sharp rebuke of all that was wrong in society while joyfully celebrating all that was right.

From this fertile tradition emerged an extensive line of Texas bluesy jazz saxophonists. Giants like Arnett Cobb, Don Wilkerson (born in Moreauville, Louisiana, but raised in Houston), and Ornette Coleman paved the way. It is no surprise that the celebrated saxophonist Paul Carr should follow in the footsteps of those giants—and not just walk in their path but blaze a musical trail of his own. A Houston native, Carr graduated from Howard University. He studied music privately and performed as part of the Kashmere High School Stage Band, directed by the legendary Conrad “Prof” Johnson (aka Conrad O. Johnson).

BUSTER WILLIAMS

Buster Williams: Infinite Bassist

by Eugene Holley, Jr.

For seven decades, the GRAMMY Award-winning, NEA Jazz Master bassist/bandleader Charles Anthony “Buster” Williams, Jr. has been the standard-bearer on his instrument for generations. With contemplative, Buddha-like concentration – the very opposite of the grimacing, “stank face” images popular among musicians now – Buster quietly, yet powerfully, became a master at playing the right notes, at the right time for the right reasons; as evidenced by his gigs with Art Blakey, Betty Carter, Jimmy Heath, Wynton Marsalis, McCoy Tyner, The Jazz Crusaders, Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard. Buster was a founding member of Herbie Hancock’s 1970s Afro-fusion Mwandishi ensemble, and he was a core member of the ’80s Thelonious Monk repertory group, Sphere.

Buster brings his group, Something More, to Jazz at Lincoln Center for an extended engagement from July 31 to August 2. The group consists of saxophonist Steve Wilson, pianist Brandon McCune (7/31 and 8/1), vibraphonist Stefon Harris (8/2) and drummer Lenny White. Some of the evening’s selections will include Buster’s wistful ballad, “Christina,” an uptempo number, “Where Giants Dwell," and Buster’s arresting arrangement of the Rodgers & Hart standard, “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was.”

Buster released their self-titled recording in 1989 (In & Out) and created the group shortly after. The ensemble was created by Buster to fulfill a growing need for more individual musical expression. “I had promised myself that I was not going to form a band that I would constantly lead until I was writing music that I wanted to play every night. And so I did this album with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, [the late] Al Foster, and Shunzo Ohno, the trumpet player.

RON CARTER

Ron Carter: Opus d’Solo, Duo, Trio, and d’Great Big Band
by Raul da Gama

Miles Davis, one of Ron Carter’s illustrious employers, is quoted by Quincy Troupe in Miles: The Autobiography as saying, “Legends are dead people.” Miles was also quoted by Legacy Records as saying, “A legend is an old man with a cane known for what he used to do. I’m still doing it.” Miles was dead wrong in both instances, certainly when it comes to Ron, one of his most celebrated alumni. At 88 years of age, the composer, musician, and bassist has no use for “a cane” nor known “for what he used to do. He’s still doing it” and being recognized for it.

Celebrated worldwide, Ron has been awarded France's premier cultural award, the medallion and title of Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2010). The Japanese government not only credited him with helping to popularize jazz in Japan, thereby facilitating cultural exchange between the U.S. and Japan, but also honored him with The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette in 2021. Stateside, he has won GRAMMY Awards and been inducted in the DownBeat Hall of Fame (2012) and the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame (2024).

Ron has seven honorary doctorates. He was the 2002 recipient of the prestigious Hutchinson Award from the Eastman School at the University of Rochester (2021) and he received the Satchmo Award from the Louis Armstrong Foundation for his lasting contribution to jazz as an educator. He has been judged the Most Valuable Player by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Most intriguing of all, unbreakable too, in 2015 Ron earned a Guinness World Record as the most recorded jazz bassist with 2,221 recordings. Since that time, he has recorded hundreds more. Without using “a cane.”

WILLIAM PARKER

WILLIAM PARKER INSIDE THE MUSIC

by Ronald E. Scott

In William Parker’s five decades and counting, the innovative bassist and composer has released over 20 albums as a leader (most reaching #1 on the CMJ charts) and appeared on over 150 albums while publishing his ongoing hefty volumes of interviews with renowned musicians in the avant-garde arena. The Village Voice in 1995 named him “the most consistently brilliant free jazz bassist of all time.”

In response to his many accolades over the years, William responds, “I’m happy to be able to make a contribution to the music that reaches people, to play with all my heart every time, and don’t take any prisoners, set everybody free. I can’t name one bassist who didn’t make a great contribution, like Abdul Malik, Doug Watkins, or Paul Chambers and Henry Grimes; we are all family. We each have a role to play; some of us are delicate flowers and some of us are power kegs. Everybody is great in their own way, and some like Charlie Parker and Eric Dolphy stood out. I’m happy to be in the same room with established and aspiring musicians; we all have to find our own voice and keep it going.”

MALCOLM-JAMAL WARNER

Malcolm-Jamal Warner: The Rhythms of Humanity—A Legacy in Art, Literature, and Music

by Raul da Gama

Malcolm-Jamal Warner was a man whose life seemed predestined for greatness. Born into promise, his parents named him "Malcolm" after civil rights leader Malcolm X and "Jamal" after legendary jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal. From a young age, his life reflected the depth and creativity inherent in those names. Warner’s undeniable talent for the dramatic led to his enrollment in The Professional Children’s School in New York—a pivotal decision that would lay the foundation for his illustrious career in the arts.

Although Warner is undoubtedly best remembered for his role as Theo Huxtable—the lovable son of Dr. Heathcliff and Claire Huxtable—on the critically acclaimed television sitcom The Cosby Show, his artistic journey went far beyond this iconic role. The Cosby Show, which aired for eight seasons (1984–1992), became a cultural phenomenon, ranking among Variety magazine’s 100 greatest television shows of all time. Warner’s portrayal of Theo, blending humor, charm and relatability, left an indelible mark on American audiences.

VICTORY BOYD

Victory Boyd: Spiritual Colors of Jazz
by Raul da Gama

When Victory Boyd begins to sing, she is creating a sacred space. Each warm exhalation washes the air and is a fervent exhortation to her creator and ours to illuminate that sacred space now virtually manifest around her. Not so surprisingly, the young yet erudite Victory reveals herself to be an artist of the first order, broadening out from the spiritual repertory for which she is best known. Her instrument is gorgeous; lustrous, precise, and feather-light. Her musicianship is fierce as she digs into the meaning of each word, brings ceaseless variety to soft dynamics, and imbues every phrase with a very special grace.

Victory – one of nine children – was born to sing. And sing she did, from the age of four, nurtured by her musician-parents. Her father is composer and vocalist John Boyd, who founded The Rising Musical Family. The family website states John’s unique artistic vision: “The audiences will see what it’s like to have music as a refuge and shelter during times of family pain, trouble, and separation. For the large musical family, music is not just a hobby; it’s the proverbial family farm. It’s the means by which a family survives. Everyone has to make a contribution. Everyone has to plant in the fields and reap the harvest.”

ANAT COHEN

Anat Cohen: Virtuoso Clarinetist and Musical Polyglot

By John Zaff

When critics and music journalists consistently bestow honors on a musician, year after year, you can be certain that that musician has honed their talent and creativity to the highest of levels and reached a true pinnacle as a player. For an amazing 18 years in a row, multi-instrumentalist Anat Cohen has received the Jazz Journalists award for best clarinet player among her peers. That outstanding record may be unprecedented, and it surely is for good reasons.

Virtuoso clarinetist and tenor saxophone player Anat grew up in a musical family in Israel. Her two brothers are both accomplished jazz musicians. Older brother Yuval plays saxophone and brother Avishai plays trumpet. The three siblings are all highly regarded in the New York music scene and beyond. The siblings each received scholarships to attend the Berklee College of Music. It was while studying jazz there that Anat developed a lifelong fascination with world music, especially Latin and Brazilian Choro. Anat’s playing is eclectic and she draws on many influences, melding them into her own unique and creative style. In the music programs Anat attended in Israel, she first studied classical formats, but soon immersed herself studying and playing transcriptions of New Orleans jazz. She also grew up around Klezmer music, and like a polyglot who can easily switch from one tongue to another, she became a musical multi-linguist.

MARCUS GILMORE

Marcus Gilmore: Inheriting Rhythms, Forging New Paths

by Ronald E. Scott

Marcus Gilmore, the inventive drummer and composer, represents the third generation of creative artists from the Haynes family. He is the grandson of revered pioneer Roy Haynes, and the nephew of Roy’s sons: cornetist and composer Graham Haynes and drummer Craig Holiday Haynes.

“It feels great to be able to gain a significant historical perspective and knowledge of the music from my family, that’s pretty cool,” says Marcus. “Up until several months ago I had my grandfather still walking the planet, and he was still innovating until the end, so he was an incredible example for me in so many ways.”

Marcus knew at age 7 he wanted to be a professional drummer, but it wasn’t until his 10th birthday that his grandfather gave him his own set. “I never really felt any pressure from the family,” he recalls. “Once I realized I wanted to be a musician, I took it very seriously. Nobody ever had to tell me to practice—especially my grandfather. I did it automatically.”

