Ten Songs For My Mother
Sean MurphyHappy birthday, mama. Stevie Wonder, "You are the Sunshine of my Life": John Coltrane, "Naima": Booker Little, "Strength and Sanity": Janis Ian, "Tea and Sympathy": Abdullah Ibrahim, "Water…
Summertime is Reggae Time (Revisited)– Part Four: ‘The Same Song’ by Israel Vibration
The cardinal rule for any serious appraisal of art involves a necessity to separate all discussion of the artist from the artifact. Mostly this is essential because so many unsavory…
Five Guys or, The Greatest Band of All Time (No, Really)
Miles Davis. Herbie Hancock. Wayne Shorter. Tony Williams. Ron Carter. Those men, individually, are some of the most important and brilliant musicians of the last century. Together? Forget about it.…
No One Has Ever Done Anything as Well as John Coltrane Played the Saxophone
The question isn’t, really, about who might be interested in this documentary; it is about who might not be. For fans who already know everything, or those indifferent to jazz…
New Year’s Eve: The Vertiginous Event
Before moving forward after looking backward (getting on with 2010 after remembering and assessing the last decade, one movie, album and sporting event at a time) New Year's Eve is…
Ten Songs To Celebrate The Fall of the Wall
Beethoven, Symphony No. 3, 1st Movement Grant Green, “Exodus” Rahsaan Roland Kirk, “Balm in Gilead” John Coltrane, “Psalm” Philip Glass, “String Quartet No. 5” Jimi Hendrix, “Beginnings” Bob…
September 15, 1963
On Sept. 15, 1963, four black girls were killed when a bomb went off during Sunday services at a Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama, in the deadliest act of the…
August Left Our World A Poorer Place x2
You don't have to be a jazz fan to appreciate that picture. But it helps. Most people have never heard of Joe Maneri, so not too many folks are mourning…
Jazz Is Recession-Proof
John Coltrane. Eric Dolphy. McCoy Tyner. Elvin Jones. Any questions?
Songs of the Day: Ornette Coleman
When Obama takes office in January of 2009, it will be a half-century since Free Jazz forefather Ornette Coleman dropped the provocatively titled "The Shape of Jazz to Come". 1959…