The passing of the great jazz drummer Elvin Jones at the age of 76 on 5/18/04 marked the end of an era for me. I had seen Elvin live at least once a year from 1990 to 2003, because I considered him the greatest living practitioner of the music. He was a man who created his own style of playing that influenced many but no one duplicated, was the driving force behind one of the all time great jazz groups, the John Coltrane Quartet, a man who sold out clubs and concert halls all over the world perf …

For this writer the Memorial Day weekend signals the beginning of the summer jazz festival season, where cities and towns all over the world host these great musical events, many of them outdoors, featuring established and up-and-coming performers across all genres of the music. Since 1996 I have attended the Atlanta Jazz Festival and it has become an eagerly anticipated event on my jazz travel schedule. Presented by the city’s Bureau Of Cultural Affairs, the Atlanta Jazz Festival actually f …

Presented by the city’s Bureau Of Cultural Affairs, The Atlanta Jazz Festival is celebrating its 26th annivesary by expanding from last year’s 9 days to 26 days of jazz, beginning May 1st, and ending with the free Memorial Day Weekend Concert series. The first 23 days of jazz will be held in a variety of venues throughout the Atlanta area, while the 3 day Weekend Concert Series is held in Piedmont Park, in Atlanta’s Midtown district, featuring a mixture of local and internationally known perform …

The Chicago Jazz Festival, which has always been admission free, began this year with a paid event, a tribute to the late drummer/bandleader Art Blakey before a capacity crowd at Chicago’s Symphony Center, A former member of Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Branford Marsalis, and a group of former Jazz Messengers named the Alumni All-Stars were the featured performers, but it was a non-Messenger who shone brightest. Marsalis and his quartet, pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis, and drummer J

This year’s Atlanta Jazz Festival was billed as "26 days of Jazz’ in celebration of its 26th anniversary. Performances were held in venues throughout the Atlanta area the first 23 days, with the last 3 days reserved for the free Memorial Day Weekend Concert Series, held in Piedmont Park, in Atlanta’s Midtown area. After 2 years of having 2 stages, one for emerging artists, this year’s weekend concerts returned to one stage. Also, the internationally known performers seemed to come from a wide