Orrin Evans Releases ‘Flip the Script’
At an impressive nineteen albums in, pianist Orrin Evans sets out to do exactly as the title of his latest suggests. Flip The Script (Posi-Tone), out this month, refers not …
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Gilad Hekselman – “March of the Sad Ones” and “The Bucket Kicker” (Video)
In a stop in Aalborg, Denmark, this past May, here’s video of an intimate performance of Gilad Hekselman’s yet unreleased compositon, “March of the Sad Ones”, and “The Bucket Kicker” …
The Stanley Clarke Band Does Jazz Right at the Carver
Stanley Clarke is able to bring out an interesting cross section of folks. I personally attended the Stanley Clarke Band’s June 2 performance at the Jo Long Theater of San …
The Modern Standard: What Is It?
Inspired by spring’s indecisiveness a couple weeks ago, I decided not to brave the wind and rain this particular day, but to do some season-inspired cleaning instead. Thumbing through my …
For Your Consideration: Esperanza Spalding’s ‘Radio Music Society’
A couple of weeks back I wrote up a capsule review for the San Antonio Current–the prototypical alternative weekly in town –on Esperanza Spalding’s latest record Radio Music Society. You …
Gil Scott-Heron’s ‘Last Holiday’
“One of the things that was evident to me way back when I’d gotten into John Coltrane’s music was that you had to keep reaching. I think when you stop …
How Do We Solve a Problem Like BBNG?
Most times when you see me, I will be wearing a hat. I don’t have nearly as many as I’d like, but I certainly have quite a few. Lately, I’ve …
Nicholas Payton Is Chillin’ On Our Nutz: How One Musician Misrepresented the Facts And Bullied the Jazz Narrative Off Course
Author’s Note: This is my last feature-length piece as a staff writer for Nextbop before taking an extended break from jazz. Payton’s Black American Music, or BAM, has been a …
For Your Consideration: BADBADNOTGOOD’s ‘BBNG2’
I’ve always had a tendency to try to tether myself to crazy, inspired people. I always have a eye for these sorts of things. That’s the draw of the artisans …
Jazz Community Responds to Trayvon Martin Tragedy
Sean Bell. Amadou Diallo. Danroy Henry. Ramarley Graham. Orlando Barlow. Aaron Campbell. Timothy Stansbury. Oscar Grant. In the land of freedom and opportunity, the possibilities for these names to become …
We Are What We See Everyday
I’m going to wander for a while. You’ll get it eventually. In developmental psychology, there’s a concept called “nature vs. nurture” that always seems to rear its head. The generally …
For Your Consideration: Gregory Porter’s ‘Be Good’
With the sudden and astounding success of singer Gregory Porter’s Grammy-nominated debut album, Water, just fifteen months ago, there’s presumable pressure for his follow up, out this month, to do …
A Message In Our Music Part 2: Christian McBride
Simply put, there are bassists, and then there’s Christian McBride. With a career as a musician, composer, arranger, and producer, which began two decades ago, McBride has since set the …
A Message In Our Music Part 1: Jason Moran
After digesting the phenomenon which is Jason Moran, his eminence in music is even more mind-blowing once you consider the fact that he is just 37 years old. In addition …
Nextbop’s Best Everything Else Albums of 2011
I knew this list was going to be interesting. We’ve got a pretty diverse staff of writers with different sorts of taste. As diverse as our jazz list is for …
Nextbop’s Best Jazz Albums of 2011
I was recently asked to define what trend ran through jazz in the past year and I found I couldn’t think of anything definitive about that other than the fact …
Not Irreparable Harm
In the third season of the AMC series Mad Men, the firm, Sterling Cooper Draper Price, takes on a new client, the dog food company Caldecott Farms. Caldecott Farms was …
On the Rise: A Conversation With Kris Bowers
At the start of the second set at Greenwich Village’s Jazz Gallery last week, pianist Kris Bowers was playing for a packed and eager house. A packed, eager, young, and …
Geri Allen On Her First Christmas Album and Embracing It All
Geri Allen is, with all certainty, the renaissance woman of Modern Jazz. Musician (and more pointedly, instrumentalist), scholar, professor, mother, African American, and female, Allen has deepened the complexities (and …
Ali Shaheed Muhammad: On Life and The Low End Theory
This past September marked the anniversaries of some of the most pivotal music of my generation. It has been twenty years since Nirvana shook up the pop culture macrocosm with …
Combating Stereotypes: Can Jazz Get Back On Top?
