Monthly Archives: November 2010

Swing & The Blues: still essential skills & wisdom for successful jazz musicians?

In what we anticipate will be a series of commentaries from young jazz musicians (in this case we’re talking 20 and 30something artists).  Our first respondent is the very thoughtful and grounded pianist Aaron Goldberg. Born & raised in Boston, … Continue reading

Posted in Artist's P.O.V. | 4 Comments

A Triumphant Uhuru Afrika

This year marks the 50th anniversary of NEA Jazz Master Randy Weston‘s opus “Uhuru Afrika.” Originally recorded for the Roulette label in ’59 and subsequently reissued several times as part of the Blue Note family, including most recently as part of Mosaic … Continue reading

Posted in General Discussion | 1 Comment

Ain’t But a Few of Us: Author Karen Chilton

Several weeks ago at a Brooklyn book signing at the MoCADA gallery for native son Randy Weston and our new book African Rhythms (Composed by Randy Weston, Arranged by Willard Jenkins published by Duke University Press; see elsewhere in The Independent Ear) … Continue reading

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Jazz Radio Commentaries: Rusty Hassan pt. 2

Rusty Hassan has a kind of mystery about his look in this photo, but though he is indeed a nuanced gentleman, there seems little mystery about this thoughtful, even-tempered man-about-jazz; he remains one of DC’s go-to guys when it comes to the … Continue reading

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Yusef Lateef @ 90

Some years ago the Jazz Journalists Association, as a tribute to friend and colleague the late Harlem jazz writer Clarence Atkins sponsored a group of aspiring African American music writers to attend a journalism conference in California.  I’m happy to say that … Continue reading

Posted in General Discussion | 2 Comments