Local Jazzers Go Japanese; Meet Michael “Mr. Jazz” Gourrier

Wes Anderson Fosters the Next Generation; Wynton Marsalis’ Christmas Album

Battiste, Payne, Batiste and Marsalis Remember Ed Blackwell

A Slimmed-Down Chicago Jazz Fest Still Delivers the Goods

Chicago Jazz

It’s odd that even when cruising at 20,000 feet, heading north from New Orleans to the Chicago Jazz Fest, there is a sense of history to this route taken by […]

Terrance Simien, Zydeco on the Bayou (Restless Records)

Please, somebody give me a convertible with a good sound system so I can cruise around with Terrance Simien’s Zydeco on the Bayou blastin’—sounds perfect. Don’t get me wrong, dancing […]

Marva Wright, Heartbreakin’ Woman (Tipitina’s Records)

Marva Wright’s debut album may be called Heartbreakin’ Woman, and the cover photo may picture her lookin’ mean in a black leather outfit, but once you get to “Walk Around […]

Various Artists, Blues-A-Rama (Black Top Records)

Record labels, particularly the indies, have invariably had their “sound.” Think of some of the great ones—Chess, Motown, Blue Note—and it’s simple to “hear” what each stood for in the […]