I was recently speaking with one of my professors about a recent performance Brad Mehldau and Joshua Redman did at The New School last week. After asking him what he …
Gil Noble: Jazz, Journalism, Lessons and Legacy
After 43 years on the air, last Sunday, ABC’s Like It Is came to a sudden and saddening end. Emmy award winning producer and host Gil Noble suffered a stroke …
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On the Importance of Jazz
Today history is made. This morning, the first monument of an African American on the National Mall in Washington D.C. will be dedicated by, among many other distinguished figures, the …
Nice Work If We Can Get It: Women Writing on Jazz
An Open Letter, A Thank You Note, and Pulling the Card On Jazz Journalism and Gender Bias Also check out our list of the Best Jazz Albums of All Time …
Streaming This Week: Le Boeuf Brothers’ ‘In Praise of Shadows’
The Le Boeuf Brothers, Pascal and Remy Le Boeuf, know what they are doing when they compose. A lengthy list of prizes will attest to the fact; they have received …
Jazz Hipsters
One of my best friends and I often have arguments about hipsterism. We both share many of the attributes of hipsters but while I in some ways embrace parts of …
The Necessity of Juxtaposition
I have never personally met Sébastien Hélary. He and I have never spoken on the phone, nor even a call over Skype or Google’s nifty new way to make phone …
[Insert Descriptor Here] Famous
I want to take things back to 2006 (if read aloud, do me a favor and say “Twenty aught six,” I’m trying to make old prospector talk for the 21st …
Nicholas Payton Sexxxtet Jams, Swings, and Funks Up San Antonio
Originally written for African-American Reflections There had to have been many who didn’t know what to expect on Sunday, February 20, when they entered the McAllister Auditorium on the campus …
The Mentality of Music: An Interview with Marcus Miller
On Monday, February 7, I did a phone interview with Marcus Miller. He was in Los Angeles and I was in Montreal. It was quite cold that night in Montreal. …
Best Jazz Albums of 2010 by Nextbop.com
It was rather difficult putting together a list of the best jazz albums of 2010. Unlike our list of non-jazz albums, there didn’t seem to be a massive sense of …
Nextbop’s Best of Everything Else of 2010
In order for this site to be what it is, we listen to a wide variety of music. That’s just how music is lately, we find strength in our diversity. …
Matt Kassel sit down with Ari Hoenig and Gilad Hekselman
On the night of Friday, November 19, I sat down to talk with guitarist Gilad Hekselman and drummer Ari Hoenig between sets at Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill. (Find the …
Aaron Parks Interviewed by Matt Kassel
On Friday, October 22, I sat down with pianist Aaron Parks between sets at Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill where he was performing for the Montreal Jazz Festival. He was …
The Rick Rosato Quintet
The Rick Rosato Quintet existed on stage for two nights, four sets, from October 22 to October 23, at Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill here in Montreal. Well, that often …
Brad Mehldau Duets with John Mayer, Our Heads Go Explodey at the Awesomeness
In case you missed it, John Mayer’s concert at the Hollywood Bowl last night had a special guest: Brad Mehldau. Check out videos of the pair performing The Verve’s “Bittersweet …
The Life and Times of a Young Jazz Musician
Jazz is America’s music. Unfortunately, in most cases America has lost sight of that due to the extensions of jazz that have now taken over mainstream music due to “mass …