Jazz Music Blog

Steve Lacy: Grounded in Monk

I used to look forward to seeing Steve Lacy on his annual visits to the Iron Horse in Northampton. Few experiences made NoHo feel quite as cosmopolitan as an appearance by Lacy’s Paris-based

John Coltrane plays "Naima"

One of the first things I did when I began using I-Tunes ten years ago was create a playlist of ballads recorded by John Coltrane, and it remains one that I turn to often.

The Day Lady Died

Billie Holiday died 53 years ago today. I’ll play a couple of sets of her music in tonight’s Jazz a la Mode, including her appearance at Newport in 1957 where she was accompanied by Mal Waldr

Louis Jordan and a Cavalcade of Caldonia's

Louis Jordan’s birthday anniversary is this month. The saxophonist and clarinet player was born in Brinkley, Arkansas on July 8, 1908 and died in Los Angeles on February 5, 1975. After

Tony Bennett

The last time I saw Tony Bennett was on the stage of the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier in Montreal a year ago.

Joel Frahm, Storytelling Tenor

One of the most exciting tenor duels I’ve ever witnessed took place between Joel Frahm and Jimmy Greene on a hot summer night in 2010. It was in West Hartford at Szechuan Tokyo, not exactly t

Louis Armstrong: Fourth of July Fireworks

Here’s a selection of Louis Armstrong clips in honor of his 112^th (traditional) birthday anniversary. Even though we learned 20 years ago that Pops was born on August 4, 1901, it’s

Dexter Gordon's Heroic Quest

Jazz has known a fair number of charismatic personalities throughout its history, but few as mythical or colorful as Dexter Gordon. In a multi-volume career that spanned a half-century, Gordo

30 Platters of Jazz Perfection

WFCR Music Director John Montanari has been letting his all-genres music flag fly on the Classical Blog at NEPR, and last week posted a list of his “individual musical selections that come as close

Bud Powell on View

You may be in the mood today for something less white heat than what Bud Powell’s playing typically brings to mind, in which case be sure to take a look at this footage once the temperature drops,

Miles Davis: Blues Basics

The Miles Davis session known as Walkin’ has long been heralded as the harbinger of Hard Bop to come, and as one of Davis's greatest recorded performances. Martin Williams, Dic

Jaki Byard, Worcester's Gift to Jazz

The earliest memory I have of hearing jazz was a Schaefer Beer commercial that ran during Red Sox games in the late ‘50’s and early ‘60’s.

Karrin Allyson: Jazz Singer, Jazz Presenter

Listeners to Jazz a la Mode know that Karrin Allyson has long been a favorite of mine and that her Concord Jazz releases have been staples of the show for the past 20 years.

I was trolling the internet waters last weekend for new Paul Butterfield material, and as happens on YouTube, one catch leads to another. Butterfield was one of the all-star guests of B.B.

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