Music
MonoNeon is the most important musician to emerge from Memphis in recent memory.
Regardless of his age, Neil Young, now 79, can still rage.
“The music I really respond to is by artists who have in some way captured a moment in an evocative way, a universal truth, something that feels honest and real. That’s what we try to do.”
But this wasn’t just a night for the hits. It was an occasion for raw, in-the-trenches rock (none of Aerosmith’s later commercial dreck) and rarely, if ever, played songs.
The band tucked two songs from its new album into a career-spanning 95-minute show tilted toward six tunes from the Black Keys’ 2010 commercial breakthrough “Brothers.”
Joachim Raff, widely hailed for his instrumental works, is finally being recognized as a significant opera composer as well.
The Mercury Orchestra explored nostalgia, via performances of rare Finzi and familiar Respighi compositions.
“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.
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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