Author Archives: The Independent Ear

Last spring after reading a New York Times account of the demise of one of the last of a dying breed, the retail record store, I knew the proprietor of this Brooklyn record outlet was someone we should interview as … Continue reading →

OWED TO BIRD by Walter Bishop Jr. In the beginning first was the word And the word was Bird, The word that we heard The great Messiah had come To lift us higher Free us from slavery to the Blues … Continue reading →

This is the space where a series of musicians have responded to the burning question: When you read music journalism & criticism what qualities are you looking for in the writer and the writing? TED NASH, saxophonist-composer “It’s important that … Continue reading →

Dominick Farinacci About 15 years ago my old friend, pianist-educator Eric Gould invited me to speak to his students at a Saturday morning music education program at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C). When I arrived the students were running down a … Continue reading →

Ain’t But a Few of Us… – Black music writers tell their story. by Lofton A. Emenari, III – Part 1 Many years ago I learned that being a so-called “Black” writer on jazz music would be an enriching but … Continue reading →