Jazz
Jazz Concert Review: Brad Mehldau’s Elliott Smith Tribute Finds Light in the Darkness at Groton Hill
With Chris Thile, Blake Mills, Matt Chamberlain, John Davis, and A Far Cry, the pianist transformed Smith’s songs into an expansive blend of jazz, indie folk, and chamber music.
An evening of obscure blues, early jazz, and New Orleans swing eventually overcame an absent vocalist, a substitute washboard player, and a concert-hall setting.
Kamasi Washington, Herbie Hancock, Flea and a lively new generation showed how the festival is stretching jazz’s boundaries without losing its center.
From Tom Morello’s searing set to CMAT’s breakout turn and Dave Matthews’ final-set detour, the festival kept its focus on music that opened outward rather than looking back.
Tyshawn Sorey tops the Frances Davis Jazz Poll at mid-year, spurring a reflection on signal vs. noise in a crowded jazz landscape.
Fitting the past into the present: the year (so far) in rara avis (reissues/archival)
The acclaimed pianist-composer reflects on a newly unearthed duet with Mick Goodrick, the art of deep listening, and a life shaped by resilience and risk.
Separated by 35 years, new releases from Blake–Eade and Goodrick–Hersch illuminate jazz at its most intimate—where interpretation, history, and shared sensibility converge.
Eric Hofbauer and EHX turn a wide-ranging songbook into a cohesive, emotionally charged jazz narrative.
The Annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll at Midyear: Warming Up a Riff — How It Happened, and Why It Matters
Few things more clearly attest to the endurance of the human spirit and the drive for creativity than the uninterrupted and unstoppable torrent of brilliant new jazz albums we’ve already seen this year.
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