Tom Manuel performing at The Jazz Loft in February 2020. Photo by John Griffin Tom Manuel got his first jazz infusion at a family event when he was growing up. “I clearly remember lying on the grass and hearing a deejay play Glenn Miller’s ‘In the Mood,’” recalled the Lake […]
Jazz
Jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke: ‘All I do is play my music’
In the swinging Addis Ababa of 1973, Mulatu Astatke played a joint concert at the fashionable Hilton hotel with American jazz legend Duke Ellington before an audience including Emperor Haile Selassie. Ethiopia was modernising and Ellington’s visit, sponsored by the US embassy, symbolised the proud African country’s openness to western […]
‘It didn’t adhere to any of the rules’: the fascinating history of free jazz | Documentary films
When Miles Davis first heard the music of Eric Dolphy, a key figure in the free jazz movement, he described it as “ridiculous”, “sad” and just plain “bad”. Upon encountering the early sounds of free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman, Thelonious Monk said “there’s nothing beautiful in what he’s playing. He’s […]
Virtuoso Keyboardist Jamie Saft to Play Jazz in the Woods Benefit
Jamie Saft sits at a Yamaha organ in his studio in Alna on Saturday, Aug. 21. Saft, a piano virtuoso, has performed with legends of jazz, rock, and creative music including Iggy Pop, Wadada Leo Smith, Roswell Rudd, Bad Brains, John Zorn,The B-52s, Bobby Previte, Steve Swallow, and the Beastie […]
Newport Folk Festival and Newport Jazz Festival 2021 Recap
The most remembered date in the history of the Newport Folk Festival is July 25, 1965, the day Bob Dylan famously “went electric.” When he replaced his usual acoustic guitar with a 1964 sunburst Stratocaster to perform “Maggie’s Farm,” “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Phantom Engineer” with a band, he […]
The best electric guitars to buy in 2021: 10 best guitars for jazz | Guitar.com
Looking for your next jazz guitar? Look no further than this list, where we’ve compiled 10 of the best electric guitars for jazz in 2021, from traditional to modern models. What to look for in the best electric guitars for jazz The best electric guitars for jazz have to walk […]
Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Festival Marks 50 Years, Puts Davenport on Map Around the World
Saturday in the Arts is a weekly feature covering a trend, subject, event or personality of local interest. It runs every Saturday morning on your site for the best entertainment and arts coverage in the area, QuadCities.com! Liz Beiderbecke-Hart lives 139 miles from Davenport (outside Springfield, Ill.), but makes the […]
At Newport Jazz Festival, legends, rising stars, and exciting collaborations
Newport Jazz Festival founder George Wein sent out an e-mail blast last month describing his successful appeal to Andra Day, who had played Billie Holiday in the recent film “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” to perform at this year’s festival, which she will do on Sunday. “I’m looking forward […]
Jazz legend Jerry Granelli’s son says he was ‘so blessed’ to play music with his dad
Read Story Transcript J. Anthony Granelli says he feels grateful to be able to share in his father’s greatest passion — making music. Jerry Granelli, a Nova Scotia jazz legend and music teacher best known for playing drums on the soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas, died on Tuesday at the age […]
From Soldier to Jazz Giant: The Life of Billy Bang
LISTS From Soldier to Jazz Giant: The Life of Billy Bang By Andy Thomas · July 22, 2021 After spending a year in Vietnam, where he had served as a “tunnel rat” armed only with a flashlight and pistol, Sgt. E5 William Walker, known to family and friends as Billy […]