For more than 40 years, the Jacksonville Jazz Festival has brought international jazz legends and emerging artists, as well as offering local musicians the chance to be seen and heard. Held every Memorial Day Weekend, the festival attracts jazz fans from around the globe to soak up some (hopefully) warmer weather and cool sounds on different stages. This year is …
It Could Happen To You | Playing One Tune with Jazz Great Bunky Green
As I have traveled the world as a jazz musician from Jacksonville, I’ve found that there are only a few jazz musicians from Northeast Florida that everyone recognizes. Globally, saxophonist Bunky Green is at the top of that list. In 2015 I was on tour with Christian McBride Trio when we played a concert at Wigmore Hall. I remember running …
San Diego Surf-Jazz Duo Mattson 2 to Play Hotel Palms in Atlantic Beach
We’re stoked to welcome world-renowned surf-jazz duo the Mattson 2 to Jacksonville as part of our JME Presents Music Discovery Series. The San Diego based duo, made up of twin brothers Jonathan and Jared Mattson, will perform at the Hotel Palms in Atlantic Beach on Wednesday, April 12. Over the last decade-plus, the Mattsons have consistently displayed a kind of …
Jacksonville Saxophonist and Improvisational Musician Jamison Williams’ Peels Away the Brass on the 38-Minute “Mary Blair”
Saxophonist and multi-reed polymath Jamison Williams continues to uncover a vast realm contained in the proverbial small world within the greater corpus-universe of Walt Disney. Williams is amassing a daunting body of work: dozens of massive and miniature projects, released in various formats from limited-edition lathe cuts and hardcopy books to direct downloads. Recorded in NYC, “Mary Blair” is his …
Jazz Returns to the Jacksonville Symphony
The Jacksonville Symphony has long specialized in offering their music in contexts designed to appeal to people who aren’t necessarily hardcore classical fans, and that has proven key to their success in an era that has been challenging, at best, for the symphony business overall. They’ve dabbled extensively in jazz in the past, but June’s Jazz at the Jacksonville Symphony …
On ‘Endings That Are Beginnings’, UNF Grad and Emerging Jazz Star Kelly Green Finds Salvation in Music
Endings That Are Beginnings is the third album by Kelly Green, an Orlando native and UNF graduate who’s been making a name for herself on the highly competitive New York jazz scene during the last eight years she’s resided in the city. Green is probably best known for her classic trio with Alex Tremblay (bass) and Evan Hyde (drums). The …
Eclectic Alt-R&B Group Moonchild Announces Tour Stop in Jacksonville in April
Moonchild, the popular LA trip that fuses jazz with R&B, soul and more, has announced an April tour of the East Coast, Southeast and Midwest, with a stop in Jacksonville. The group plays Underbelly in Downtown Jax on Tuesday, April 18. Wikipedia describes Moonchild as an “alternative R&B band”, but that description, much like their entry on the site, barely …
Jacksonville Jazz Artist Ulysses Owens Jr. Takes Home Third Grammy Win with the Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra
There’s an often-quoted joke amongst musicians : “How do you make a million dollars playing jazz? Start with two million dollars.” While jazz is routinely considered to be a true American art form, from jazz artists’ current fame to total albums sold, its recognition by the overall larger audience can still seem shortsighted. Thankfully, this is not the case for …
Theo Croker | Tiny Desk Concert
This year’s Black History Month celebration at the Tiny Desk features a carefully crafted lineup spanning many genres, generations and walks of life. Each artist represents the best in their class and will be performing at the Tiny Desk for the first time. Trumpeter Theo Croker arrived at the Tiny Desk with an unmistakable air of chill, an easy smile …
Seattle Jazz Outfit Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio Visits the Ritz Theatre on Saturday
Cold As Weiss is the third studio album by the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, released last year. The group will be performing at The Ritz on February 4, a stacked evening for live music in Northeast Florida. Their first album, Close But No Cigar (2015), scored the #1 spot on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. There are also two live …
