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Uptown Ed - Arista All Stars (Featuring Michael Brecker)

Her 1963 debut, ‘Portrait of Sheila,’ remains a staple of the genreSheila Jordan, a celebrated jazz vocalist and staple of the Blue Note roster, has died at the age of 96. The news was shared by Sheila’s daughter Tracey on August 11. She wrote on Instagram: “Dear Jazz Family & Friends, My dearest mum Sheila Jordan passed away peacefully this afternoon, Monday, August 11 at 3:50 pm. Her friend Joan Belgrave was playing her a bebop tune called ‘Bill for Bennie,’ by her late husband Marcus Belgrave…my mom fell asleep listening to the music she loved and helped define.”...

A Portland jazz legend has died at the age of 85. Nancy King was known the world over, praised for her voice and her improvisational skills on stage. Words like “treasure” and “unique talent” are often spoken by those who knew King. Vegetation fire on Hwy 58 prompts ‘Go Now’ evacs “Nancy King, to many, was perhaps the best jazz vocalist to ever live. And she just so happened to live in Portland, Oregon,” said Portland State University Jazz Professor Sherry Alves. Officials pledge support for Army shooting that wounded five soldiers Alves knew King well, having interviewed King many...

John Coltrane gave more to jazz in his 40 years than many who lived a much longer life. We look back at his great legacy.John Coltrane died on July 17, 1967, having given more to jazz in his 40 years than many who live a much longer life. His music has been an inspiration to many rock musicians as well as younger jazz musicians and his album, A Love Supreme, is one of the acknowledged masterpieces in the jazz canon. Born in North Carolina in September 1926, Coltrane’s father was a tailor and amateur musician able to play several...

Before the sounds of the swinging sixties broke into the mainstream, the more individualistic youth of England’s capital city danced all night to the sounds of American jazz and soul music. Dark nightclubs and backstreet jazz bars saw an influx of sharply dressed youngsters, arriving on Italian scooters, hopped up on amphetamines, all hoping to hear the latest sounds emanating from the States. For many of them, it was the music of Jimmy Smith that they were desperate to hear. Smith was instrumental in the development of the mod subculture, with his albums on regular rotation in clubs like The...

Decades after his death, Wes Montgomery’s keen ears and boundless imagination still bowl over jazz aficionados and newbies alike.If jazz seems too impenetrable and intimidating to get into, dig this. Wes Montgomery, arguably its greatest guitarist, couldn’t read music, didn’t know theory, and didn’t understand his instrument’s electronics. He also strummed exclusively with his thumb, an idiosyncrasy that would make any music instructor run faint. But with the possible exception of Jim Hall, any jazz guitarist with an iota of self-awareness genuflects to him as the greatest to ever do it. Decades after his death, his keen ears and boundless...

‘The Moment Of Truth,’ a new recording from the First Lady Of Soul, is coming in February.A new, never-before-heard album is coming from the First Lady Of Soul. The Moment Of Truth: Ella At The Coliseum, an unearthed live album from Ella Fitzgerald’s performance at the Oakland Coliseum on June 30, 1967, will be released on all formats on February 28, 2025. First single “The Moment Of Truth” is out now with its own new animated music video directed by Sharon Liu. The nine-track album was recently found in the private collection of Verve Records founder Norman Granz, and...

Vince Guaraldi Trio’s soundtrack album for ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ has become a seasonal classic, full of magical pieces that stand on their own.The choice of Vince Guaraldi to create the soundtrack for the first A Charlie Brown Christmas Special, which aired on CBS on December 9, 1965, came about by chance – and ended up proving to be an inspirational decision. American television producer Lee Mendelson, the man who produced the show, was looking for someone to do a jazzy soundtrack. He initially tried for Dave Brubeck. “The first call I made was to Dave Brubeck, who was an...

Known as ‘Sweet Poppa Lou,’ Donaldson blended the lyricism of swing-era hornblower Johnny Hodges with the quick-fingered athleticism of bebop architect Charlie Parker.Lou Donaldson, a pioneer of soul jazz, has passed away. Known as “Sweet Poppa Lou” – a reference to the distinctive, honeyed tone he pulled from his alto sax – Donaldson blended the lyricism of swing-era hornblower Johnny Hodges with the quick-fingered athleticism of bebop architect Charlie Parker. More than anything else, though, Donaldson viewed himself as a crowd-pleaser: His music’s deep, bluesy soulfulness and emotional directness allowed him to connect with a wider audience than many of...

The legendary jazz drummer challenged the idea that a percussionist’s primary function was to keep time.Roy Haynes has passed away. He was the last surviving member of a small but elite cadre of drummers who rose to fame in the mid-1940s, introducing conversational elements into jazz’s rhythmic vocabulary and challenging the idea that a percussionist’s primary function was to keep time. Dubbed “Snap Crackle” by bassist Al McKibbon – purportedly in an approximation of his uniquely crisp snare drum sound – Haynes distinguished himself with his innovative use of cymbals, driving the groove while adding rhythmic commentary to what...

