Jazz
“What we didn’t want was just another jazz festival. I hope it never turns into that. We were focused on early jazz, traditional jazz from New Orleans, dating back to the 1920s and 30s, before the advent of the big band era.”
Newport Jazz sold out all three days in advance for the second year in a row, which made scheduling the primary acts across three stages prone to occasional mismatches between space and demand. But it’s still a golden ticket.
I am grateful that Al Jardine (at 82, he’s showing signs of age) and Brian Wilson’s band are still bringing Wilson’s brilliant legacy to audiences.
Two very influential and brilliant Cuban musicians, Albita Rodríguez and Chucho Valdés, join together to make a fine album; Chilean guitarist/vocalist/composer Camila Meza serves up a potent mixture of jazz and lyrics concerned with social justice.
We are all part of a community with a deep commitment to this extraordinary but way-too-often unappreciated musical art, and the late critic Francis Davis believed we should work together and share what we know. His poll was one important way to do just that
So what am I saying? That the system is imperfect, corrupted by bad voters like me (there must be a few others who didn’t listen to even close to everything on this list — show of hands?)
A particular guttural sequence of phrases from accordionist Ted Reichman suggested a musical cadence, and I felt myself respond with the jazz fan’s involuntary noise of appreciation: “Unh!”
The planned variety of sounds and rhythms is the adroit work of a composer dedicated to both freedom and his own version of continuity.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the release of John Coltrane’s magisterial album “A Love Supreme,” which has meant so much to so many.
Jazz Artist Appreciation: Sheila Jordan (1928-2025)
Each time I heard Sheila Jordan sing live, I remember being spellbound, embraced, dazzled, awestruck, and I know I’m not alone.
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