Lenny White: Jazz Prepared Me to Play All kinds of Music
Very rarely does a musician get to play on a legendary recording such as Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew so early in their career, but drummer Lenny White is no ordinary musician. Taking a cue from his drumming hero Tony Williams, White thrust himself completely into the burgeoning fusion scene of …
Jeff Golub: Blindness Put Me More In Touch With Music
Jazz guitarist, Jeff Golub has been on over 30 million recordings with the likes of Gerald Albright, Henry Butler, Richard Elliot, Robben Ford, Sonny Landreth, Jeff Lorber, Kirk Whalum and Peter White. In 2011, he lost his sight abruptly due to a collapsed optic nerve. Instead of slowing down, however, …
Sonny Rollins: My Life + Story
Sonny Rollins is a jazz icon. He has played saxophone with Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Max Roach, and more — and performed as leader of his own band on numerous influential recordings. In this recent interview with iRock Jazz, Rollins speaks candidly about his musical influences and training, …
Jessy J: Second Chances and New Beginnings
Jessy J is a Latina saxophone player who broke onto the scene in 2008 with her chart-topping debut album Tequila Moon, which combined influences of jazz as well as Latin rhythms. Jessy earned the Radio & Records ‘Debut Artist of The Year’ Award and Contemporary Jazz ‘Song of the Year’ …
Joe Locke: I’m a Self-Taught Player
Joe Locke is an award-winning vibraphone player who has played with a Who’s Who of jazz legends both past and contemporary, including Dizzy Gillespie, Pepper Adams, Mongo Santamaria, Grover Washington Jr., Dianne Reeves, Ron Carter, Randy Brecker, and many more. His varied tastes have also led him to sessions or …
iRock Jazz Partners with Concord Music Group on Jazz Discovery App for Spotify
iRock Jazz provides music recommendations for Stylus, the first jazz discovery application for Spotify Stylus™, a music application specially designed for leading music streaming service Spotify, premiered as a fun, easy and exciting way for listeners to explore and discover the best of classic and contemporary jazz from among an …
CD Review: Joshua Redman Walking Shadows
Joshua Redman is one of today’s most prolific saxophone players. For those who don’t already know, this California based saxophonist has played with the likes of Elvin Jones, Milt Jackson, Clark Terry, Paul Motion, and Charlie Haden just to name a few. Since his emergence on the jazz scene during …
Steve Turre: Shelling It Out for Jazz
Trombonist and seashellist Steve Turre has been a jazz favorite of critics and listeners for many years. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay area, Turre was exposed to great music at an early age by his parents. They would take the young musician to listen to live big band …
Neshui Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame 2013 Inductees
The ceremony was held at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s home, Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City. The Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame honors iconic artists and members of the jazz community based on his or her singular dedication and outstanding contributions to jazz. …
Chaka Khan: Achieving Musical Immortality
In a career that includes ten Grammy-Awards, multiple platinum albums, and an influence immeasurable in scope, all I can think about is “Be Bop Medley.” It seems strange, I know. Here we are celebrating four decades of Chaka Khan and for whatever reason my mind is fixated on this solitary …