Jazz music has long had an interesting, albeit complicated, relationship with more popular musical forms. Swing bands were the pop music craze of the 1930s and 40s. With the emergence of bop, particularly during the postwar era, the lines between artful improvisation-based music and more commercial sentimentality became increasingly stark. But many artists – Ray […]
Often the best music seemingly transports the listener – by the artist’s direction – to another time and place. The music envelopes the audience, disorienting them temporarily but ultimately giving them a path to follow. While recordings can capture this mystifying experience, it is truly the live performance in which this intangible aspect is at […]
When one considers a historical museum, thoughts of those no longer with us often come to mind. Figures who made their mark but then left this world. Technically, the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Corona, Queens, commemorates the life of an artist who passed away over fifty-two years ago. But, in a much more real […]
Ingrained in jazz, hip hop, punk, gospel, and R&B, tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis has discovered a unique way to give equal footing to concepts many would categorically divide. His broad perspective is largely based on his concept of molecular systematic music (MSM). The current subject of Lewis’ doctoral studies, MSM recontextualizes artistic influences through […]
It takes daring for a producer to lead off a recording with a ballad. When that producer is Marc Free of Posi-Tone Records, a label known for scorching hard bop, the album particularly demands attention. With Green Thumb (Posi-Tone Records, 2023), pianist David Ake generously provides a varied program of surprising, even eccentric, choices that resolve with […]
When one thinks of lace as a fabric, often their immediate thought is delicacy and fragility. But appearances can be deceiving. Intricate lace patterns also reflect strength in their repetitive, yet morphing, shapes and the intense determination of those who craft them. Zeena Parkins’ LACE (Chaikin, 2023), the culmination of a decade and a half of composing […]
Anyone who frequents the Newport Jazz or Folk Facebook groups would likely recognize the name Jack Casey. For the last few years, Casey has regularly shared with these groups memories of artists he’s captured at Fort Adams over the past almost four decades. Given his output’s high-quality and sheer volume, one could reasonably believe Casey to be a full-time […]
We continue our conversation with Maestro Hussain with a focus on how This Moment (Abstract Logix, 2023) differs from prior Shakti releases and, in the process, explores the band’s past, present, and future. PostGenre: One thing that stands out on This Moment is the particularly strong connection between you and Selvaganesh. It sounds like you […]
In the summer of 1970, a guitarist continually seeking new sounds visited the House of Musical Traditions, a musical instrument store in Greenwich Village with a significant collection from around the globe. He was particularly fascinated by Indian instruments. The twenty-eight-year-old John McLaughlin requested of the proprietor that if a great Indian musician ever entered […]
One cannot adequately assess the history of the Newport Jazz Festival without examining the recordings captured at the event through the years. In many ways approaching the recorded history of Newport is a gargantuan task. Discogs currently reflects 3,292 Newport Jazz releases. Many of these are reissues of albums, and several more may be mislabeled […]
