Ornette Coleman stands before Jackson Pollock’s Number 13 (1949), one of the more poetic splatter paintings, ferociously dense yet airily light. He ponders it for several minutes, tracing his index finger over its subtler patterns. “These don’t look like strokes,” he finally says in his hushed, gentle tone. “They look like signals or messages, like Read More
Ornette Coleman stands before Jackson Pollock’s Number 13 (1949), one of the more poetic splatter paintings, ferociously dense yet airily light. He ponders it for several minutes, tracing his index finger over its subtler patterns. “These don’t look like strokes,” he finally says in his hushed, gentle tone. “They look like signals or messages, like Read More
James Risen’s book hits the shelves in the wake of his bombshell New York Times story about the Bush administration’s secret and probably illegal surveillance operations. But State of War is much more than an elaboration of that scoop: It’s a cornucopia of scoops about all sorts of intelligence deceptions, mishaps and scandals-in-waiting, each more Read More
James Risen’s book hits the shelves in the wake of his bombshell New York Times story about the Bush administration’s secret and probably illegal surveillance operations. But State of War is much more than an elaboration of that scoop: It’s a cornucopia of scoops about all sorts of intelligence deceptions, mishaps and scandals-in-waiting, each Read More
Sonny Rollins, the greatest living tenor-saxophone player, recorded some of his most thrilling—yet strangely neglected—music from 1962 to 1964, the brief era that’s captured on a new two-disc compilation called The Essential Sonny Rollins: The RCA Years.
It was an amazingly experimental time in jazz—in American culture generally—and Mr. Rollins’ probings were especially intense. Read More
Sonny Rollins, the greatest living tenor-saxophone player, recorded some of his most thrilling—yet strangely neglected—music from 1962 to 1964, the brief era that’s captured on a new two-disc compilation called The Essential Sonny Rollins: The RCA Years.
It was an amazingly experimental time in jazz—in American culture generally—and Mr. Rollins’ probings were especially intense. Just Read More
Marty Ehrlich is one of the most creative and technically accomplished reedmen in jazz today. A staple of the “downtown” music scene for a little over half of his 50 years, he’s in frequent demand as a sideman, and he leads several of his own, quite different bands. His new CD, News on the Rail Read More
Two of the most innovative, virtuosic young jazz pianists—Jason Moran and Brad Mehldau—are playing back to back at Central Park’s SummerStage on Friday, Aug. 5, and the combination is likely to make for not only a rousing concert but a heady display of the new paths that jazz continues to carve.
Mr. Moran, not quite Read More
Two of the most innovative, virtuosic young jazz pianists—Jason Moran and Brad Mehldau—are playing back to back at Central Park’s SummerStage on Friday, Aug. 5, and the combination is likely to make for not only a rousing concert but a heady display of the new paths that jazz continues to carve.
Mr. Moran, not quite Read More
The J.V.C. Jazz Festival, which rolls through town every June, is an oddly redundant event (isn’t New York City a nonstop jazz festival?), but it does offer a concentrated dose of all-star bands that come around only rarely-which is to say, two or three times a year-at classy venues like Carnegie Hall. The big draws Read More
