Author Archives: The Independent Ear

Several years ago we engaged the amazing veteran multi-instrumentalist Howard Johnson (tuba-flugelhorn-bari sax-pennywhistle, etc.) as one of our Tri-C JazzFest artists-in-residence. A major component of Howard’s residency was his participation in our concert “Slight Return”. This was our recreation of … Continue reading →

Part 4 in our series of dialogues with women jazz writers on their triumphs and challenges in the medium, and how gender may have influenced their experience, continues with a young woman in the early stages of her efforts at … Continue reading →

As pert of my coordinator responsibilities with Arts Midwest for the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Live grant program, one of the more pleasant and revealing aspects is conducting the occasional site visit to funded activities. On the … Continue reading →

Over the last year or so one of the more impressive new voices in jazz writing has been the Brooklyn-based Angelika Beener. A past contributor to The Independent Ear as part of the series of dialogues with African American music … Continue reading →

The annual August weekend jazz festival presented by the Stonington Opera House on Deer Isle, Maine always sounded like a sweet, kind of best-kept-secret event. My friend and colleague Larry Blumenfeld, veteran jazz writer for the likes of Jazziz magazine … Continue reading →