On The Cover:
LAKECIA BENJAMIN
(by Matty Bannond)
Ravi Coltrane, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Branford Marsalis and a crowd of other jazz icons were hanging out backstage at the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival in 2021. They all applaud as Lakecia Benjamin walks towards them—on crutches and wearing a neck brace. She has just performed a 45-minute set with a broken scapula, a broken jaw, three broken ribs and an untreated brain bleed. It’s a staggering story but not untypical of the alto saxophonist’s attitude to life and music: she is unstoppable…
Interview:
DAFNIS PRIETO
(by Adam Davison)
The 50-year-old Cuba-born drummer-percussionist Dafnis Prieto has played and recorded with an impressive array of bandleaders over the course of 30+ years, including Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Jane Bunnett, Michel Camilo, Steve Coleman, Hilario Durán, D.D. Jackson, Arturo O’Farrill, Hilton Ruiz, Eddie Palmieri, Henry Threadgill, Papo Vázquez and many others…
Artist Feature:
SOFIA JERNBERG
(by Kurt Gottschalk)
Jernberg can make her way into song form while improvising, but more often works in the role of instrumentalist. In concert she can be so quiet, at times, or so deep within the group sound that she’s barely heard…
Encore:
ADEGOKE STEVE COLSON
(by John Sharpe)
Pianist Adegoke Steve Colson offers a salutary lesson in the folly of perceiving a career only through the lens of issued recordings. His scant discography inadequately reflects more than half a century in the business, telling only a small part of his story…
Lest We Forget:
LIL HARDIN
(by Marilyn Lester)
The pianist, composer, arranger, singer and bandleader was known in the 1920s as “Hot Miss Lil.” She also happened to be the second wife of Louis Armstrong and so Lillian Hardin became Lil Hardin Armstrong…
VOXNews
(by Tessa Souter)
This month VOXNews celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (the theme of which this year is “A Legacy of Leadership and Resilience”) by acknowledging the contributions of Asian Americans to jazz…
Label Spotlight:
ARCHEOPHONE
(by Jason Gross)
Well-known labels such as Blue Note, Verve and Prestige already do a sterling job of excavating archived musical gems, but for some of the earliest jazz recordings ever made, there’s one particular label that’s excelled at bringing that music to life again…
New York @Night
Album Reviews
In Print, On Screen, Boxed Set, Drop The Needle Reviews, Globe Unity…