At 16, while attending Manhattan’s famed LaGuardia High School for the Arts, Marcus landed his first professional gig: a European tour with Clark Terry. His mother and the school gave permission. “LaGuardia encouraged us to be professional musicians,” he says. “The teachers and community were always making sure students were aware of opportunities.” He also attended Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program and The Manhattan School of Music, and was chosen for the GRAMMY Band, which meant rehearsals in the host city, performances at official events, and attending the awards ceremony.

ABDULLAH IBRAHIM

Abdullah Ibrahim: Architect of South Africa’s Jazz Revolution

by Eugene Holley, Jr.

For an astonishing 75 years, the music of pianist/composer Abdullah Ibrahim, the NEA Jazz Master, paralleled South Africa’s struggle against apartheid, and the birth of a new multiracial, multi-ethnic and multicultural nation, with President Nelson Mandela as its leader. Abdullah’s sonic stew mirrored all his country’s cultural and artistic complexities: a mix of Black jazz, church melodies, African indigenous folk songs, chants and rhythms, played with a soulful synthesis of Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk’s dark and lovely pianisms.

Abdullah is currently on a world tour, and his engagement at Jazz at Lincoln Center entitled Life of a Legend: a Birthday Celebration (October 9) befits the kingly nature of Abdullah’s legacy and status. Abdullah is backed by his longstanding group, Ekaya, which means “home” in the isiXhosa language, and features tenor saxophonist Lance Bryant; trombonist Michael Pallas; baritone saxophonist Josh Lee; Cleave Guyton on alto saxophone, flute and piccolo, bassist and cellist Noah Jackson and drummer Will Terrell. Special guests are Abdullah’s ex-sidemen, including trumpeter Terence Blanchard, alto/soprano saxophonist Kenny Garrett, and bassist Cecil McBee. “We honor the tradition of rites of passage: the concerts at Jazz at Lincoln Center October 3 & 4,” Abdullah proudly proclaims. “Our musicians are four generations – elders and current young.”

GOLDINGS-BERSTEIN-STEWART

Goldings-Bernstein-Stewart: Pioneers of the Modern Organ Trio Sound

by John Zaff

The legendary jazz groups, from Miles to Coltrane to the great Bill Evans trios, all had something in common beyond the sheer mastery of their instruments and the mind-boggling musical talent that went along with that. It was an almost preternatural ability to listen to each other and blend their voices in a way in which the musical whole became greater than the sum of its parts. The long-standing organ trio of Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein and Bill Stewart have spent several decades honing and utilizing that same secret sauce in their music.

Each of these players are virtuosos. Larry was the DownBeat Critics Choice for best organist the last two years in a row. Guitarist Peter is known for his thoughtful solos, often compared to musical storytelling, as well as for his vast knowledge and understanding of harmonic structure. He’s consistently a top ten DownBeat Critics and Readers Choice in the guitar category. Drummer Bill is famous for his innovative approach to drumming and for the creative and soulful accompaniment he provides, that puts the focus on musical conversation. Guitar great Pat Methaney once called Bill “a bottomless pit of ideas.” Individually, they should be considered a “supergroup,” but collectively they prove to be much more.

JAZZMEIA HORN

SMOKE / DECEMBER 31

Although still young, singer-songwriter Jazzmeia Horn has solidified her position as a straight-ahead, exuberant vocalist. The winner of both the Thelonious Monk and Sarah Vaughan awards, Jazzmeia is, in the words of the New York Times, “among the most exciting young vocalists in jazz.” Nominated for multiple Grammy Awards and winner of several DownBeat Awards, she has been compared to Betty Carter, Sarah Vaughan and Nancy Wilson, and is firmly rooted in the jazz tradition. Her latest recording, Messages (Empress Legacy), features eight originals and has been praised, with the Dallas Morning News calling it “a creative step forward.” Jazzmeia will appear on New Year’s Eve at Smoke with the Smoke Jazz Club All-Stars comprised of alto saxophonist Vincent Herring, pianist Cyrus Chestnut, and drummer Jonathan Blake. DJS

AC LINCOLN

DJANGO JAZZ CLUB / DECEMBER 31

Singer and tap dancer AC Lincoln was raised in New York in a musical family. His parents, Kim Kalesti and Marion Cowings, are celebrated jazz singers and his sister is the widely acclaimed singer-songwriter Emily King. AC has appeared with tap dance legends such as Savion Glover, Jimmy Slide and Buster Brown and not only performs with his own band, but has played with many great artists, including The Hot Sardines, Mercedes Ellington, Antoinette Montague and Winard Harper and Jeli Posse. He has headlined at some of the world’s top jazz clubs such as Birdland in New York, Blue Note Tokyo, and The Roundhouse in London. The group at Django includes AC singing and dancing, Danny Mixon on piano, Melissa Slocum on bass, and Danno Petersen on drums. DJS

CHAMPIAN FULTON

Champian Fulton: Engaging Singer and Swinger

by Ken Dryden

Champian Fulton knew early on that she wanted to pursue both piano and singing. The Norman, Oklahoma native was exposed to jazz early by her father, the late trumpeter and flugelhornist Stephen Fulton and she was already singing with enough skill at age ten to help celebrate Clark Terry’s 75th birthday in 1995.

Many vocalists influenced Champian: “My favorite vocalist when I was a little girl is Dinah Washington. Then later, I fell in love with Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Joe Williams and Jay McShann. I love the blues; I'm from Oklahoma.” As a pianist, she has many inspirations. “I always loved the block chord players, Red Garland, Errol Garner, Fats Waller, and Count Basie.” Yet her approach to performing draws from many of them without mimicry. “I wanted to take all those things that I loved and smoosh them together. Even though I feel like some of them don't naturally go together.”

Champian enrolled at SUNY Purchase at 17, where she studied with Dena DeRose and Hal Galper. “I was an odd student; I was from Oklahoma and already working professionally, playing and singing. I had a clear idea about what I wanted to do.” But she is much more than a ballad singer; she is known to include instrumentals by Charlie Parker, Earl Hines or Gigi Gryce and others in her sets.

WYCLIFFE GORDON

Wycliffe Gordon: The Gospel Truth in Jazz

by Angel Beanland

Wycliffe Gordon doesn’t just play music – he tells stories. His trombone reverberates with echoes of Sunday mornings in the Southern Black Baptist church, hymns rising like prayers, the sermon cutting through the air, and the congregation lifting their voices in song. For Wycliffe, jazz isn’t simply an art form – it’s his testimony, the bridge between sacred traditions and boundless creativity.

Few musicians embody versatility like Wycliffe, a true polymath who plays an astounding 23 instruments. From trombone to trumpet, piano to didgeridoo, each adds to his vast vocabulary. But his trombone remains his truest voice – a deeply vocal instrument capable of emotion, connection and uplift.

“I wanted to dispel the myth of a separation between Gospel music and jazz,” Wycliffe says, reflecting his belief in the spiritual underpinnings of jazz. His breakthrough album, The Gospel Truth, affirms that Gospel and jazz are two sides of the same coin. Sacred hymns blend seamlessly with jazz improvisation, creating a sound that is both timeless and vital.

Born in Waynesboro, GA, Wycliffe grew up immersed in music’s spiritual possibilities. His father, a classical musician and church pianist, taught him to see music as a universal gift – whether it came from Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King, or Bobby Blue Bland. His mother believed good music was simply good music, regardless of genre, as long as it connected people.

“We were in church every Sunday,” Wycliffe remembers. “The singing and the preaching became a part of how I express myself and interpret music, even now.”

Those church traditions became the foundation of Wycliffe’s artistic voice. Watching singers stir congregations with emotion – not technical precision – instilled in him the understanding that music should move the soul.

SULLIVAN FORTNER

The Evolving Cycle of Sullivan Fortner

by Ronald E. Scott

Pianist and composer Sullivan Fortner has been named the recipient of one of the most prestigious honors in music, The Gilmore’s inaugural 2026 Larry J. Bell Jazz Artist Award. The Award was recently announced at a special ceremony held at The Jerome L. Greene Space in New York City. Marking the largest single gift ever dedicated exclusively to a jazz artist, Fortner receives $300,000 in support of his musical and career goals over the next four years. By being so honored, Fortner steps into a historical trifecta as the first Bell awardee to be African American, American and a jazz musician.

Upon receiving the award Fortner noted, “'With great rewards come great responsibility,' my father often said, which makes me feel like I have a lot to do; I have to get much better--playing, writing and all that. I’m honored my peers took time to recognize me but I’m in it because I just want to play music. I love it.” Tentatively, Fortner says he would like to use some of the funds to form a chorale group with his family to include an album, tour and live concerts.

He earned the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance on Samara Joy’s “Twinkle Twinkle Little Me” and the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album alongside Cécile McLorin Salvant for her acclaimed album The Window, on which he serves as both key player and producer. He’s been collaborating with her for a decade, first appearing on her 2017 album Dreams & Daggers and on 2018’s The Window, 2022’s Ghost Song and 2023’s Mélusine, Creative.

In the coming years, jazz annals will mark that the Salvant and Fortner collaborations were just as significant as those by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Lester Young, Carmen McRae and George Shearing.

