The winner of several prestigious national awards, 17-year-old bass phenomenon John Murray has a seemingly boundless ability to enrich himself by devouring music — and food. How much food? Earlier this year, during a single 90-minute ensemble class at San Diego’s Young Lions Jazz Conservatory, Murray consumed 11 of the 12 croissants he had brought with [...]
The Baton Rouge-born Jonathon Long was a child prodigy who was playing guitar by age six and started performing at blues jams in the Baton Rouge club Swamp Mama’s when he was ten years old, alongside local legends Kenny Neal, Rudy Richard and Lil Ray Neal. Known as Jonathon “Boogie” Long, he’s earned a reputation as [...]
Born in Kansas City and now based in the Pacific Northwest, veteran jazz saxophonist Kenney Polson is a true musical citizen of the world, having visited and/or performed in over 50 countries (including tours of Japan, Korea, Hawaii, France, Colombia, Brazil and the Caribbean) and developing a cosmopolitan style that fuses urban contemporary jazz, Latin, classical, [...]
One of the most interesting aspects of checking out new artists making waves on the contemporary jazz scene is realizing that in many cases, they've been with us all along. So as we allow ourselves to be seduced by and groove along to Kevin Stevenson's infectious new single "Talk to Me," we can read up [...]
“Getaway Car”...”Junkyard Dunebuggy”...”Engine 71”...For Dave Koz and Cory Wong, there’s a method to the freewheeling madness in titling three key tracks from their high octane, rock/soul/jazz on fire dual album The Golden Hour with a vehicular theme. It’s the veteran saxophonist/entrepreneur (Koz) and hipster funk/jam band rhythm and lead guitarist’s (Wong) spirited attempt to capture [...]
Stephen Bryant’s long awaited debut album “Folk Song” is here, and he and his musical colleagues have really aced it-- and by anybody’s judgement. “Folk Song” is a rich, multi-dimensional “extended play record” released as RED 123. This collection of tunes, written by guitarist/leader Steve Bryant, is a musical “tapestry” of feelings, emotions, expressions, desires, [...]
Few members of the general public know how important an arranger is to music. But Nelson Riddle, born 100 years ago today, was lauded by Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra and became a household name to lovers of the Great American Songbook. “Arrangers rank among the most neglected people in the music business. Few lay [...]
Doing anything for 25 years is pretty amazing. Being on the radio for 25 years is very amazing! Doing what you love to do consistently, and doing it brilliantly at the same radio station for 25 years is more than just amazing; it is truly a tremendous achievement! May 24th marks this milestone anniversary for [...]
Engaging in the most basic online research, we learn some fascinating things about veteran guitarist Duffmusiq as we listen, dance, bop, sway, chill and groove along to the multitude of funky/bluesy/jazzy old-schooling vibes on his nonstop poppin’ sophomore album Sidewalk Sequel. Most notable is this: After 15 years of playing in a successful band (Jamesking), producing [...]
Hosted by Michael Douglas at United Nations Headquarters in New York, Concert Caps Extraordinary 10th Anniversary Celebration Spanning More than 190 Countries With more than 190 countries participating, the International Jazz Day 10th Anniversary celebration concluded with a thrilling All-Star Global Concert reaching millions worldwide. Hosted by Michael Douglas and led by artistic director Herbie Hancock [...]