Jason Orr: FunkJazz Kafe ‘Authentic Alternatives’

Talk to any Atlantan of a certain age and they inevitably wax nostalgic about the mid-to-late 1990s – with good reason.  The city was simmering with soulful possibilities, creative verve overflowed and iconoclasts seemed to dwell on every block.   Jason Orr tapped into this energy and created the preeminent showcase …

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Derrick Hodge: My Church Roots to Career Sacrifices

Derrick Hodge fell in love with the electric bass when he was seven at Beulah Baptist Church in Philadelphia, and has never looked back. He continued developing his talent at Temple University, and while touring with Jill Scott. He has collaborated on over fifty albums with other artists such as …

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iRock Jazz LIVE! with Trumpeter Christian Scott

When trumpeter Christian Scott was growing up in New Orleans in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, his grandfather gave him and his brother Kiel extra reading assignments each week as a supplement to their assigned schoolwork. If the young students failed to finish their books within the week, their …

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Easy Mo Bee: Miles Davis’s Last Recording Session

Easy Mo Bee is a Grammy-Award winning producer from Brooklyn, New York. In his storied career, he was worked with some of the biggest names in hip-hop – from L.L. Cool J and Big Daddy Kane to the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur. Primarily known for his jazzy, yet hard-hitting …

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Raydar Ellis: No Longer Defined By My Origin

Jazz, born in the narrow streets of New Orleans evolved into America’s original art form eventually finding its way into nearly every boulevard and avenue round the world. Hip-hop, born in the concrete jungles of the South Bronx by youth desiring a creative outlet to combat social ills is now …

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Producer John W. Comerford: The Making of “Icons Among Us”

John W. Comerford and Brian Blade Producer, John W. Comerford is an artist and visionary. Through his lens we are able to take a glimpse of what jazz looks like in the present tense. Today’s jazz artists have told their story and Comerford has captured their words and the passion …

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Angie Stone: Expressions of Life and Music

People go through periods of change or better yet evolution. A time and space for growth, renewal, and rebirth. Singer and songwriter Angie Stone has come out and over the trials, tribulations, the hurts and pains of the past and has evolved in to a stronger woman who is standing …

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Big Daddy Kane’s Las Supper May Be His Finest Dish

Big Daddy Kane and Las Supper perform at New York’s Blue Note Jazz Club photo by Chad Batka One of the reasons that Big Daddy Kane is one of hip-hop’s greatest innovators is because he took his cues from soul music greats. His electrifying stage shows were a modern take …

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CD Review: Chris Dave’s Drumhedz: Music, Beats, and Swagger

Chris Dave photo by Bjorn Bergenheim An art form that once coalesced from the underground, from the counter culture, has lost some of its swagger. Sometimes overly intellectualized and distant, jazz can come off as aristocratic, pretentious even. This musical discipline with its rich history seems to get lost in …

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