This relaxed, sensitive masterpiece is full of lyricism and warmth.On October 16, 1957, one of the great studio sessions of the decade took place in Capitol’s famous studios in Hollywood. The brilliant tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins spent much of the day and evening in the studios recording two separate albums with producer Norman Granz for Verve Records: The Genius Of Coleman Hawkins and Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster. The 52-year-old Hawkins was there, working with pianist Oscar Peterson’s regular trio of Herb Ellis (guitar), Ray Brown (bass), and drummer Alvin Stoller. The musicians recorded twelve songs that were released...

Though he was never a household name, Golson was one of the most accomplished tenor saxophonists and composers of the 1950s hard bop era.Beloved jazz composer and saxophonist Benny Golson passed away on September 21st. Though he was never a household name like his high school friend John Coltrane, Golson was one of the most accomplished tenor saxophonists and composers of the 1950s hard bop era, known for his smoky, muscular tone and for penning tunes like “Whisper Not,” “I Remember Clifford” and “Killer Joe” — songs that married indelible melodies with subtle harmonic sophistication. During his seven-decade career,...

Two Hollywood legends will be in attendance at this year's Monterey Jazz Festival. Clint Eastwood will be presented with the inaugural Cultural Leadership Award on Sunday as part of the 67th annual Monterey Jazz Festival. Eastwood has been a longtime Monterey Jazz Festival board member and he will be given the award by his longtime friend Freeman. Monterey Jazz Festival at the Monterey County FairgroundsMonterey Jazz Festival returns to Monterey County for 67th year The presentation will be followed by "Eastwood Symphonic," a musical project led by Clint's son American jazz musician and composer Kyle Eastwood. The project features his...

Seen as a face-off between the old and new guards in jazz, Duke Ellington’s ‘Money Jungle’ album proved they were on the same continuum.First released in 1962 via the United Artists label, Duke Ellington’s collaboration with bassist Charles Mingus and drummer Max Roach, Money Jungle, was a momentous jazz summit. Though often seen as the moment where the old guard (Ellington) squared up to jazz music’s young lions (Mingus and Roach), the generational differences between its three participants are often exaggerated. Certainly, Ellington was entering his twilight years – he had just turned 63 – but Mingus, then aged 40,...

Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio in September 1957, ‘Blue Train’ is one of John Coltrane’s masterpieces.Recorded on September 15, 1957, John Coltrane‘s Blue Train is an album revered, cherished, and loved by many… and there are others who cannot quite see what all the fuss is about. I am firmly in the former camp. Granted, some controversy surrounds the recording and critics argue that both Lee Morgan and Curtis Fuller have done much better work elsewhere. Yet such judgements seem overly harsh; this is, after all, a Coltrane album. Nonetheless, Billboard’s review of Blue Train was positive: “A provocative...

On August 18, 1962, The Duke Ellington Octet featuring Coleman Hawkins were in a New York recording studio, busy making an album for the Impulse! label. Impulse! was still a relatively new imprint at the time, having issued its first four albums in early 1961. Joining Ellington and Hawk were Ray Nance (cornet, violin), Lawrence Brown (trombone), Johnny Hodges (alto sax), Harry Carney (baritone sax, bass clarinet), Aaron Bell (bass), and Sam Woodyard (drums). The result was Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins, an album the New York Times described as “one of the great Ellington albums, one of the great...

This young lady has a voice that will take you back to early 50s. Humble, she started singing in her church choir and gained a following on TikTok. Dark hair, blue eyes and cute as can be. All you need is a scotch on the rocks sitting in a smokey nightclub and soak it al in.

John Coltrane’s sessions for the Prestige label proved to be supremely fertile and prolific, marking the saxophonist’s creative rebirth.It’s 1958 and John Coltrane is looking to rebuild his career. The reputation of the Philadelphia-raised musician, then 32, had seemed in serious jeopardy a year earlier, after his heroin addiction got him fired from Miles Davis’ group. As a rising star of the tenor saxophone – the man who had lit up a clutch of Davis albums recorded for both Prestige and Columbia during 1955-56 – the high-flying Coltrane seemed an indispensable component of the trumpeter’s band, but the shock of...

He played with such artists as Stevie Wonder, the Rolling Stones and David Bowie, and had several successful solo albumsDavid Sanborn, an influential saxophonist, who found success across the genres of pop, R&B, jazz and more, died Sunday. He was 78. “It is with sad and heavy hearts that we convey to you the loss of internationally renowned, 6 time Grammy Award-winning, saxophonist, David Sanborn,” reads a statement on his social media accounts. “Mr. Sanborn passed Sunday afternoon, May 12th, after an extended battle with prostate cancer with complications.” SNIP “By the age of 14, he was able to...

Imagine a record label where the heads of preeminent brass (classical), jazz, and blues labels collaborated with Beezwax Records, LLC to issue one release per year in their respective genres. Imagine a record label whose A&R vetting was guided in part by a select group of visually impaired, eclectic audiophiles tilting toward the same. Imagine a record label that limits its market exclusively to a set of prequalified subscribers who eagerly await their next Beezwax Record, and when they get it it has their name on it. Imagine a record label that dovetails seamlessly with the manufacturers of physical...