One of the most intriguing events in jazz this year that went largely unnoticed was something that I accidentally stumbled upon.  I received an email in early Spring from my friend Lyle Mays with a short message that just read "lots going on" and he included a YouTube link which featured...

Last June I interviewed the Grammy-Award winning artist Paul Winter about his annual Summer Solstice concert. As we approach the winter season and solstice, the legendary saxophonist is preparing for his 32nd Annual Winter Solstice Celebration which takes place December 15th, 16th and 17th at The Cathedral of St....

In the modern era of jazz, finding a true composer to follow is not the easiest thing to do. Especially if the composer can actually write beautifully melodic and emotionally deep music that is also a perfect launching pad rich for improvisation. Vince Mendoza does this and more.

I first...

The greatest rock and roll album never completed was The Beach Boys' SMiLE. Recorded shortly after the groundbreaking Pet Sounds album in 1966, it found lead Beach Boy and legendary composer Brian Wilson (at only 24) at the peak of his creative prowess, merging his Southern California branded popular music...

I feel fortunate to be old enough to have grown up in a time where listening to the radio and buying albums was one of the activities you looked forward to. Each week my friends and I ventured into San Francisco and hit the Tower Records store on Columbia and...

A couple of years ago I was on assignment for Island Records UK with music journalist Vivien Goldman to document the 50th Anniversary of the groundbreaking label and I met industry legend Chris Blackwell at his New York City apartment. For those of you who need a refresher, Blackwell founded Island...

Legendary musician and Grammy Award winner Paul Winter has pioneered music that blends jazz, classical, world and environmental sounds into his brew of what he calls "Earth Music." For nearly fifty years Winter has traveled the world with his Consort ensemble exploring vast music traditions and spreading his vision, desire...

The issue of branding has increasingly become a driving force in everything we do both personally and professionally.  Just think of Facebook and how we brand ourselves through accumulating the most friends or associating ourselves with certain activities or groups, etc. Facebook has become the quickest and most accessible form...

The other day my 10-year-old daughter walked into my office as I was listening to one of the prominent jazz radio stations on the east coast. She listened for a bit and then bluntly asked me why jazz sounds like an old fashioned movie. When I realized the station was...

It was that breakout appearance on Saturday Night Live in 1979 that first introduced the world to Rickie Lee Jones. She performed "Chuck E's in Love" and "Coolsville" from the self titled debut release that later won her the Grammy for Best New Artist. That was followed up with the...

Virtuosic pianist Brad Melhdau first made his mark in the jazz world in 1995 with his debut recording Introducing Brad Mehldau and then in the classical arena in 2006 with his release Love Sublime with vocalist Renee Fleming.  Mehldau is a dazzling...

While I was working with musician Brian Blade for his release Mama Rosa a few years back, I was introduced to a visual artist named Adam CK Vollick. Adam filmed Brian while he was recording segments of his album and the raw footage that I saw was just amazing. It...

If you've ever belted out the chorus "I can't live if living is without you. I can't live, I can't give anymore," (and really, who hasn't?) then you owe it to yourself to watch the documentary (now out on DVD) Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About...

Miles Davis, considered by many to be the world's greatest jazz musician, will have his last remaining 100 original drawings and oil paintings showcased at Gallery 27 in Cork Street Mayfair from Tuesday 7th December 2010 to Saturday 11th December.

Many of his paintings reflect his well documented fascination with and love...

Well, it has happened.  I was recently ranting to a good friend about how today's jazz scene is just not the same as it was when I was young and first launched Jazz Online.  After my long and emotional diatribe on the sorry state of the music and...

Meet the Good Listeners. I was introduced to this duo on the recommendation of a colleague who thought their music and accompanying story would make for an inspiring boomitude feature... and she was right. I get a lot of music sent my way but there was something about...

To think his career began by making tea and coffee at Abbey Road studios over 40 years ago, is almost unimaginable. But that's how veteran engineer, producer and recording artist Alan Parsons first started finely tuning his ears to the elements of great sound.  Where do you go when your...

For many music enthusiasts, there are those unique artists that touch a special place in our mind, body and soul. We discover these artists at various points in our lives and they become permanently etched on our personal soundtrack as we evolve on our life's journey. The Grammy Award-winning cellist...

Last year I joined the vinyl resurgence movement and bought a turntable. Like many of my generation, I at one time, had a pretty substantial collection of great albums that I thoroughly enjoyed. But with the dawning of the digital age, the space intensive records were slowly replaced and they...

I never would have imagined that posting the recent installment of the Miles Davis podcast on JazzOnline.com would set off such a firestorm of debate. But that's what happened last week when famed punk rocker Henry Rollins was added to the mix. Henry's presence was either loved or...