In 2023 one of the quickest ways for an emerging musician to gain recognition – regardless of field or genre – is to participate in competitions, and after three decades, the Herbie Hancock Jazz Competition (formally, the Thelonious Monk Competition) continues to launch the careers of jazz musicians. Participants apply via demo recordings of pre-selected songs. The demo is then …
Kelly Green, Jazz Pianist with Jacksonville Roots, Drops Third Single of the Season, “That Sunday, That Summer”
“That Sunday, That Summer,” the newest single by Florida’s own Kelly Green, is actually the third that she’s released since July. Written by Joe Sherman and George Weiss, it was originally recorded for Capitol Records by Nat King Cole in 1963, with his lush, lustrous vocals backed by a string orchestra and vocal chorus, a format that was extremely popular …
Ahmad Jamal, measured maestro of the jazz piano, dies at 92
For most jazz performers, a song is part of a performance. For Ahmad Jamal, each song was a performance. Over the course of a remarkable eight-decade career, Jamal, who passed away Sunday at the age of 92, created stellar recordings both as an ambitious youth and a sagely veteran. Jamal’s death was confirmed by his daughter, Sumayah Jamal. He died …
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 …
How the late jazz great Chick Corea is being remembered — in concert
Chick Corea is known as one of the most powerful pianists, composers, and bandleaders in the history of jazz. He earned 27 Grammy awards and blazed trails across bebop, straight-ahead, free jazz, fusion and Latin jazz over the course of nearly 6 decades. When he died unexpectedly last February from a rare form of cancer, he left dozens of musicians …
Just Announced | Robert Glasper added to Jax Jazz Fest lineup
The celebrated pianist and in-demand collaborator brings 'Black Radio' to Jax
Celebrated pianist Robert Glasper will perform at the 2022 Jacksonville Jazz Festival. Glasper joins a lineup that already included legendary artists Herbie Hancock and George Benson. Best known for his star-studded collaborations across his series of albums –– Black Radio, Black Radio II, Black Radio III –– Glasper is one of the most sought after composers in contemporary music, writing and …
Conrad Tao is an undeniable maestro of the millennial age
The renowned musician tackles Mozart with the Jacksonville Symphony
There are prodigies and then there are prodigies. At the earliest age, pianist Conrad Tao displayed quasi-supernatural, or surely genius, skills in performing music. The Illinois native began playing children’s songs on the piano while only 18 months old; he began violin lessons at the age of three, gave his first piano recital at the age of four, and five …
Barry Harris, beloved jazz pianist devoted to bebop, dies at 91
Barry Harris, a pianist who carefully preserved the language of bebop throughout a seven-decade career as a brilliant performer and influential teacher, died Wednesday at Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, N.J. He was 91 and lived in Weehawken, N.J. Harris had been hospitalized for the last two weeks and died of complications due to Covid, said Kira von Ostenfeld-Suske, …
The Marvelous Legacy of Larry Harlow
LPT singer on the prevailing influence of salsa legend Larry Harlow
His colleagues called him El judío maravilloso (“The Marvelous Jew”). His parents named him Lawrence. To fans worldwide he was “Harlow!” On Friday, August 20, 2021, famed salsa pianist, arranger and producer Larry Harlow passed away at age 82 from heart failure due to renal complications. Music fans worldwide mourned the loss of not just a legend, but also of …