Matty Bannond reviewed the new album from Ellen Arkbro and Johan Graden for Free Jazz Collective during February, and also wrote about the latest release from Lauren Falls for Jazz Journal. His interview with alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins featured in the February issue of The New York City Jazz Record.
Jane Ira Bloom, soprano saxophonist, announces the release of her latest trio recording of collaborative improvisations, 2.3.23 Bloom/ Helias/ Previte, with bassist Mark Helias and drummer Bobby Previte, now available on Bandcamp.
Ken Franckling collaborated with the Daniel Bennett Group on a February 24 multimedia presentation at the North Port FL Public Library on the Harlem Renaissance’s impact on jazz then and now. He documented in his Jazz Notes blog the February 12 celebration of love and life in Naples FL for trumpeter and educator Dan Miller, who died last August. Ken also blogged about the Orlando Jazz Orchestra’s February 13 Henry Mancini tribute concert at the Charlotte County Jazz Society. Ken’s annual look back at The Year in Jazz for All About Jazz, published December 29, was a whopping 14,000-word review of trends, venue ups and downs, honors and awards, and losses. On his Jazz Notes blog, Ken also weighed in with thoughts and photos from the 2023 edition of The Jazz Cruise, as well as guitarist Mark Whitfield’s January 25 guest appearance with the Naples Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra as part of the sextet’s concert series in Naples, FL. And he compiled the JJA’s encyclopedia Final Bars for 2022.
Peter Gerler has recently covered “The Great Northeast Jug Band Festival” for The Syncopated Times. He continues working on his King Oliver book.
Robin Lloyd interviewed Jacey Falk about the documentary film he’s been working on for four years that celebrates the life and music of saxophonist and prolific songwriter Benny Golson. She also highlighted a new non-profit performance space on Bainbridge Island, and congratulated the three Seattle-area high school bands that made it to the finals in this year’s Essentially Ellington Competition.
Howard Mandel wrote liner notes for Catching Ghosts, a live album by Peter Brotzmann, Majid Bekkas and Hamid Drake, and a pr appreciation of Iroko by the duo of Avishai Cohen (bass) and Abraham Rodriguez Jr. (conguero, vocalist, arranger). He reviewed a 10-cd Mosaic set of Classic Jazz at the Philharmonic Jam Sessions 1950 – 1957 for DownBeat, consulted with JJA member Ann Braithwaite on an upcoming video issue of all-star improvisers playing with Bertoia sound sculptures, and he’s begun posting liner notes from his archives at AllAboutJazz. For the JJA, he worked on the about-to-be-announced 2023 Jazz Heroes slate, the nominations ballot for the 28th annual JJA Jazz Awards, and the Book Bash, virtual reality book party on SyncSpace.live/jjabash22 March 26, free to JJA members and jazz book authors!
Dan Ouellette continues writing the OLD and the NEW in his one-year-old The Landfill Chronicles book of memoir-like archival stories on the Medium platform (the four-part Chapter 8 profiles Regina Carter embracing Paganini’s priceless violin). He also enters the fourth year of his monthly column “Jazz & Beyond Intel,” profiling artists who are not well-known but deserve to be (February: young vibraphonists taking the instrument into uncharted territory). He wrote DownBeat upfront profiles of Elaine Elias and Jim Snidero.
Danica Pantovic has joined the Jazz Education Network (JEN) and attended and photographed most of the Third Conference of International Network for Artistic Research in Jazz (INARJ) organized in Vienna, Austria from 23 to 25 February 2023 organized by JAM Music Lab—a private university for jazz and popular music in Vienna.
Brad Stone served once again on the JJA Book Award Committee for 2022. He continues to produce his radio program, “The Creative Source,” featuring new jazz releases, for SoulandJazz.com. He is writing a column for Women in Jazz Media magazine, featuring a playlist and mini-reviews. He attended the Jazz Education Network Conference in Orlando this year.
Michael J. West oversaw the March and April issues JazzTimes as interim editor-in-chief. That’s all he’s going to say about it.
Linda Yohn marked Black History Month by presenting a survey of jazz composers and arrangers from the 1920s to 1960s on her WRCJ-FM program “The Swing Set.” She toured the jazz exhibits at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, “Jazz Greats: Classic Photographs from the Bank of America Collection” and “Detroit Jazz: The Legacy Continues.” She served on the production team for Vincent York’s Jazzistry Rent Party, the major fundraiser for the Detroit area jazz education organization.
