Marshall Allen, the legendary saxophonist and long-time leader of the Sun Ra Arkestra, has reached an extraordinary milestone by releasing his debut solo album, New Dawn, at the age of 100. This project – which also features Nenah Cherry (video below) – highlights his enduring creativity and dedication to music over seven decades. A Lifetime …
From affectionate nicknames to expressions of emotion, Lester Young’s slang creations are almost as iconic as his music – here we take a peek at some of his best… Lester Young, affectionately known as ‘Prez,’ was more than a pioneering tenor saxophonist – he was a cultural icon whose influence extended far beyond music. Alongside …
New York’s JazzFest Gallery have shared a super collection of limited edition prints, which are inspired by some of the greatest artists and album covers of the mid-20th Century. From Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday to John Coltrane and Count Basie, here are a few of our favourites..! You can click through on any of …
Perhaps one of the most underrated alto saxophonists in jazz history, Frank Morgan was best known not for a specific album or project, but for the years spent in the notorious San Quentin prison, where he formed part of the warden’s jazz ensemble. The last two decades of his life, clean of heroin and out …
It’s often fascinating to discover how the greatest jazz musicians of all time grew from young, budding students to idols of the style. As if there was ever any doubt, the role their upbringing played can be seen in the sheer number of family connections sprinkled throughout the upper echelons of jazz history. Whether nature …
I was about to start by writing “I like jazz puns as much as the next person” but that’s not true; I like them a lot more! So for no other reason than personal entertainment (and I hope a smile for you, too) I thought I’d dig up some of the best – or worst …
There aren’t many opportunities to compare a 1930s jazz musician with Madonna, David Bowie or Kanye West but, decades before social media and the modern era of ‘celebrity’, jazz musicians were at the forefront of pop culture – as the story of Lester Young and his pork pie hat attests. It seems like a cliché …
Meher Baba story about the inspiration for the song Don’t Worry Be Happy