In Saturday’s Arts section: a critic’s notebook about the legacy of Abbey Lincoln, inspired partly by a coincidence of timing. (You’ll know what I mean if you read the notebook.) I compiled some other links in my previous post about Lincoln, days after her passing. But in the process of pulling this new piece together, I came across a few stray gems of footage or criticism, which I’m gathering here.
Continue reading "Lands of Lincoln" »

The Seattle jazz scene, insofar as such a thing can be responsibly encapsulated, is the subject of this feature in Arts & Leisure, due out in print this weekend. A few days ago I also sat down for a conversation with Ben Sisario, for the NY Times Popcast (via the ArtsBeat blog).
My focus was on the high school, collegiate and post-collegiate level, where I see real changes taking place. (The photo above is from a scene depicted in the piece: Riley Mulherkar earning some comically expressive respect from a certain fellow trumpeter. Shaky video here.) I won’t expand much further on my basic thesis, since it’s all up in the piece. But some additional context might be nice. Shall we?
Continue reading "Sleepless in Seattle" »

You read that headline correctly: saxophonist Branford Marsalis was born half a century ago today. Some of us will want a minute to absorb that information. Take one if you need it.
Branford has a new album out this week with the Marsalis Family, which is naturally part of his claim to fame. That’s not what I want to talk about here, though. I’d like to talk about the specific achievements of Ellis’ eldest son: as a saxophonist, as a bandleader, and as a public figure besides. (Forgive me, folks, this may get a little personal.)
Continue reading "Branford at 50" »