CHIEF XIAN ATUNDE ADJUAH

Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah: Breath, Spirit, and the Bandstand

by Chrys L. Roney

To experience Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah – whether on record or stage – is to encounter not just a boundary-breaking jazz artist but a living vessel for sacred jazz. His artistry is rooted in devotion: a sacred walk shaped by ancestral remembrance, innovation, and humility.

Born in New Orleans, Chief Adjuah draws deeply from Maroon and Black Indian traditions, which teach resistance and ritual. From his earliest years, music was more than an art – it was a bridge connecting generations. Today, he insists: “When we take the bandstand, we’re not just taking it as us… we open our avatars and spirits to be receivers for those who came before us, and other divine powers who join the circle.”

For Adjuah, jazz is not merely sound but living memory – a communal ceremony for healing and transformation.

The trumpeter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer (formerly known as Christian Scott) is also a cultural warrior, using music as a platform to confront systemic injustice and uplift ancestral memory. As Chieftain of the Xodokan Nation of Maroons and Grand Griot of New Orleans, his titles honor a lineage rooted in African diasporic traditions and recognize his family’s deep contributions to music, culture, and storytelling.

TERRI LYNE CARRINGTON

CD Review/Feature

Terri Lyne Carrington’s We Insist! 2025: A Cinematic Protest

We live in a moment shaped by media – by scrolling, watching, and constantly witnessing the world through a stream of images. Our emotional register feels different from the 1960s: less explosive, more internal, held in by a kind of collective composure. Terri Lyne Carrington’s We Insist! 2025 meets that reality with unmistakable truth. She doesn’t attempt to recreate the raw fire of Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln; that kind of reenactment would feel like performance, not purpose. Instead, her interpretation of the Freedom Now Suite lands with a quieter force – one that reflects the temperament of this generation. The album unfolds like a film: scene by scene, it invites listeners to absorb its textures as if experiencing a story. It doesn’t shout its urgency; it lets the urgency emerge from within.

Terri’s connection to Max is deeply personal. “Max was really important to me,” she explains. “He encouraged me, had me over to the house, put me on stage whenever he could. That kind of apprenticeship is why I’m where I am.” Terri carries this lineage with quiet confidence, a sense of purpose inherited from the music itself. It’s the same purpose that has shaped her career as a GRAMMY Award-winning drummer, composer, and bandleader; as a collaborator with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Dianne Reeves; and as the founder of the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, where she works to widen access to this art form.

SONNY ROLLINS & RENE MCLEAN

Sonny Rollins and Rene McLean – My Favorite Interview

by Ronald E. Scott

My 2025 interview with the colossal saxophonist and composer Sonny Rollins had to be my favorite article of the year. Once saxophonist Rene McLean confirmed our interview with him, my anxiety set in. My heart was beating faster than a riffin’ Sonny tenor solo.

Research and preparation are allotted for all my interviews, but for NEA Jazz Master Sonny Rollins, panic grabbed me. What do I ask a global artist who's been interviewed by every major publication in the world, and the subject of many books, including the recent autobiography Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins by Aidan Levy (2023)? Finally, after hours of reading interviews and viewing YouTube, a few questions resonated that were worthy of asking our jazz treasure. Rene and I compared notes and came up with a few more questions; now we were ready. Well, Rene was much more confident than I, him being an established legendary musician in his own right and oh yeah, he is Sonny’s godson.

Waking up early on the day of the interview, I was very excited, with enough butterflies in my stomach to hold an entire pavilion of the colorful specimens. I called Rene just to check in; he was ready. We briefly reviewed our questions and came up with a plan B; one never knows! The interview was a three-way phoner with Sonny in Woodstock, NY, McLean in Connecticut, and me in Manhattan, with the three-way call connection originating in California.

CRAIG HARRIS

CRAIG HARRIS ORBITS INTO 2026

by Ronald E. Scott

Conversing with the prolific trombonist, composer and bandleader Craig Harris is just as spiritually intriguing as his music. He sparks cultural awareness with intense grooves as he plays, swings and sings; there’s a message in his music like the Sound of Philadelphia (Gamble and Huff), Randy Weston, Amiri Baraka and Gil Scott Heron. He was influenced by his professor and mentor, Makanda Ken McIntyre, while attending SUNY Old Westbury. His musical journey began when touring with the eclectic cosmic music genius Sun Ra which landed him on a path with the ranks of creative music’s most progressive leaders, a path that he continues on today and is often leading the way.

Using art as cultural facilitation to promote change in the Harlem community, and the world at large, Craig has flexed his musical voice to comment on social injustice and humanity, as a 2022 NAACP Image Award nominee for his co-composition of the score for Judas and the Black Messiah (the Oscar-winning film). That same year, he released his record, Managing the Mask (Aquastra). This release is another example of Craig’s music that grabs the soul. All 13 tracks are filled with, as he says, “righteous music, great black music / yes the world can really use it.”

On a brisk, cold Saturday afternoon, we sat in Craig’s Harlem brownstone (where some years ago, he presented regular live jazz soirees) as he reflected on his past year and upcoming projects. “2025 was a hard year, because we lost a lot of our European audience due to these political times,” says Craig. “We have a commitment to our ancestors – as long as we play music in the community, it keeps the community alive; it’s really a ritual live meditation for the community.”

MARSHALL ALLEN

Still Playing for the 21st Century: Marshall Allen at 101

The stage lights catch the gleam of his alto saxophone as Marshall Allen steps forward, 101 years into a life dedicated to impossible music. Behind him, the Sun Ra Arkestra launches into "Space Is the Place," and suddenly time collapses—it could be 1968, 1993, or last Tuesday. The only constant is Marshall himself, playing notes that seem to arrive from somewhere beyond the stratosphere.

"Imagination is the magic carpet," Marshall says. "It'll take your soul to distant lands. And outer space."

Born May 25, 1924, in Louisville, Kentucky, Marshall has spent nearly seven decades as keeper of one of jazz's most radical flames. As the longtime lead alto saxophonist and current leader of the Sun Ra Arkestra, he embodies a living link to a visionary who claimed to be from Saturn and transformed American music. But Marshall is no mere caretaker of a museum piece. At 101, he continues to push the music into uncharted territories.

His centennial year brought unprecedented recognition when Marshall was named Jazz Musician of the Year for 2025—a testament not just to his historical significance, but to his ongoing vitality. At an age when most musicians have long since put down their instruments, Marshall continues to lead the Arkestra with the same cosmic energy that first drew him to Sun Ra's orbit nearly seventy years ago.

"We're playing his music, and we're playing it with different interpretations," Marshall explains. "Yesterday we played it one way, today we play it slightly different." This philosophy—honoring tradition while embracing constant change—defines his stewardship of Sun Ra's legacy.

DARRELL GREEN & CAMILLE THURMAN

DARRELL GREEN & CAMILLE THURMAN

by Ronald E. Scott

Folk traditions of Valentine’s Day journey back centuries to St. Valentine and the Roman Empire. Many reasons exist as to how it transpired into one day of love; far too many for us to debate. The most significant day is February 14, and the entire month is dedicated to love, affection and appreciation for loved ones around the globe.

For this Valentine’s issue, I had the opportunity to interview two young musicians, newlyweds (2021) who always seem content. Tenor saxophonist, vocalist and composer Camille Thurman, whose luminous smile can light-up the sky during any unforeseen catastrophe, and drummer and composer Darrell Greene, always the soft-spoken gentleman. Together and independently, they are molding their interpretation of jazz.

“Look, honey, they getting married on TV,” was a remark made by a family member as they watched Camille and Darrell get married on Zoom. Yes, Zoom, directly following the COVID pandemic; the two had been in the house for over a year, sitting around, taking long drives visiting family members, composing and practicing together and performing to live Zoom audiences. “We figured at that point we had been together inside all that time, and we hadn’t choked each other or anything, so we decided it was time to get married January, 2021,” says Darrell as the two laughed. “It was crazy; we literally called our parents and friends 30 minutes before the ceremony to give them the Zoom link. The only people in our house were the pastor, the deacon and his wife. It was so funny our parents were meeting each other for the first time on Zoom. Antoine Roney was there; he thought the entire situation was hilarious. But to be honest, its was fun and definitely a unique ceremony to be cherished.”

NICOLE ZURAITIS AND DAN PUGACH

NICOLE ZURAITIS AND DAN PUGACH: Giant Steps

by Chrys L. Roney

The cab was late. Or maybe it wasn't—maybe time just moved differently that winter night in 2010 when Nicole Zuraitis climbed into a yellow taxi on Manhattan's Upper West Side and found Dan Pugach already inside.

She was a singer-pianist still learning to trust her own voice. He was an Israeli-born drummer who'd crossed oceans chasing the ghost of Buddy Rich. Neither knew that a shared ride to a jazz jam session would become the first bar of a composition still being written fifteen years later.

"I hunted him like prey," Nicole laughs now, her theatrical delivery betraying the classical training that once kept her tethered to Debussy and Gershwin. Dan's response is quieter, more measured—the way a drummer listens before committing to the groove. "I'm the container," he says. "I keep her operating smoothly."

