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Giovanni Russonello
Posts
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5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Jazz Guitar
The instrument hasn’t always been a central player in jazz, but the best guitarists have taken up the challenge of finding their own way. Fourteen...
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5 Minutes That Will Make You Love the Vibraphone
Are the vibes good? These tracks by Milt Jackson, Lionel Hampton, Roy Ayers and others, chosen by 12 musicians and writers, should convince you.
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Claire Daly, Master of the Baritone Saxophone, Dies at 66
She was celebrated for both her playing and her love of the jazz community. “My life in music,” she said recently, “is the smartest thing...
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5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Big Band Jazz
Big bands were built in the 1920s and ’30s to blast young dancers with layers of rhythm, but creative composers seeking a larger canvas have...
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Toumani Diabaté, Malian Master of the Kora, Is Dead at 58
He believed that music could transcend national borders set by colonialism and restore ancient ties, even as it embraced the changes of a globalizing society.
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Jean-Philippe Allard, Jazz Producer and Musicians’ Advocate, Dies at 67
He called himself a “professional listener,” and he tended to develop lifelong relationships with the artists he worked with.
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5 Minutes That Will Make You Love South African Jazz
The country has a rich, original relationship to jazz, with American techniques layered into regional traditions and rhythms. Explore 50 years of recordings picked by...
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5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Shirley Horn
The pianist and vocalist was at once magnetically powerful and laid-back, glamorous and understated. A mix of musicians, writers and radio personalities share their favorites.
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5 Minutes That Will Make You Love John Coltrane
Coltrane changed the game in American music a few times over. Here’s a guided tour to his career, courtesy of 15 musicians, scholars, poets, writers...
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Winter Jazzfest Has Company: Unity Jazz Festival
The decision to place another festival right on top of Jazzfest highlighted how much has been flipped upside-down in jazz over the past 20 years.