Max Roach, a drummer both of unparalleled force and towering intellect, has passed. A New York Times obit talks about the dramatic scope of his life’s work: Mr. Roach’s death closes a chapter in American musical history. He was the last surviving member of a small circle of adventurous musiciansRead More

Editor’s note: This column ran as part of an obituary package on the national Gannett News Service wire upon Dizzy Gillespie’s passing in 1993. People told him those bullfrog cheeks would ruin his playing. The embouchure, very important. Flinty, yet funny, John Birks Gillespie was insightful enough to understand thatRead More

I owned it before Born To Run … before Darkness On The Edge Of Town. You’ve probably never heard of it. Heck, chances are you’re unfamiliar with the artist as well. You May Also Like: Why Todd Rundgren’s ‘Back to the Bars’ Remains So Powerful Bill Evans – Time Remembered,Read More

by S. Victor Aaron The jazz world took a double whammy over the weekend as Alice Coltrane and Michael Brecker passed away. Both of these artists were among my favorites, and like many of others, I’ll miss them and the major contributions they’ve made to the art form. Alice ColtraneRead More

by Nick DeRiso Throat cancer got Sam Myers today, all the sadder since he was nothing if not this throaty, memorable blues singer and harpist. A towering, nearly blind seer, Myers (almost always with Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets as his accompaniment) used to practically burn down the stage atRead More