DIANA KRALL AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL Diana Krall is the best known living jazz artist, along with George Benson, Harry Connick Jr. and perhaps Quincy Jones. She headlined at the Hollywood Bowl for a night where she was joined by the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. Opening for Ms. Krall were the String Queens, a trio consisting of violinist Kendall Isadore, Dawn Johnson on viola and cellist Elise Sharp. Based in Washington DC, the three educators are each virtuosos on their instrument. While jazz is clearly not their first language, they brought an improvising jazz sensibility to much of their e ..read more

Greg Satterthwaite’s Savannah Blue is his second release as a leader, following Who I Am. Based in Georgia where he is a professor at the University of Georgia, Satterthwaite is a world-class pianist who utilizes fresh chord voicings and has a sound of his own. On Savannah Blue, the pianist is joined by bassist Delbert Felix, drummer Quentin Baxter, altoist Derrick James (on six of the eight selections), and guitarist Rod Harris Jr. on five. All but two of the numbers are Satterthwaite originals. The music, while falling into the modern mainstream of jazz, is filled with creativity, variety ..read more

The eagerly awaited Richmond Jazz and Music Festival returns August 12and 13, 2023, to picturesque Maymont in Richmond, VA. This highly anticipated event will treat music enthusiasts to an unforgettable experience featuring the legendary Chaka Khan, Saxophonist Kamasi Washington, Dave Koz and Friends Summer Horns with Candy Dulfer and Eric Darius, plus the soulful Coco Jones, Ledisi, Wale, Kirk Whalum, Joe, Lalah Hathaway, MAJOR., and many more to be announced! Tickets on sale Tuesday, June 27th at richmondjazzandmusicfestival.com. Early ticket purchases are highly recommended, as this event ..read more

Pianist Zach Radwine, who is based in St. Louis, began playing music when he was three. After extensive classical training, he switched his focus to jazz, inspired by an Oscar Peterson recording. He studied with pianists Marc Copland, Russell Ferrante and Adam Holzman and in 2019 formed a trio with bassist Bob DeBoo and drummer Joseph Winstein-Hibbs, both of whom are educators in addition to being in-demand players. Turn is the debut recording of the group. Consisting of eight originals, the music on Turn is consistently intriguing, thought-provoking, and full of constant creativity. While th ..read more

Hailed by Jazziz magazine as the ”voice of her generation” and a “national treasure, ” Chicago-born, Durham, North Carolina-based Dr. Lenora Zenzalai Helm is a top-notch jazz vocal musician, an ebullient composer, an inventive lyricist, an inspiring bandleader and a dedicated educator at North Carolina Central University (NCCU). Helm encompasses all of the inventions and dimensions of jazz and the African Diaspora on her new recording, Journeywoman, featuring her Tribe Jazz Orchestra® Nonet. Helm’s new CD, her eighth as a leader, is a compelling 65-minute, multi ..read more

For the past four decades, the Youngstown, Ohio-born pianist James Weidman has been one of the most valuable players on the New York scene, as an indispensable sideman with a wide variety of jazz leaders, from singers Abbey Lincoln and Cassandra Wilson, to Steve Coleman’s iconoclastic M-Base collective to Joe Lovano’s Us Five ensemble. Weidman’s recordings as a leader showcase his profound, propulsive and poetic pianism, as does his long-awaited recording, Sonic Realities, with bassist Harvie S and drummer Alvester Garnett. “When you do a piano trio album, it evokes some memories of past pian ..read more

Ray Cashman‘s new album, Delta Sound, brings the Houston singer-guitarist back around full circle to what he calls ‘down-home, southern style blues.’ He comments, “The past two records were harder blues-rock, almost southern rock in some spots. I felt I’d started to stray a bit too far from where I came from. Those are great records, and I’m certainly proud of them, but they aren’t where I want to be, musically, right now. I wanted to go back to the spirit of my older records, they were distinctly more rooted in blues.” Delta Sound‘s 12 tracks spin tales of working class friendships, hardshi ..read more

Trumpeter/Composer Terell Stafford Explores the Balance of Personal and Musical Life in His Spirited New Album, Between Two Worlds Available September 8 via Le Coq Records, the Album Features a Stellar All-Star Band With Tim Warfield, Bruce Barth, David Wong, Johnathan Blake and Alex Acuña When trumpeter/composer Terell Stafford brought his quartet to the Village Vanguard in July of 2020, the Victor Lewis composition “Between Two Worlds” took on a profound resonance. It was easy to understand why from just one glance out into the audience – or lack thereof. This was the height of t ..read more

Our guest today here at JazzMonthly.com is Australian born saxophonist Evan Carydakis with his dynamic new single titled “Cherry Pops.” Evan really hit the mark with this high-energetic and emotional tune.  “Cherry Pops” is produced by Emmy nominated pianist, film composer and producer Michael Whittaker, co-produced by Stephan Carydakis and features Adam McPhail on Guitar and Petar Janjic on Drums. “Cherry Pops” is a beautiful celebration of the life of ‘Cherry’, Evan’s adored Australian Kelpie who recently passed from canine lymphoma. Please welcome Evan Cardakis. Jazz Mont ..read more

Award-winning guitarist, composer and bandleader Roman Miroshnichenko continues to collect musical trophies. His album “My Best Songs" just got nominee for the Hollywood Independent Music Awards in the “Best Album" category! The second nomination, for the first time in his career, received as a sound engineer in the "Mixing/Engineering" category for the single "Revolt", which is included in the new album "Roman Miroshnichenko plays Stas Namin". The HIMA Awards ceremony will take place in Hollywood, on August 17th, 2023. Since 2023, the Hollywood HIMA award has begun its independent activities ..read more