Author Archives: The Independent Ear

On April 12 the DC jazz community in particular, and the world jazz community in general lost a true Jazz Cultural Warrior with the passing of writer-producer-historian Bill Brower (that’s Bill with the locks in this photo from the annual … Continue reading →

KARRIN ALLYSON Vocalist Karrin (pron. kah-rin) Allyson clearly has a good ear for thematic recordings.  And that’s a perception I don’t make casually, based in large part on her splendid 2001 project Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane (Concord ’01).  On that … Continue reading →

Following his long and very public battle with cancer, drummer-bandleader-educator and record label producer Ralph Peterson, Jr. joined the ancestors in the early morning hours of Monday, March 1.  For our June 2019 DC JazzFest concluding weekend at The Wharf, … Continue reading →

Reflections on the Left Bank Jazz Society By Willard Jenkins The history of jazz societies in the U.S. dates back to the mid-20th century. These have generally been organized clubs or gatherings of jazz enthusiasts for the purpose of discussing … Continue reading →

On January 28, 2021 the woman no less than Nelson Mandela declared “South Africa’s First Lady of Song”, Sibongile Khumalo passed on to ancestry.  I first met Sibongile on a 2005 trip to the Cape Town Jazz Festival, where she … Continue reading →