The warmer months are always prime music time around Rhode Island, and jazz is no exception. To make your life easier, here is a list of a few performances to help you get that calendar filled up. Over the past couple years, the music scene has been blessed with a growing number of regular sessions. Check […]
To help shine a light on the lives of working musicians, I’ve been interviewing peers of mine about their experiences performing, how they balance their lives to make the music happen, and if they see a difference between playing for art’s sake or as a job. For this second article I talked to drummer […]
When you go to a restaurant and see musicians playing in the corner, you may think they’re only there to have fun. However, many of these musicians are getting paid to play there as part of a full-time career in music. To shine a light on the role working musicians play, I’ll be interviewing peers […]
On April 18, New York City-based Moon Hooch dropped by Fete’s Ballroom as part of their co-headlining tour with fellow NYC group Too Many Zooz. The band is a sax and drum trio made up of saxophonists Mike Wilbur and Wenzl McGowen, and drummer James Muschler, who all met and formed the group while studying […]
In the RI jazz community, connections run deep, so with a loss comes profound sorrow. Recently, the jazz community lost one of its most cherished souls, Debra Mann, and the outpouring of both grief and love toward her from across the state has been inspiring to see. Debra Mann graduated from Berklee College of Music in […]
On December 11, the legendary jazz pianist McCoy Tyner turned 80 years old. A few months earlier, I received an album by the trio of pianist Benito Gonzalez, drummer Gerry Gibbs and bassist Essiet Okon Essiet that was conceived and recorded as a tribute to Tyner’s musical genius and legacy, and released on Whaling City Sound […]
Jazz guitarist and recent Rhode Island Music Hall Of Fame inductee Frank Potenza returns to the area to play Chan’s on September 22. To prepare for the gig, I asked him a few questions about his music and local ties. Ben Shaw: What got you into jazz? Frank Potenza: My father, Frank, had a […]
If leaves could choose a type of music to accompany their fall to the ground, they’d choose jazz. And every fall, RI accommodates their last wish with a swinging soundtrack. Newport has a good slate of music coming up. Norey’s continues its weekly Thursday night jazz series featuring a rotating cast of ensembles including the Alan Bernstein […]
Although we may be weeks past this year’s Newport Jazz Festival, there is still plenty to reflect on. This year had an amazing variety of music and an explosion of new and returning talent, and featured some of the best performances that I have seen at Newport in my many years of attending. Since there was […]
Standing in a field under full sun is the last thing anyone wants to do; unless, of course, said standing is accompanied by a jazzy soundtrack. It’s time to head back to Fort Adams for another incredible year at the historic Newport Jazz Festival, taking place August 3 – 5. To keep you moving and grooving […]