Container and catalyst. Structure and spark. It's a dynamic that has carried them from wedding bands to the Grammy stage, from the edge of surrender to the center of jazz's most prestigious institutions.

ADEGOKE STEVE & IQUA COLSON

ADEGOKE STEVE & IQUA COLSON: FIFTY YEARS OF CONFIRMATION

by Chrys L. Roney

When asked to name the standard that best captures their fifty-year marriage, Adegoke Steve Colson and Iqua Colson don't hesitate—though they don't agree, either.

"I would take 'Confirmation,'" Steve says, invoking Charlie Parker's bebop landmark—built on shifting harmonic ground that rewards musicians who trust their ears and each other.

Iqua's answer is more tender: "My Funny Valentine." She's quoted the Rodgers and Hart standard countless times over the decades, she explains, because it's woven into the origin story of their relationship. As a student at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, she wandered through a dormitory one day and heard someone playing the ballad. She followed the sound until she found him—Steve, alone at a piano.

"I always relate it to us," she says. "The Sarah Vaughan version."

Two standards, two temperaments, one marriage. It's a fitting emblem for a partnership that has thrived on complementary strengths rather than sameness.

BILL CHARLAP & RENEE ROSNES

Bill Charlap & Renee Rosnes:

Pianos & Hearts Side by Side

by Ken Dryden

Bill Charlap and Renee Rosnes are not only two of the busiest jazz pianists today, but they are also husband and wife. Both have demanding careers as bandleaders and extensive discographies. How do two artists who play the same instrument get drawn together, as playing partners and romantically? Asked which attraction happened first, Bill responds, “It was as people first. We were very compatible musically and as people, too. Well, we love each other. We love music. It was always very natural making music together because we felt things the same way.”

The chemistry is apparent whether the listener has seen them play together in person, on recordings or for jazz programs, such as their joint appearance on Marian McPartland’s “Piano Jazz.” Renee explains, “Bill and I feel so fortunate to be sharing a life filled with love and music. From the very first time Bill and I played duet on two pianos, we immediately felt a deep musical simpatico. While we each bring our own perspectives, a shared way of thinking merges instinctively when we play together.” She believes that their feeling of time in the same place gives the music buoyancy, and since they think in an orchestral manner, there tends to be clarity of both harmony and line. She adds, “Nuances in touch also play a big role in the sound.”

GEOFFREY HOLDER AND CARMEN LAVALLADE

Geoffrey Holder and Carmen de Lavallade: A Love Story in Fabric, Paint, and Movement

As Told by Hollis King, Artist and Protégé

Geoffrey Holder had a saying he repeated often, a philosophy he lived by and passed on to those he loved:

“Speak your dreams loudly because you never know when an angel will be standing next to you.”

For Hollis King, the visual artist who became one of Holder’s closest protégés, that saying proved prophetic. A chance encounter – a borrowed hat, a lecture at the Studio Museum in Harlem – led to a decades-long mentorship and a front-row seat to a partnership that shaped American art for more than half a century.

Carmen de Lavallade died on December 29, 2025, at the age of 94. She outlived Geoffrey by more than eleven years, continuing to perform, teach, and inspire across decades that might have quieted anyone else. This is a tribute to their extraordinary partnership – sixty-two years of marriage, art, and mutual devotion – as witnessed by someone who was there.

KATIE BULL

Katie Bull: Singing Hope into Form

by Chrys L. Roney

There are artists who arrive with a sound, and there are artists who arrive with a life. Katie Bull belongs to the latter—her music is not a performance layered on top of experience, but a direct extension of it. What she brings to the stage is less about presentation and more about transmission: of memory, of lineage, of grief metabolized into something usable.

"I am a jazz woman coming from a jazz family," she says plainly, grounding herself not in genre but in inheritance.

That inheritance runs deep. Katie's father studied with Lennie Tristano, and her childhood unfolded inside the living architecture of New York's loft-era jazz scene. She grew up in a Tribeca loft once occupied by Don Cherry, surrounded by musicians who treated improvisation not as a technique but as a way of being. Figures like Sheila Jordan and Jay Clayton weren't distant influences—they were present, formative forces.

Jordan, in particular, was there from the beginning. Katie describes her not only as a mentor but as someone who "rocked me on her knees." That kind of proximity changes the nature of influence. It becomes embodied.

Her sound reflects that lineage, but it doesn't stay contained within it. Katie's vocal language moves between swing and bebop, groove and R&B, and into experimental territories shaped by artists like Meredith Monk. It's a synthesis that resists easy placement—intentionally so.

"Not everybody is going to get this," she says. "But the people who do will really get it."

That clarity—about audience, about purpose—feels earned.

KENDRICK SCOTT

Kendrick Scott – The Explorer

by Dave Popkin

Drummer Kendrick Scott is one of the most distinctive rhythmic voices in contemporary jazz. The five-time GRAMMY Award nominee is a first-call drummer who has toured and/or recorded with artists including Herbie Hancock, Charles Lloyd, Terence Blanchard, Kurt Elling, Robert Glasper, Lionel Loueke, Ambrose Akinmusire and Kurt Rosenwinkel. Kendrick’s relationship with Blue Note Records is a long and successful one, having appeared on several of Blanchard’s celebrated Blue Note releases, on the Blue Note All-Stars album Our Point of View in 2017 and his own albums as a bandleader, including 2023’s Corridors, 2019’s A Wall Becomes A Bridge and 2015’s We Are The Drum.

Kendrick has been to Smoke Jazz Club countless times, both as a fan and playing in other people’s bands. The April 8-12 run will be something new: his debut at Smoke as a bandleader. “Holy smokes, that’s crazy. It means a lot for me,” he says. “I’ve seen all of the greats right there. I’m close to 146th Street, so for me that’s the closest club uptown…that’s my hangout spot. I’ve sat up under Al Foster, Lenny White, Lou Hayes, Billy Hart and Bill Stewart. It’s so important that we get to sit under these people and listen, especially multiple times in a week. Other than the Vanguard, Smoke is one of the only clubs that does long runs like that, and that’s really important because the music gets to grow. You get to see how the artists challenge themselves every night to bring something new to the music. You don’t get that in a 15-second Instagram clip. Smoke is a place that provides that atmosphere for the music. Paul [Stache] is doing such a great job with the club. I’m just blessed that I have the opportunity to present music there.”

To visit more, visit https://mags.hothousejazzmagazine.com/c8d60b7b9c.html#page/10.

MONTY ALEXANDER

Monty Alexander – Jamericana Music

by Dave Popkin

Monty Alexander is the Forrest Gump of jazz. He has crossed paths with some legendary figures on his quixotic journey. Born in Jamaica in 1944, he grew up there before reggae, in the early days of mento and ska music. Monty didn’t go to music school or read music. He was a natural. He was influenced by the music on the island and the jazz of Louie Jordan and Nat Cole. He started playing gigs in the late 1950s, then soon progressed to New York at the height and heat of the jazz craze. Monty learned from the best and has subsequently become one of the leading pianists of his generation, melding styles and creating smiles with his groove and infectious personality.

“The word 'jazz' is great, but I love all music. My story is so unique,” Monty says. “I was playing at 14 years old in the recording studios in Kingston, Jamaica. Just a few years after that, I meet my hero, ‘Satchmo’ Louis Armstrong. I come from that early Jamaican thing before Bob Marley. I’ve come up with a new title that says who I am and what I do, 'Jamaica to Jazz': it’s Jamericana music.”

THE SISTERING

The Sistering: A Collective Force

by Ronald E. Scott

The four diva song stylists of jazz—Lois Deloatch, Nnenna Freelon, Lenora Zenzalai Helm and Kate McGarry, all based in North Carolina—have enjoyed a meaningful relationship and support system for many years. When they were not working, they often met over good food and wine. “While relaxing, we found ourselves sharing heartaches, hopes, joys, tears and speaking our deepest creative dreams into being,” says Kate. Those living room conversations evolved into a musical collective called the Sistering.

Kate, a native of Massachusetts, is a Grammy‑nominated vocalist and educator with eight albums blending folk, pop and jazz. She has also served as a jazz ambassador to sixteen countries.

“People ask us how we came together, but it was so organic—it was like the universe called us like a magnet,” says Nnenna. “We are separate and together at the same time. We are not a group; we share the same musical language. We inspire and learn from each other’s skills and talents.” Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Nnenna is a vivid storyteller of song, a seven‑time Grammy nominee, a 2023 inductee into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame, and has fifteen albums to her credit.

While these vocalists have performed on major stages around the world and earned ten Grammy nominations among them, they have now joined forces as a seasoned collective on their recently released album The Sistering, a twelve‑track recording of compositions dealing with life, compassion, loss and family. They each composed two songs and co‑wrote “Origins” and “River Song.” The music is emotional, joyful and compassionate—a warm mosaic quilt of jazz, ballads, gospel and folk. The album was released on Lenora’s independent label, Zenzalai Music.

EDDIE HENDERSON

Eddie Henderson: Celebrating Miles
by Ken Dryden

Eddie Henderson is 85, but the trumpeter still exhibits the energy and inventiveness that have always been part of his music. Introduced by his mother to Louis Armstrong at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, Eddie recalls, “He was the one who gave me my first trumpet lesson of how to make a sound on his trumpet and mouthpiece. I studied privately
all through grammar school.”

