Experimental jazz guitarist, composer and ensemble bandleader Mary Halvorson has evolved her individual style and pushed an incredibly varied direction in musical expression over the course of numerous projects since 2005. Finding significant critical attention in 2017, 2018, and 2019, by virtue of consecutive wins in DownBeat’s International Critics...
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Charles Mingus: Jazz’s Underdog and Compositional Giant
If a compositional work of music such as a 500-page score was discovered in our current era, that when arranged and performed would be 2.5 hours long and require 30 musicians to perform, you’d assume this was a classical piece for a symphony. Yet Epitaph is a composition by...
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Stan Getz: The melodic phrase master – the “Sound” never out of style
Known for his lyrical and relaxed style on the tenor saxophone, exceptional improvisor and seminal influence on his instrument, Lester Young, “The Prez,” was interviewed in a Paris hotel room just two months before he died. In response to a question about big bands like Count Basie’s Orchestra, where...
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New England Conservatory’s Artist in Residence program sets example of excellence
New England Conservatory in Boston is recognized as one of the top music schools in the country, and at the forefront of leadership in educating and training musicians of all ages from around the world. NEC’s music students represent more than 40 countries, and per its mission statement, it...
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Wes Montgomery: Generations of jazz guitarists intimate his technique and style
The telling originality and influence of a great innovator in jazz, based on their instrument, technique, and voicing, is often echoed by the number of outstanding musicians of future generations that advance the established style. The signature thumb-based strumming method, soft tone, and octave-chordal sound of Wes Montgomery’s Gibson...
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Doug Hall’s Choice of Top Jazz Recordings Of 2021
To echo the converging sentiments and “high-fives” for a slew of extraordinary releases under a continued full-frontal assault of Covid Revenge part 2, there is a lot to embrace. I found myself sweeping though streaming releases and recordings of a vast variety of jazz genre. Seeing new faces and...
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Ray Brown: Bassist of first choice for all legendary band leaders: Gillespie, Peterson and Sinatra
In the arena of large jazz orchestras – whether it be Duke Ellington, Count Basie, or Dizzy Gillespie – the choice of an individual musician becomes a critical decision for any bandleader. Ray Brown, legendary acoustic double-bassist, DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame winner, and peer-less performer of his instrument,...
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Randy Brecker Interview: Jazz-Funk master and shaping the sound of jazz for 4 Decades
Jazz trumpeter and composer, Randy Brecker, has been at the center of seminal jazz-funk groups with his late brother Michael (on saxophone) through the mid-‘70s and early ‘80s. Brecker has helped shape the sound of jazz, R&B, and rock for more than four decades. Playing both trumpet and flugelhorn,...
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Nina Simone: An iconic original in jazz performance and force for social & political change
If ever there was a jazz singer whose musical career could not be separated from the legacy of their own political and social statements and positions, it would be Nina Simone. From early on in her performances and recordings, her establishment and approach as an Afro-American female and individual...
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Dewey Bunnell of America Talks 50 Years of Exceptional Harmonies (INTERVIEW)
A perfect match was found between the intimate setting of The Cabot theater, in Beverly, MA., and the distinctive mellow sound of the folk-rock band, America, on their 50th Anniversary tour. This newly renovated 850 seat theater, from the 1920’s art-deco period, offered an acoustically exceptional and cozy...
