Discover the greatest stories from jazz history
The best stories and anecdotes from more than 100 years of jazz
Nina Simone Played to 50,000 People in Harlem – Then the Footage Disappeared for 50 Years
Nina Simone played to a reported 50,000 people at the Harlem Cultural Festival on 17 August 1969. The footage sat unseen for half a century, until Questlove’s Summer of Soul.
The First Jazz Record Was Made in 1917. The Musicians Who Built the Style Weren’t on It.
The Original Dixieland Jass Band cut “Livery Stable Blues” for Victor on 26 February 1917. Why Bolden, Keppard, Oliver and Ory weren’t on the first jazz record, and what a court said about who wrote it.
Prince Worked With This Jazz Pianist for Two Decades – and Never Once Met Him
On 16 April 1985, parts of an orchestral score arrived at Prince’s studio for the debut album by The Family, one … Read more
The Only Known Footage of Clifford Brown Playing Trumpet Was Filmed on a Comedian’s TV Show
Clifford Brown left behind some of the most celebrated trumpet recordings in jazz history, but almost no moving images. A remarkable … Read more
The Louis Armstrong Concert a High School Student Taped in 1957 Is Finally Being Released
In March 1957 a student stage manager recorded Louis Armstrong and His All Stars in a Chicago-area high school auditorium. Nearly 70 years later, Verve is releasing the tape as One Night in Highland Park.
The Pistol, the Piano and Erroll Garner: How Art Blakey Became a Jazz Drummer
Art Blakey started out as a pianist. In the early 1930s, while still a teenager, he was playing piano for money … Read more
“So Long Eric” – Watch Charles Mingus & Eric Dolphy on Belgian Television
Before Charles Mingus took his band to Europe in April 1964, Eric Dolphy told him that when the tour finished, he … Read more
Nina Simone’s “Four Women”: The Song Radio Stations Rejected — and Jay-Z Sampled 50 Years Later
In 1966, Nina Simone released a song about four Black women. There was no conventional chorus and no attempt to make … Read more
The Best Post-Bop Albums of All Time
Some of jazz’s most loved albums belong to a genre many listeners could not name. Maiden Voyage, Speak No Evil and … Read more
Want the best jazz stories into your inbox?
Join 15,000+ serious jazz fans getting the free weekly email full of the best stories in jazz…