After moving to San Francisco, a new chapter unfolded in Eddie’s life, as he continued music studies at the San
Francisco Conservatory of Music. His new stepfather was a physician who served visiting jazz musicians. That led
to his meeting Miles. Eddie notes, “He stayed at my parents' house, because my stepfather was his physician
whenever he came to town. I've known him ever since, following his career, records and musicality every step of the
way.” When Miles was performing at the Black Hawk, Eddie explains, “He took me every night and that really
almost changed the trajectory of my musical career.”
To read more, visit https://mags.hothousejazzmagazine.com/30a9e40ecf.html#page/6.

WALLACE RONEY JR

WALLACE RONEY JR. PUSHES LEGACY

by Ronald E. Scott

Young trumpeter and composer Wallace Roney IV – fondly called Little Wally and Wallace Jr. by his family and close friends – would say he grew up in a relatively average household. He carries a name that arrives with both weight and wings. But inquisitive jazz enthusiasts would think otherwise after peering into the windows of his jazz castle: his mother, the legendary pianist and composer Geri Allen; his father, trumpet great and GRAMMY Award-winner Wallace Roney – the only trumpet player Miles Davis ever personally mentored, from 1985 until Miles' death in 1991. He started on drums. Elvin Jones gave him his cymbals. Then one day – nobody quite remembers exactly when – you looked up and he was playing his father's trumpet.

"There was some pressure and expectations," says Wallace, reached by phone during an engagement in North Carolina. "But I came to the realization that legacy is good, and it will come as long as I'm doing justice to the music by playing the best I can. They would want me to carve my own path – which is what paying homage to my parents and Miles is about. Carrying on their legacy is doing things my way. I am paying homage to them every time I play because their music comes out of me whether I want it to or not."

KENNY GARRETT

Kenny Garrett: The Preacher Still Has Sermons to Give

by Chrys R | Hot House Jazz Magazine

When Kenny Garrett was fifteen years old, his trumpet teacher Marcus Belgrave called him a preacher. He did not understand it then. He does now.

"God gives everybody something, and everybody has something that's uniquely theirs," Garrett says during a recent conversation. "I take what's uniquely mine and try to make the best of it. That's all I try to do."

At a moment when jazz is in constant debate about its future, Garrett – alto saxophonist, composer, Grammy winner, and keeper of an extraordinary lineage – is less concerned with the argument than with the work. Sitting on 250 recordings over four decades, he remains one of the most consequential voices in the music, yet carries it all with the quiet urgency of a man who believes his best sermon is still ahead.

KEYON HAROLD

Keyon Harold: One of Sixteen, One of One

by Chrys R | Hot House Jazz Magazine

Keyon Harold grew up as one of sixteen children in Ferguson, Missouri, in a house where music was not a hobby - it was the air. His mother kept a big radio going at all hours and made regular runs to Big Lots, the discount store, returning home with jazz albums tucked under her arm like groceries. That's how a boy from Ferguson first heard Kind of Blue. That's how he found Birth of the Cool. That's how the trumpet found him.

"I was always championed by my siblings to keep going, keep practicing," he recalls. "People hit me up on Facebook to this day and tell me I owe them royalties for blowing up their ears."

Now a trumpeter, vocalist, songwriter, and producer - with a GRAMMY Award nomination for Forever Land, a Carnegie Hall debut on the horizon, and a role as creative advisor for Jazz St. Louis - Keyon carries all of that Ferguson soil with him every time he steps onto a stage. The lineage runs deep. His grandfather founded Lance's Drum and Bugle Corps in St. Louis, teaching music for free and, in his own way, saving lives. "Many were saved literally by going to drum corps practice," Keyon says. "They didn't get killed." The music traveled through the family's blood, and when it arrived in Keyon, it found its instrument.

ERIC SCOTT REED

Eric Scott Reed: A Life Devoted to the Piano

There are musicians who play jazz, and then there are musicians who live it—who carry its history in their hands and its future in their hearts. Eric Scott Reed belongs firmly to the latter category. Over a career spanning more than three decades, the pianist and composer has established himself as one of the most eloquent voices in contemporary jazz, a musician whose playing honors tradition while speaking with unmistakable individuality.

Philadelphia Roots, Gospel Foundation

Born in 1970 in Philadelphia, Eric was immersed in music from his earliest days. His father was a minister, and the church became Eric's first conservatory. Gospel music—with its emotional directness, its call-and-response dynamics, and its emphasis on communicating with an audience—shaped his musical DNA in ways that remain audible in every performance.

By age two, Eric was already playing piano. By five, he was performing in his father's church—an early indication of both his precocious talent and the spiritual foundation that would inform his artistry for decades to come.

As a child, his family relocated to Los Angeles, where his prodigious talent soon attracted attention. He studied at the Richard D. Colburn School of Performing Arts and quickly became a fixture on the West Coast jazz scene, sitting in with veterans who recognized something special in the young pianist's touch.

JOHN PATITUCCI

John Patitucci – Top of the Bottom

by Dave Popkin

John Patitucci has lived a rich musical life. He has won three GRAMMY Awards, been nominated for 16, and played on many other GRAMMY Award-winning records. He has played with absolutely everyone, including a 20-year stint with Wayne Shorter, decades with Chick Corea and time with Herbie Hancock, Norah Jones, Roy Haynes, Michael Brecker, B.B. King, Dizzy Gillespie, Bonnie Raitt, Sting, Carole King and countless others. He’s an acclaimed composer, teacher, sideman and studio musician, in addition to leading his own bands. He’s simply one of the top jazz bassists of all time.

This year, although he did just travel to Hawaii and will be going to China in August, you’ll be able to find him closer to home. John called Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, home for about 30 years before recently moving to Connecticut. He will be playing a lot of “home games” in 2026. From June 3-7, John will lead a veteran sextet at Smoke in New York. They will play 12 shows in five nights. “With me it’s about relationships,” says John. “Joey Calderazo [piano] and I have done a lot of stuff together over the years. He’s amazing. In his generation, Joey is very special. We’ve done duet tours together in Italy. He’s another brother of mine. I’ve played with Chris Potter [tenor sax] for years. Steve Wilson [alto sax] is incredible; we played with Chick Corea a little bit.”

ETIENNE CHARLES

Etienne Charles – Cultural Explorer

by Dave Popkin

Trinidad-born trumpeter Etienne Charles is a performer, composer, storyteller and teacher who is continuously searching for untold stories and sounds with which to tell them. One of his favorite methods is to embed himself in a place and a culture, so that he can then bring the story of those people to a larger audience via his musical compositions and arrangements of traditional songs. His most recent album, Gullah Roots (2025), concentrates on the history of the Gullah-Geechee enslaved people brought to South Carolina and Georgia from Africa. It was originally commissioned by the Savannah Music Festival in 2018, and last year Etienne committed it to vinyl and currently tours to support it. “I’d say five or six times I’ve done this, where I completely take a deep dive into the culture and then bit by bit compose, create and present it to the audiences. It’s really about telling the story of these people through the music,” Etienne says. “The Gullah people are a direct link to the Caribbean. Many of the early African captives went to the Commonwealth of Charleston. In 1812, many of them came to Trinidad because they got free land there. The album deals with different points in history like Igbo Landing, which was a very key moment in the history of the Gullah people. It was a slave ship that was coming to land, and the captives took over the ship and instead of sailing to Dunbar Creek, which is where the ship was destined, they all jumped off. So that’s a sad story of a mass suicide of 70-some people [off St. Simons Island, Georgia in 1803]. Dealing with things like The Weeping Time, which is the largest slave sale in the history of North America, almost 500 people sold in one sale from one family [in 1859]. We deal with Watch Night, which is a tradition that still happens on New Year’s Eve.”

LOUIS HAYES

Louis Hayes: Octogenarian Trailblazer

by Ronald E. Scott

"The art form is a challenge, but it's still fun---thinking if I should retire, but I'm still enjoying the music. It gives me a lot of pleasure," said drummer and composer Louis Hayes, a pivotal figure of the hard bop movement. "Everything changes. We've traveled all over the world where the art form is recognized, and we've met a lot of people, but everything has changed, and we have to adapt to what's happening now. My body gets older, but musically, I haven't changed."

NEA Jazz Master Louis Hayes doesn't merely adapt---he sets the curve, consistently leading with a vibrant drumming style that has evolved across decades of work as a bandleader and collaborator with the architecture of jazz. His approach to the kit is unmistakable: a crisp, propulsive swing that never overplays, always serving the music while pushing it forward. Louis is a master of dynamics, knowing precisely when to whisper with brushes and when to drive the band with explosive fills. His time feel---that elusive quality that separates good drummers from great ones---is impeccable, a deep pocket that gives soloists room to breathe while keeping the pulse alive and urgent.

That sound, as critics have noted, is excitement tempered by poise — and there is no better three-word encapsulation of what happens when Louis sits behind the kit. He doesn't announce himself. He simply begins, and within four bars, the room has changed. The ride cymbal opens the conversation — a shimmering, steady dialogue with whoever is soloing, nudging, and responding, never crowding the space. His specialty is a hard-swinging, free-flowing rhythm track that is exquisitely sensitive to the needs of the soloists around him; he lifts people rather than competing with them, a generosity of spirit that took decades to develop and sounds, in his hands, completely effortless.

