Author Archives: The Independent Ear

NEA Jazz Masters Program Finds New Support for Federal Funding The U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriations recently insisted on the continuation of the 29-year-old Jazz Masters fellowship, which was recommended to be cut earlier in the year by … Continue reading →

New book celebrates David Baker’s career as jazz musician, composer and master teacher BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — David Baker has received just about every honor imaginable in his 60-year career as a jazz musician and educator. The Distinguished Professor at the … Continue reading →

Besides being one of the quintessential second generation bop pianists, the late Walter Bishop, Jr., who played with a broad range of masters, from Charlie Parker and Miles Davis to Archie Shepp and Makanda Ken McIntyre, was a man of … Continue reading →

Part five of our ongoing dialogues with musicians where we ask the burning question: When you read music journalism and criticism what qualities are you looking for in the writer and the writing? This time we hear from trumpeter-bandleader-educator Sean … Continue reading →

Last July I had the distinct pleasure of traveling down to New Orleans on a JazzTimes assignment for their annual jazz education issue (published October 2011). The occasion was the Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong Summer Jazz Camp, held typically the first … Continue reading →