The Gig (Newsletter)

Martial Solal, Bill Stewart, François Moutin at The Village Vanguard, Sept. 2001. (Original album insert photo by Mephisto; detail by The Gig) Tributes and testimonials. Survivor tales, oral histories. All the narrative tonnage contained in the 9/11 Commission Report. More than the salvaged steel scraps that you come across in a memorial, more than any iconic image or chilling footage, stories are what hold the tragedy in memory.

Out of nowhere: Kacey Musgraves makes her entrance in an elevated rodeo stand with Ed Ruscha-esque signage. XFinity Mobile Arena, Sept. 4, 2026. (The Gig) Several songs into her sparkly and surefooted concert in Philadelphia on Friday night, Kacey Musgraves voiced a tongue-in-cheek avowal. “This is a family show,” she said, referring to her Middle of Nowhere Tour, and perhaps this stop in particular, at the Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Cassandra Wilson at The Stone on Jan. 27, 2007. (Hiroyuki Ito / Hulton Archive) I mean, it’s possible she and others in her intimate circle had made peace with the idea: as of now, we don’t know the cause. But when word got out this afternoon,1 it came, for most of us, with a sharp intake of breath. This NPR Music obituary was composed and filed hurriedly, followed by a spot for the newscasts that I tracked after the radio station had mostly emptied for the night.

Itā€™s a big round number ā€” you might call it a milestone ā€”Ā and I feel pretty good about it. On some level Iā€™m channeling one of our cultural heroes, Sally Oā€™Malley, as embodied by the great Molly Shannon. (I too like to kick, and stretch, and KICK.) Kidding aside, thereā€™s a cottage industry of books and articles (and probably TikToks) about turning 50, and why it marks the cusp of a rewarding life stage. I donā€™t know anything about that.

Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -53:59 Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda was born on Aug. 27, 1937 — 89 years ago this week, a little over a decade after her husband, John. There’s a lot happening on the Coltrane 100 front in the days and weeks ahead, but for now, let’s focus on Alice, who blazed her own trail as a keyboardist, harpist, composer and spiritual seeker, while raising a family and a broader community.

Saxophonist and bandleader Courtney Pine. (Derek Clark, used with permission) Last Wednesday evening, as a solar eclipse approached totality over Europe, I was quick-stepping across London streets toward The Jazz Cafe. There I had an appointment to experience natural wonders of a different sort, courtesy of the pathfinding British saxophonist, bandleader and composer Courtney Pine.

Nate Smith, keeping the beat during the 2026 Newport Jazz Festival, his first as Artistic Director. (Jonathan Chimene) Midday sun blazed over Fort Adams on Sunday, as the Newport Jazz Festival made an impromptu pivot. Sienna Spiro, a buzzy young retro-soul siren from London, had just informed the Newport Festivals team that she wouldn’t be appearing as planned that afternoon.

Tony Bennett performing on The Tonight Show sometime in the mid-to-late 1960s. (Raimondo Borea/Gartenberg Media Enterprises/Getty Images) As this post sails out into the world, I’m heading up to Fort Adams State Park for the Newport Jazz Festival. More on that in a future dispatch, but if you happen to see me there, please say hello. In the meantime, I want to talk about Tony Bennett. He was born a century ago this coming Monday, on August 3, 1926.

There’s always plenty to talk about with Makaya McCraven. The self-described Beat Scientist — a drummer / bandleader / composer / producer / collagist — keeps his gears perpetually turning, in a range of instrumental context and configurations. Next week, he’ll set up for his bandleading debut at The Village Vanguard, where he recently played his first gig ever, with ride-or-die compatriot Marquis Hill. This felt like a very good time to catch up with McCraven.

Steven Bernstein, at home in the stacks. (Andrew Blackstein) When you’re talking about Steven Bernstein — Sexmob ringleader, verified trickster, the guy who once titled a series of album bumpers “Human Bidet” (Parts 1 through 6) — you can’t come calling with a yawn for a hook.