NONA HENDRYX

Nona Hendryx: Ever-Evolving Artist

by Ronald E. Scott

Nona Hendryx – singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, record producer, activist, multi-instrumentalist – is a creative butterfly, never to be caught up in any genre net and far too fly and versatile for unhip jazz police.

With a career spanning six decades, Nona has a vocal presence as distinctive as a Miles Davis solo, demanding attention with flowing lyrics on social issues, love, and the stuff in between. Groove to her funk, rock, soul, R&B and Afrofuturism – music that permeates the atmosphere. She is an active member of the Black Rock Coalition and founder of Sistah S.M.A.R.T., a nonprofit dedicated to introducing young women of color to science, math, art, technology and robotics. "It's about opening up young ladies' minds about what else is available outside of the norm. It's offering new paths and blazing their own paths," says Nona.

The progressive new-wave goddess, who seems to have discovered the real fountain of youth, has collaborated with an eclectic list of artists including Yoko Ono, Cameo, Talking Heads, Prince, Peter Gabriel, and Laurie Anderson. These collaborations birthed top ten hits and a GRAMMY Award nomination for "Rock This House" with Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. On multimedia fronts, in 2018 she was commissioned to create new work inspired by photographer Carrie Mae Weems and dancer/choreographer Ulysses Dove. "I'm open to music and open to other artists and their creativity – what it is that they do and what they are exploring – and I explore it with them," says Nona. "We're like explorers, sort of following a note, a sound, a lyric, and seeing where it's going to take us. I don't have any real boundaries when it comes to exploring all kinds of music."

SHERMAN IRBY

Sherman Irby: From Tuscaloosa to the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra

by Chrys L. Roney

Alto saxophonist Sherman Irby carries a complex repertoire of Black music expression in everything he plays. Gospel, blues, bebop, big-band swing, Latin jazz—these aren't separate compartments for Irby but overlapping dialects of a single tradition, absorbed across a lifetime of study and bandstand experience. Born and raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, he came up in the musical traditions of the Black church and school band programs, environments where music served a purpose beyond itself. As a high school student, he played and recorded with gospel legend James Cleveland, an experience that put him in the presence of sacred music at its highest level before he'd ever set foot in a jazz club. That early immersion left its mark. Even at his most harmonically adventurous, Sherman's horn carries the weight of testimony—phrases that feel less like exercises and more like declarations.

He studied music education at Clark Atlanta University, a choice that says something about his priorities. Sherman has always treated jazz as a language to be passed forward, not hoarded. After graduating, he joined pianist Johnny O'Neal's Atlanta quintet in 1991, spending years woodshedding in a hard-swinging, straight-ahead context where the bandstand was the classroom. By 1994, he had relocated to New York, recorded his first two albums for Blue Note Records, and begun working with Marcus Roberts, Roy Hargrove, Elvin Jones, and Papo Vázquez. That's a wide net—post-bop precision, neo-soul swing, polyrhythmic thunder, Afro-Caribbean fire—and it deepened what was already a rich foundation.

PATRICE RUSHEN

Patrice Rushen: The Pianist Who Was Always There

by Chrys L. Roney

Patrice Rushen was a jazz pianist before she was anything else. In 1974, at twenty years old and still a student at USC, she recorded Prelusion for Prestige—a striking, forward-leaning jazz statement that gave listeners, as one retrospective put it, "every reason to believe she would become a major figure in the jazz world." The album featured Joe Henderson on tenor saxophone and Hubert Laws on flute. Patrice wrote or cowrote every track. She didn't sing. The piano made the argument.

Critics heard it clearly. Prelusion was received as innovative, inventive, mostly pure jazz—the work of a prodigy whose compositional instincts and harmonic sophistication belied her age. She had started classical piano at three, absorbed gospel in church, and spent her teenage years studying the jazz and soul records that filled her Los Angeles home. By seventeen, she had won the competition at the Monterey Jazz Festival, catching the attention of the jazz establishment before she had finished high school. The Prestige deal followed naturally. Two more albums came in quick succession: Before the Dawn (1975) and Shout It Out (1977). By the time she was twenty-three, Patrice had already laid down a body of work that belonged in the same conversation as the fusion records Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea were making.

ANDREW CYRILLE

Andrew Cyrille: Six Decades of Fearless Navigation

by Ronald E. Scott

Andrew Cyrille is a fearless futuristic drummer and composer, expounding on his past while playing in spirited moments of now and tomorrows yet to come. At 85, he remains one of the most vital and inventive voices in creative music—a living bridge between bebop tradition, the avant-garde explosion of the 1960s, and the open-eared experimentalism of the present day. He is perhaps the only living elder who formerly studied drums and composition with the iconic Philly Joe Jones, beginning in 1958. That lineage alone would secure his place in jazz history, but Cyrille has spent six decades building a legacy that extends far beyond apprenticeship, one defined by restless curiosity, collaborative generosity, and an unwavering commitment to musical exploration.

Under maestro Jones' mentorship, Cyrille learned how to adjust his style of playing for any group or individual's needs—a lesson that would prove essential as he moved through wildly different musical contexts over the following decades. That adaptability is evidenced by his playing with such legendary artists as Coleman Hawkins, whose muscular tenor saxophone defined an earlier era of jazz; Rahsaan Roland Kirk, the multi-instrumentalist visionary who seemed to channel entire histories of Black music simultaneously; Mary Lou Williams, the composer and pianist whose career spanned from the swing era to the avant-garde; and Nigerian percussionist Babatunde Olatunji, whose polyrhythmic innovations opened American ears to the depth of West African drumming traditions. Each of these associations demanded something different from Cyrille, and in each case he proved himself not merely competent but essential—a drummer who could listen as deeply as he played.

JOHN PATITUCCI TRIO FEATURING CHRIS POTTER AND BRIAN BLADE

VILLAGE VANGUARD / SEPTEMBER 1-6

Bassist and composer John Patitucci has spent four decades bringing equal authority to acoustic and electric bass. His associations with Chick Corea and Wayne Shorter helped establish a musical language built on rhythmic clarity, harmonic reach, and a warmly singing tone. John’s Village Vanguard trio places that voice in rare company: saxophonist Chris Potter, an agile improviser with a commanding sound, and drummer Brian Blade, whose dynamics can turn a whisper into propulsion. The absence of a chordal instrument leaves unusual space for all three musicians to shape harmony in real time. Expect the music to move freely between lyricism, intricate counterpoint, and open-ended conversation, with three veteran bandleaders listening as intently as they play. CR

MARTY EHRLICH

HARLEM JAZZ BOXX / SEPTEMBER 4

Woodwind multi-instrumentalist and composer Marty Ehrlich moves fluently among saxophones, clarinets, and flutes, drawing a distinctive line between chamberlike detail and the urgency of improvisation. Marty began his career in St. Louis with the Human Arts Ensemble before studying at the New England Conservatory. His extensive collaborations include Muhal Richard Abrams, Anthony Braxton and Julius Hemphill; he later became a leading interpreter and archivist of Hemphill’s music. Across ensembles ranging from trios to jazz orchestra, Marty’s writing favors strong melodic identities, layered textures, and room for spontaneous exchange. This Harlem Jazz Series appearance offers an intimate setting for a musician whose lyricism and restless imagination have animated New York’s creative-music community for nearly five decades. CR

DAVID MURRAY QUARTET FEATURING FRANCESCA CINELLI

BLUE NOTE / SEPTEMBER 11-13

Saxophonist and composer David Murray is best known for the World Saxophone Quartet, one of the most successful avant-garde groups in jazz. David has worked with Max Roach, Randy Weston, Pharoah Sanders, McCoy Tyner and Jerry Garcia. His instantly recognizable style draws from free jazz, gospel, and R&B while remaining grounded in a robust tenor sound. The New York Times named his 2024 album, Francesca (Intakt), its top jazz album of the year. At the Blue Note, David will appear with pianist Marta Sanchez, bassist Luke Stewart, drummer Russell Carter, and featured vocalist Francesca Cinelli. DJS

GAIA WILMER LARGE ENSEMBLE FEATURING MÔNICA SALMASO

DIZZY'S / SEPTEMBER 11-13

Saxophonist, composer, arranger, and conductor Gaia Wilmer celebrates Parabólica: Reflections on Gilberto Gil, Volume I (2026, Sunnyside), her new large-ensemble exploration of the Brazilian master’s songbook. Gaia selected the repertoire with featured vocalist Mônica Salmaso, whose expressive phrasing and rhythmic assurance place Gil’s words at the center of the project. The arrangements recast familiar songs through expansive horn writing, layered Brazilian rhythms, and the flexibility of a contemporary jazz orchestra. Rather than imitate the original recordings, Gaia treats Gil’s music as living material – open to new colors, countermelodies, and improvisational paths. With Mônica adding voice and percussion, the Dizzy’s engagement serves as both an album celebration and a cross-cultural conversation about one of Brazil’s most influential musical voices. CR

