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🍞 Home / FAQ / Where Did Jazz Originate? Jazz. The very word conjures images of smoky clubs, virtuosic solos, and a rhythm that moves your soul. But where did this uniquely American art form spring from? The answer, resonating through decades of musical history, is a vibrant, multicultural city: New Orleans, Louisiana. While pinpointing an exact “birth” moment is impossible, the consensus among historians is that jazz emerged in New Orleans around the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

I’ve had “Lucid Lullaby” stuck in my head for weeks. It took an equal amount of time for the humor of the literal nature of the song title to wash over me, but that phrase singing forth from Linda May Han Oh’s bass, haunting me perpetually, is the perfect little melody. Oh as a composer has always been adept at writing perfect little melodies throughout her body of work. This is no more clear than in her latest release, Walk Against Wind, out Friday on Biophilia Records.

Saxophonist Chase Baird’s career has been flourishing rapidly as of late. Drafted in drummer Antonio Sanchez’s Migration group which released the critically-acclaimed Lines In The Sand last year on CAM Jazz, the young Juilliard graduate also co-leads the band Venture, alongside drummer Mike Clark, vibraphonist Mark Sherman and electric bassist Felix Pastorius, with their 2018 debut Life Cycle out on Ropeadope.

Looks Of A Lot was theater. It may have been theater that starred Jason Moran’s expert and innovative piano playing and compositions, but it was theater nonetheless. Let’s set the stage. Symphony Center, Chicago. The stage, which normally hosts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, has four levels, with different setups on each level. Throughout the stage were creations of Theaster Gates, a Chicago artist and social activist.

We had the chance to catch up with Gerald Clayton during his visit at the Montreal Jazz Festival to talk about his debut album Two-Shade. Here’s what he had to say. “I don’t like the words jazz, rock or classical. I think those just put people’s minds into a box. A lot of times people become close minded towards music that they’ve never even listened to because it’s classified under a certain genre. In this day and age, we all have iPods which hold entire record collections in the palm of our hand.

José James is releasing a new album, While you were Sleeping, on June 10. Kris Bowers recently released Heroes + Misfits, and plays keys in James’ live band. Their respective groups are currently touring in support of Bowers’ recent release and James’ upcoming release. On April 18, they came through Boston and played at Sculler’s. While there, they were taped for the Funk It Blog, where those recordings are now available. Check out a few audio streams after the jump.

It’s always amazing to learn how well esteemed jazz is in Japan. It’s even moreso to learn how many have such great chops at the American invention. When one thinks about some of the great groups from that country, Libstems would definitely make that list. The quartet of bassist Keisuke Furuki, pianist Shunsuke Sawada , guitarist Yosuke Wada, and drummer Yosuke Nagayama have been together since 2008 and have grown together to release their excellent debut album, Daydream Sounds.

Last night while halfway watching the Democratic National Convention (because I’m a democrat but I’d much rather read Ezra Klein and co. break down policy than a week long pep rally), I hopped on Google Chat to talk with Vijay Iyer about his upcoming project with spoken word artist Mike Ladd, Holding It Down: The Veterans’ Dreams Project.

Trumpeter Terence Blanchard, despite merely being part of Generation Jones, has a kind of elder statesman air to him. The man is doing as one should in the jazz world, continuing to grow and make interesting work whether on his own or for practically any Spike Lee Joint you may have run across in the past.