A little over 60 years ago, the editor-in-chief of DownBeat magazine asked John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy a deceptively simple question: What are you trying to do? He rephrased slightly: What are you doing? The two saxophonists sat for a long 30 seconds before Dolphy broke the silence. “That’s a good question,” he said. The DownBeat editor, Don DeMicheal, printed …
Pharoah Sanders, Giant of Spirit-Driven Jazz, Dies at 81
Pharoah Sanders, the revered and influential tenor saxophonist who explored and extended the boundaries of his instrument, notably alongside John Coltrane in the 1960s, died on Saturday morning in Los Angeles. His death was announced in a post on social media by the record label Luaka Bop, which had released his celebrated 2021 album Promises and confirmed by a publicist …
Robby Krieger of the Doors Returns to Jacksonville for a Night of Legendary Music
The iconic guitarist on the band's early influences, writing his memoir and more
The Doors are many things for many people: mythical ‘60s band fronted by a singer mired in even greater mystery; a soundtrack for baby boomer history; a potent merger of inventive poetry and sophisticated music, even a cautionary tale of excess pushed to saturation. Guitarist Robby Krieger has remained a viable force since the Doors disbanded decades ago. In the …
NPR Music hosts live listening party for ‘A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle’
Mythical John Coltrane recording to be released on October 22
In October of 1965, John Coltrane and an ensemble that featured drummer Elvin Jones and pianist McCoy Tyner, as well as bassist Donald Rafael Garrett and a second tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, finished out a week-long residency at the Penthouse jazz club in Seattle, performing Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, the heralded saxophonist’s masterwork released earlier that year. Until just a …
John Coltrane’s Masterpiece Breathes New Life With ‘A Love Supreme: Live In Seattle’
John Coltrane‘s A Love Supreme, recorded near the close of 1964 and released early the following year, inhabits an exalted plane beyond the realm of most other albums, in any musical genre. Easily one of the most celebrated jazz recordings ever made, it radiates a deep, devotional gravitas — a palpably focused ardor that has long inspired actual worship, as …