Short, often opinionated pieces by JazzTimes’ editor and other trusted contributors.
There are two kinds of jazz listeners. Those who recognize Jim Knapp as a profound large-ensemble composer and arranger of uncommon imagination, depth, and expression—and … Read More “Chronology: Jim Knapp, the Best Big-Band Leader You Never Heard Of”
From Straight Life to Jazz and Justice, creative-music literature is rife with horror stories about artists— especially Black ones—getting ripped off. As pianist/composer/educator Jason Moran … Read More “Chops: The Power of Bandcamp in Jazz”
It could be argued that the most underrecognized person in jazz recording and performance is not the producer, the live sound engineer, or the recording … Read More “Chops: Piano Tuning and Jazz”
Great individualists in jazz often constitute a School of One—musicians with such personal and idiosyncratic identities that they hover in a liminal state, anchored in … Read More “Chronology: Buddy Montgomery, a Little Brother Like No Other”
This month’s musings were prompted by the arrival of a new book, Phil Freeman’s Ugly Beauty: Jazz in the 21st Century, and word of two … Read More “JT Notes: Who Gets the Book?”
As my friends and family well know, I take holiday music seriously. Too seriously, perhaps. Mostly because for the last 15 years I’ve put together … Read More “2021 Holiday Jazz Album Roundup”
Tenor saxophonist Nicole Glover was no stranger to the jazz world before September, when she released her debut album as a leader, Strange Lands, on … Read More “Chops: Musicians as A&R Professionals”
I don’t mean to sound like a complainer, or to rehash the complaints that countless others have already expressed before me, but wasn’t 2021 supposed … Read More “JT Notes: What We’ve Lost and What We Haven’t”
Frank D’Rone might be the finest jazz singer and balladeer most listeners have never heard of. At least outside of Chicago, where he was a … Read More “Chronology: A Look Back at the Career of Frank D’Rone”
