Rob Shepherd

Bringing Together: Rob Garza Previews Thievery Corporation’s 2024 Newport Jazz Festival Performance

Music has a unique ability to unite humanity. As Ella Fitzgerald once noted, "Music is the universal language…. it brings…

2 years ago

Melting Pot of Old and Young: A Conversation with Newport Festivals Security’s Ron Cudworth

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Newport Jazz Festival’s founding in 1954. But the history is not as…

2 years ago

Engagement: A Conversation with Lakecia Benjamin on ‘Phoenix Reimagined (Live)’

There is something special about a live recording compared to one edited in the studio. An increased openness to risk…

2 years ago

Vessel: A Conversation with Deron Johnson on Miles Davis and ‘Free to Dance’

From where does music derive? Some would argue the artist is the sole cause of their own creations. But, to…

2 years ago

Weaving: A Conversation with Janel Leppin

As an art form, weaving requires different threads to combine into one to create a sturdier whole cloth. How the…

2 years ago

Observations from Day Three of the 2023 Newport Jazz Festival

Jazz music and dance have long had intertwined histories. For one, the music of people like Duke Ellington, Count Basie,…

2 years ago

Saving the Duck: A Conversation with Alfredo Colón on ‘Blood Burden’

Self-expression lies at the heart of all art. Creation that fails to reflect the artist's spirit will never be able…

2 years ago

Double Bill : A Conversation with Bill Frisell and Bill Morrison

Albert Einstein once remarked, “Art is standing with one hand extended into the universe and one hand extended into the…

2 years ago

Observations from Day Two of the 2023 Newport Jazz Festival

The second day (check out day one here) of the 2023 Newport Jazz Festival, Saturday, August 5, 2023, can be…

2 years ago

Freeing the Lion: A Conversation with James Blood Ulmer on Harmolodics and the Black Rock Trio

Great artists have honed a sound that is identifiable regardless of the environment surrounding them. The truly brilliant, however, are…

2 years ago