Results for "Detroit"

Albert "Tootie" Heath: Class Personified

by R.J. DeLuke
April 13, 2024

This article was first published on All About Jazz on March 9, 2015. Albert “Tootie" Heath is among the drummers who lived--and thrived--during what many call the golden age of jazz, the '40s, '50, early '60s. He's enjoyed the fruits of a varied and historic career, but never stayed put. Just kept working. He ...

Jordan VanHemert

Saxophonist, composer and educator Jordan VanHemert has four critically acclaimed releases to his credit, and a fifth on the way in early 2024 (featuring Terell Stafford, producer Michael Dease, Helen Sung, Rodney Whitaker and Lewis Nash). Born in Korea and raised in Michigan, VanHemert makes music rooted in the jazz tradition and guided by a resolute political consciousness, illuminating issues of race and social justice. With a penchant for modern, swinging melodicism, he pays homage to his Korean roots while drawing on the blues-infused hard bop tradition handed down to him by his mentors.

Detroit Jazz Festival 2023: A Celebration of Home

August 13, 2023

The 2023 Detroit Jazz Festival is almost upon us, taking place in its annual Labor Day weekend slot on the yearly jazz festival calendar. The largest free jazz festival in the world brings the music to the people of Detroit, and the world, on September 1-4 in downtown Detroit and in Hart Plaza along the Detroit ...

Harry Gozzard

Born: March 5, 1916

Harry Roy Gozzard was an American jazz trumpeter. He performed with Sam Donahue. (In an article written by Mike Zirpolo, for Swing and Beyond, Donahue was described as "a superlative tenor saxophone soloist.") Other members of Donahue's band included the former The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson bandleader Doc Severinsen, 1946 Esquire Award winner for Best New Female Vocalist Frances Wayne, Grammy Award-winning vocalist and actress Jo Stafford and popular music arranger Leo Reisman. Gozzard and the Donahue band performed a few times with legendary piano-playing bandleader Count Basie. Basie was featured on four Donahue Okeh recordings made in New York on December 26, 1940.

Dorothy Ashby: With Strings Attached, 1957-1965

by John Chacona
July 10, 2023

Imagine if Sidney Bechet, Charlie Christian and Jimmy Smith were barely remembered and recordings of their music were long unavailable and known only on the geekiest corners of Discogs. That is essentially the status of harpist Dorothy Ashby. Like the three figures cited above, Ashby essentially created a language for her chosen instrument, the harp, where ...

Dave McMurray: Grateful Deadication 2

by Geno Thackara
May 12, 2023

Yet another Grateful Dead tribute will probably invite the same reactions from devotees and anyone else--either “oh, these songs again? “ or “Hmm, these songs again?" For anyone willing to take a look, it will (of course) come down to the way the material is presented and retooled, which in Dave McMurray's case means the sound ...

Samara Joy at Christ Church Cranbrook

by Troy Dostert
April 14, 2023

Samara Joy Christ Church Cranbrook Bloomfield Hills, Michigan March 24, 2023 Jazz fans in the Detroit metro area have become well-acquainted with the stately confines of Christ Church Cranbrook, as the church has hosted a series of sacred concerts and jazz masses going back to 2015. These include regular appearances by ...

Gretchen Carhartt Valade Detroit Businesswoman and 'Angel of Jazz'

January 5, 2023

Metro Detroit and the global jazz community lost one of its greatest champions this week. Gretchen Carhartt Valade, businesswoman, and philanthropist, died peacefully on December 30, surrounded by family at her Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich. home. She was 97.  Known by many in the arts community as the “Angel of Jazz,” Gretchen C. Valade will be ...

2022: The Year in Jazz

by Ken Franckling
December 29, 2022

Current events impacted the jazz world in significant ways throughout 2022. In its third year, the coronavirus pandemic continued to lurk in some settings, while others recovered in robust fashion. Russia's war on Ukraine was felt by musicians and triggered an outpouring of support for its victims. Initiatives to ensure greater equity in jazz advanced. The ...

Joe Lovano: Cleveland's Ultimate Jazz Titan

by Matthew Alec
December 20, 2022

Friday, June 24th, 2022, saxophonist Joe Lovano's group Sound Prints (alongside trumpeter and co-leader Dave Douglas) delivered a tour de force performance to spellbound audience members at the historic Mimi Ohio Theatre in Playhouse Square as a part of Cleveland's annual Tri-C JazzFest. Seasoned group interplay between drummer Rudy Royston, bassist Matt Penman, and pianist Leo ...