THE COOKERS

THE SIDE DOOR / SEPTEMBER 13

Inspired by the landmark Blue Note live recording The Night of the Cookers: Live at Club la Marchal (1965-66), featuring the dueling trumpets of Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan, The Cookers was organized by David Weiss as a vehicle for hard-bop and post-bop compositions. Each member contributes music and arrangements to the repertoire. The septet has experienced little turnover during its nearly two decades together, although every member leads projects of his own. The ensemble includes trumpeters Eddie Henderson and David Weiss, alto saxophonist Donald Harrison, tenor saxophonist Azar Lawrence, pianist George Cables, bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Billy Hart. Audiences have come to expect fireworks from these seasoned bandleaders. Their most recent album is Look Out! (Gearbox, 2021). KD

QUANTUM BLUES QUARTET

SOUTH / SEPTEMBER 13

Quantum Blues Quartet brings together four musicians whose careers rarely travel the same orbit: guitarist Tisziji Muñoz, keyboardist Paul Shaffer, bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma, and drummer Will Calhoun. Their 2025 album, Quantum Blues (Ropeadope), emerged from an uncharted studio session played without charts or advance plans. Tisziji’s searching, high-velocity guitar meets Paul’s deep command of blues, soul, and popular song; Jamaaladeen supplies elastic electric-bass lines, while Will brings the power and polyrhythmic imagination associated with Living Colour and his jazz projects. The result is less a conventional blues band than an avant-funk laboratory, grounded in groove but open to abrupt turns and collective risk. The Philadelphia engagement should emphasize the quartet’s spontaneous chemistry. CR

THEO CROKER × NICHOLAS DALEY: SONIC TAPESTRY

BLUE NOTE / SEPTEMBER 15-17

Trumpeter and composer Theo Croker joins London fashion designer Nicholas Daley for Sonic Tapestry, an immersive meeting of live music, textiles, and cultural memory. Theo’s sound moves across spiritual jazz, hip-hop, electronic production, and Afro-diasporic rhythm without sacrificing the trumpet’s intimate, vocal character. Nicholas builds his menswear practice around craftsmanship and his Scottish-Jamaican heritage, often treating music and subculture as living archives. Developed for New York Fashion Week, Sonic Tapestry translates those shared concerns into a dialogue among sound, atmosphere, and design rather than a conventional runway presentation. The Blue Note engagement marks the project’s U.S. debut and offers a setting in which improvisation can shape not only the score but the audience’s experience of texture, movement, and space. CR

STEVE TURRE ALL-STAR SEXTET FEATURING JON FADDIS, JAMES CARTER, AND ELEW

SMOKE / SEPTEMBER 16-20

During a career spanning several decades, Steve Turre has explored diverse musical interests while developing a distinctive sound on trombone and conch shells. His early years included recordings with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Woody Shaw, Chico Hamilton and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. By the 1990s, Steve was recording regularly as a leader, displaying his creativity as an arranger and the breadth of his compositions. His 2024 Smoke Sessions album, Sanyas, features standards, jazz classics, and his early odd-meter work “Sanyas.” For this five-night engagement, Steve is joined by trumpeter Jon Faddis, tenor saxophonist James Carter, pianist ELEW, bassist Peter Washington, and drummer Orion Turre, the leader’s son. KD

AARON DIEHL TRIO

DIZZY'S / SEPTEMBER 17-19

Pianist Aaron Diehl brings classical discipline, historical awareness, and a refined sense of swing to music that never feels confined by category. Aaron’s interests range from early jazz and the Great American Songbook to third-stream repertoire and works by Philip Glass. He has also performed Gershwin with major American orchestras and served as musical director for Cécile McLorin Salvant. At Dizzy’s, bassist Felix Moseholm and drummer Aaron Kimmel complete a trio built for clarity, balance, and close interaction. The program gives the pianist room to explore touch, architecture, and rhythmic detail through originals and freshly considered standards. Aaron’s restraint is never passive: beneath the polished surface lies a probing improviser attentive to the full sweep of jazz piano history. CR

CHRIS DAVE × MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO × ERIC GALES TRIO

BLUE NOTE / SEPTEMBER 18-20

Three unmistakable musical voices meet in a trio designed to erase genre borders. Drummer Chris Dave has shaped recordings and performances across jazz, R&B, and hip-hop with a vocabulary of fractured backbeats, elastic time, and startling accents. Bassist, vocalist, and songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello brings a deep pocket and a body of work that moves freely through soul, funk, rock, jazz, and social reflection. Guitarist Eric Gales adds blues-rooted fire, tonal weight, and three decades of hard-earned expressive authority. Because each player can anchor a groove or disrupt it, the music may pivot quickly from spacious song form to dense rhythmic exchange. The Blue Note residency offers a rare opportunity to hear three master collaborators negotiate pulse, texture, and improvisation in real time. CR

WARREN WOLF QUARTET

JAZZ FORUM / SEPTEMBER 18-19

Vibraphonist, multi-instrumentalist, and SFJAZZ Collective member Warren Wolf has released 10 recordings as a leader and tours internationally. Trained on piano and drums from the age of 3, Warren has recorded with Christian McBride, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Brad Mehldau, Peter Martin, and John Scofield. His latest release, Smoove Vibes (Outside In Music, 2026), showcases him on vibraphone, marimba, drums, piano, Hammond B3 organ, and vocals. The album features bassist Brandon Lane, saxophonists Brent Birckhead and Elan Trotman, organist Terrence Cunningham and vocalist Imani-Grace Cooper. Warren also serves on the faculties of the Peabody Institute Conservatory of Music and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. SBL

JOE LOCKE: SONGS & STORIES/SOLO VIBES

OSPAC JAZZ FESTIVAL / SEPTEMBER 19

One of the modern masters of the vibraphone, Joe Locke has explored a wide range of musical settings during his long career. Joe has recorded and toured with ensembles of various sizes and is known especially for collaborations with pianists Geoffrey Keezer, Frank Kimbrough, David Hazeltine, Kenny Barron, and Phil Markowitz. Throughout his sizable discography, he has proved himself a consistently virtuosic soloist. What makes this OSPAC Jazz Festival performance in West Orange, New Jersey, particularly noteworthy is that Joe will play unaccompanied, something few vibraphonists attempt for more than a song or two onstage. Expect an inventive set shaped by surprising improvisations, compelling compositions, and the instrument’s full harmonic and percussive range. KD

JERRY WELDON QUINTET

AMERICANO STEAKHOUSE / SEPTEMBER 22

Saxophonist Jerry Weldon is a highly respected hard-bop and soul-jazz tenor player. After college, Jerry joined the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, then went on to play with organist Jack McDuff and later with Harry Connick Jr. He has also worked with organists Joey DeFrancesco, Jimmy McGriff and Dr. Lonnie Smith, as well as Roy Haynes, Jimmy Cobb, Wynton Marsalis, and George Cables. Jerry has performed at venues including Birdland and the Village Vanguard, bringing a muscular sound and subtle swing to every setting. At Americano Steakhouse, he will be joined by vocalist Joy Brown, pianist Elliott Bernard, bassist Anthony Perez and drummer Winard Harper. DJS

MIGUEL ZENÓN QUARTET

VILLAGE VANGUARD / SEPTEMBER 22-27

GRAMMY Award-winning saxophonist Miguel Zenón bridges modern jazz with Latin American and Caribbean music. Born in Puerto Rico and based in New York, Miguel founded Caravana Cultural in 2011 to present free jazz concerts in rural Puerto Rican communities. A Doris Duke Artist and Guggenheim and MacArthur fellow, he has released 18 recordings as a leader. His recent projects include the GRAMMY Award-nominated Vanguardia Subterránea: Live at the Village Vanguard (Miel Music, 2024) and the GRAMMY Award-winning El Arte del Bolero, Vol. 2 (Miel Music, 2023). Joining Miguel at the Village Vanguard are pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Hans Glawischnig, and drummer Henry Cole. SBL

WALTER SMITH III CMA PREMIERE ENSEMBLE

SMOKE / SEPTEMBER 23-27

Blue Note recording artist Walter Smith III is an accomplished saxophonist, composer, and educator. Walter’s latest release, TWIO, Vol. 2 (Blue Note, 2026), features bassist Joe Sanders and drummer Kendrick Scott, with guest appearances by Ron Carter and Branford Marsalis. The album revisits less frequently played standards while finding new directions within the repertoire. Walter has appeared on more than 100 recordings and worked with Ambrose Akinmusire, Eric Harland, Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah and Terence Blanchard, among others. He chairs the Woodwind Department at Berklee College of Music. Joining Walter at Smoke for this Chamber Music America New Jazz Works premiere are pianist Jason Moran, guitarist Matthew Stevens, bassist Matt Brewer, and drummer Bill Stewart. SBL

CYRUS CHESTNUT TRIO

SMALLS / SEPTEMBER 25-27

Baltimore native Cyrus Chestnut has been immersed in music since childhood, when his late father taught him piano. Cyrus developed a deep love of gospel music while playing in church, though his hard-bop command is equally unmistakable. The pianist’s jazz pedigree includes stints with vocalists Betty Carter and Jon Hendricks. Since recording his debut album, The Nutman Speaks (Alfa Jazz, 1992), Cyrus has been heard primarily leading trios, seeking rhythm sections that share his passion and intensity. His latest album is Rhythm, Melody and Harmony (HighNote, 2025). At Smalls, Cyrus is joined by bassist Alexander Claffy and veteran drummer and bandleader Carl Allen, whose work with him dates to early in the pianist’s career. KD

