Jason Berry did a piece on the influence jazz has had on Joy Harjo — the U.S. Poet Laureate, a spoken word poet and saxophone player—for The Daily Beast.
Susan Brink, JJA board member, has been working hard on the slate of 2022 JJA Jazz Heroes. It’s an outstanding group of 28 “activists, advocates, altruists, aiders and abettors of jazz” from 26 U.S. communities from Anchorage, Alaska to Washington, D.C. The Jazz Heroes will be announced Friday, April 1 to launch the spring campaign at JJAJazzAwards.org.
Debbie Burke is elbows-deep in research for two books on Russian jazz: one noirish novel, one nonfiction look at the contemporary scene compared with the Cold War. It’s in her roots and was propelled further by her 2021 book on klezmer. She welcomes input from those in the know who live(d) or play(ed) there.
John Chacona reviewed his hometown Tri-C JazzFest in Cleveland and San Francisco’s Other Minds festival for AllAboutJazz, where he has joined the editing staff. He also reviewed Fred Hersch’s Breath By Breath and Boris Kozlov’s First Things First for that platform. His reviews of Irreversible Entanglements’ Open the Gates and William Parker’s Migration of Silence into and Out of the Tone World were published at PostGenre by fellow JJA member Rob Shepherd.
Robin Lloyd interviewed Motown legend Freda Payne, Cuban cuatro master Kiki Valera, and Brazilian pianist/educator Jovino Santos Neto on her KNKX program Jazz Caliente. She also celebrated New Orleans musicians Irma Thomas and Charlie Gabriel, marked the passing of pianist Mark Levine, and noted a number of local and national Black History Month events.
Howard Mandel reviewed Julieta Eugenio’s Jump for DownBeat, served as a judge for the 7 Virtual Jazz Club international competition, celebrated 90-year-old electro-acoustic pioneer Herb Deutsch on his blog Jazz Beyond Jazz, edited several articles for JJANews, provided services for the Jazz Institute of Chicago and co-formed a writers critique group on “imaginative fiction” with others from the Off Campus Writers Workshop.
Dee Dee McNeil had a feature article on Dinah Washington published in the Winter edition of the Historic Society of Michigan History Magazine and the cover story at LAJazzScene.buzz titled, “Love Songs for Valentine’s Day.” Her feature article on jazz drummer Matt Gordy was also published there, and she continues to review CDs in multiple columns at Musicalmemoirs.
Luciano Rossetti’s collaboration with ECM Records continues, with two new releases (Craig Taborn’s Shadow Plays and Mark Turner’s Return from the Stars) featuring his photographs.
Rob Shepherd interviewed Sonny Rollins for PostGenre with a focus on lesser discussed areas of his career. At the other end of the age spectrum, Rob also interviewed Alexander Flood, a South Australian percussionist in his early 20s. Finally, Rob is putting the final touches on an interview with recording engineers Jim Anderson and Ulrike Schwarz, both of whom are currently nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Immersive Audio Album.
Sammy Stein has written another essay, this time on Sarah Vaughan live in Japan, which will be entered into the Library of Congress — a huge honor for a non-U.S. citizen. Sammy also reviewed amazing new music by Ikumi Koyama, Silvia Bolognesi with Young Shouts, Tyler Mitchell featuring Marshall Allen and Anders Koppel’s Mulberry Street Symphony, among others, and wrote liner notes for Mark Wade’s upcoming album release.
Michael J. West has been named reviews editor at JazzTimes, where he has also written an Overdue Ovation profile on vocalist George V. Johnson. He has also previewed the Mid Atlantic Jazz Festival for the Washington Post and the Jazz and Freedom Festival for Washington City Paper.