HYPNOTIC BRASS ENSEMBLE

BLUE NOTE / SEPTEMBER 26-27

Chicago-based Hypnotic Brass Ensemble is composed of eight brothers raised and trained by their father, the late trumpeter Phil Cohran, a member of the Sun Ra Arkestra. The ensemble’s multidimensional style spans spiritual jazz, hip-hop, rock, and reggae. The brothers began their career busking on the streets and subways of New York and Chicago and have collaborated with Prince, Erykah Badu, Snoop Dogg, and Gorillaz. At the Blue Note, Gabriel, Amal, Jafar, and Tarik Hubert play trumpets; Saiph and Seba Graves play trombones; Uttama Hubert plays euphonium; and Sikiel Graves plays sousaphone. Guitarist Kevin Hunt, bassist Jarryd Gentile, drummer James Wilson and vocalist Aquilla Graves complete the lineup. Special guests will be announced closer to the performances. SBL

JAMES BRANDON LEWIS TRIO

ROULETTE / SEPTEMBER 29

Tenor saxophonist and composer James Brandon Lewis opens Thru Line, a three-night Roulette residency created through his Jazz Generations Initiative Continuum Fellowship. James combines a broad, centered tone with the emotional directness of gospel, the momentum of post-bop, and rhythmic ideas drawn from funk and hip-hop. His trio music favors collective construction: themes, vamps and textures can surface from improvisation rather than follow a fixed hierarchy. The opening program, Bathed in Sound, places the James Brandon Lewis Trio alongside Trap Music Orchestra, pianist Angelica Sanchez, and a separate collaboration featuring Sheela Bringi, Clinton Patterson, and Elden Kelly. That cross-generational, multidisciplinary frame suits an artist whose work treats composition as a meeting point for sound, history, poetry, and community. CR

THE HOT SARDINES

BIRDLAND / SEPTEMBER 29 - OCTOBER 3

Brooklyn’s Hot Sardines emerged from the borough’s underground parties and speakeasies. Nearly two decades later, the band has toured internationally, accumulated more than 70 million Spotify streams, and released its seventh album, Good News (Eleven Records, 2026). The group draws inspiration from Louis Armstrong and Fats Waller, the Paris jazz scene, and New Orleans roots. At its sold-out Carnegie Hall performance in 2024, the Hot Sardines debuted Banned Jazz, a program spanning the 1920s through the 1940s and recounting how jazz has endured as an expression of resistance, unity, and freedom. Joining cofounders Elizabeth Bougerol, vocalist, and Evan Palazzo, pianist, at Birdland will be a rotating lineup of musicians. SBL

IMMANUEL WILKINS QUARTET

VILLAGE VANGUARD / SEPTEMBER 29 - OCTOBER 4

Alto saxophonist and composer Immanuel Wilkins returns to the Village Vanguard after releasing three live volumes recorded at the club. Immanuel’s music balances tightly organized forms with eruptive improvisation, drawing on blues feeling, spiritual inquiry, and the dramatic pacing of a working band. Pianist Micah Thomas, bassist Ryoma Takenaga, and drummer Kweku Sumbry give the quartet a responsive foundation that can shift from luminous stillness to turbulent momentum without breaking the narrative thread. The 2026 Vanguard recordings captured that chemistry in the room where extended engagements allow ideas to deepen from night to night. This six-day return offers the next chapter: familiar compositions may be reopened, transitions reconsidered, and new material tested before an audience close enough to hear every detail. CR

BOBBY WATSON

Bobby Watson – Fostering the Jazz Continuum

by Dave Popkin

There was almost no way for renowned alto saxophonist Bobby Watson to avoid a life in music. “I was born in Lawrence, Kansas, and my dad played tenor saxophone in church, so we had music and always pianos around the house because he repaired pianos and restored pianos and he was also an instrument repairman,” he says. “We always had musical instruments lying around the house. My earliest experience in public was in my grandfather’s church out in Olathe, Kansas. I played ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic’ [on clarinet] and when I got done everybody said, ‘Amen!’, so that was my first acknowledgement of playing in public. We didn’t have much jazz around, but my dad loved Gene Ammons.”

Bobby’s father soon moved the family to Minneapolis, which was a pivotal moment. “I had an American History teacher, Dave King; he played drums at night,” he says. “He saw us sniffing around and noticed our curiosity and he turned the second half of the year into jazz history. And that’s when I discovered Charlie Parker and all kinds of characters and buying my first jazz records, trying to get into it.”

PETE RODRIGUEZ

Pete Rodriguez Jr.: El Conde Negro

by Chrys L Roney

Pete Rodriguez Jr. did not encounter Afro-Caribbean music as a historical subject. He learned it in the places where the music had to work: on bandstands, in rehearsals, on the road, in family gatherings, and in rooms full of musicians whose artistry had already changed the cultural landscape.

The son of the late Puerto Rican sonero Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez and the godson of Fania Records cofounder Johnny Pacheco, Pete came of age within one of the defining musical networks of the salsa era. By 19, he had become musical director of his father's band—a role that demanded much more than the ability to play trumpet. He organized music, gave cues, sang coro, played hand percussion, supervised the ensemble, and carried the pressure of keeping a major working band ready for the stage. Pianist Oscar Hernández helped coach him for the position.

It was an extraordinary apprenticeship. Pete performed and recorded in the company of artists including Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Chico O'Farrill, Bebo Valdés, Rubén Blades, Oscar Hernández, and other central figures in Latin music. He sang on Tito Puente's Grammy-winning Mambo Birdland and performed on the Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri Project's Grammy-winning Simpático.

But if Pete's name opens the door to a powerful lineage, his work insists on a distinction at the heart of his artistry: heritage is not imitation.

"My father told me since I was a little kid, if you're gonna do this, you need to look deep down inside and search for your voice," Pete says.

That instruction has guided a career built not on nostalgia but on transformation. Pete's music carries Puerto Rican and Cuban rhythmic knowledge, but it also reflects the Bronx, hip-hop, classical training, modern improvisation, family responsibility, humor, hardship, grief, and a fierce desire to tell the truth.

"My music is life," he says. "It's music."

MATT GARRISON

Matt Garrison Celebrates His Father at the Coltrane Centennial

by Ronald E. Scott

Matt Garrison built ShapeShifter Lab as a home for experimentation. This month, the Brooklyn venue hosts a more personal project: the John Coltrane Centennial: Celebrating Jimmy Garrison—a two-day festival honoring Matt's father, the powerful anchor of Coltrane's classic quartet. It's a fitting home for the celebration, and no accident. The festival is organized in direct collaboration with The John & Alice Coltrane Home and Jowcol Music, representing a deep family alignment across generations. Fifty years after his father's death, Matt finds himself not just honoring a legacy but actively shaping how the next generation encounters it.

Jimmy Garrison was born in Miami in 1934 and raised in Philadelphia, where he came up through the same fertile scene that produced John Coltrane, Lee Morgan, and McCoy Tyner. He joined the John Coltrane Quartet in 1961, replacing Reggie Workman, and remained with Coltrane until the saxophonist's death in 1967. During those six years, Garrison anchored some of the most transformative recordings in jazz history: A Love Supreme, Crescent, Live at Birdland, Ascension. His bass lines were more than accompaniment—they were architecture, providing the foundation for Coltrane's spiritual and harmonic explorations while Elvin Jones's polyrhythmic thunder swirled above.

Garrison expanded what the bass could do in a jazz ensemble. He developed a signature technique of strumming chords and playing melodic counterlines, turning the instrument into a second voice rather than mere timekeeping. After Coltrane's death, he continued performing and recording with Archie Shepp, Alice Coltrane, and Elvin Jones, but lung cancer cut his career short. He died in 1976 at forty-two.

THE HOT SARDINES

Why the Hot Sardines Still Matter

by Chrys L. Roney

In an era of algorithmic playlists and AI-generated music, a band devoted to jazz from the 1920s, '30s, and '40s might seem like a novelty act. But the Hot Sardines, returning to Birdland for five nights this fall, demonstrate that old music is not merely worth preserving. It may offer something contemporary audiences increasingly need: joy, human connection, and the unpredictable energy of people making music together in a room.

The New York-based ensemble has spent nearly two decades proving that jazz from a century ago can still fill clubs and concert halls. Singer Elizabeth Bougerol and pianist Evan Palazzo formed the group in 2007 after meeting at a traditional-jazz jam session they discovered through Craigslist. From Brooklyn's underground parties and neo-speakeasies, the Sardines developed an international following, accumulated more than 70 million Spotify streams, and sold out their 2024 Carnegie Hall debut.

Their success comes from treating early jazz as a living language rather than a museum artifact. Elizabeth and Evan honor the music's vocabulary but refuse to embalm it. Their performances leave room for humor, theatricality, improvisation, and the possibility that something unexpected might happen.