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Articles by Phil Freeman
John Coltrane - Africa/Brass
“Africa/Brass”, recorded in May and June 1961 and released in September of that year, was a landmark album for John Coltrane in multiple senses. It was his first release for the Impulse! label, where he’d stay for the rest of his life. It also featured 3/4 of his classic quartet with pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Elvin Jones, though they were surrounded by as many as 17 other musicians. And finally, it was his only large ensemble recording, unique in his catalogue.
The Wire Issue 509
July 2026 Subscribers: read this issue online. Subscribe to the magazine. Buy issue 509. In our brand new issue: EarthBall: The Canadian quintet’s freeform punk aesthetic embodies the values of the close-knit Vancouver Island scene. By Emily Pothast DoYeon Kim: The bandleader and virtuoso gayageum player connects consciousness with the cosmos. By Stewart Smith Onilu: The Philadelphia ensemble are riding a new wave of radical percussion playing.
Miles Davis' 'Complete Live At The Plugged Nickel' Reissue: Review
Miles Davis was born in Alton, Illinois on May 26, 1926, and the Miles Davis estate and Sony Music — and probably to a lesser degree Warner Bros., which owns his last few releases — are celebrating the legendary trumpeter's centennial this year. I fully expect to see a ton of reissues, and possibly some new vault material, all year long.
Anna Butterss, From Adelaide To Enfield
Anna Butterss is an Australian-born bassist who's been living in the US for a decade and a half, and in that time has become a key supporting player on two seemingly unrelated scenes.
The 10 Best Jazz Albums Of 2025
So... what kind of a year was 2025 for jazz? Well, it marked the centennial of saxophonist Gene Ammons, drummer Roy Haynes, critic Nat Hentoff, pianist Jutta Hipp, saxophonist Art Pepper, pianist Oscar Peterson, drummer Dom Um Romão, and all-around performer Sammy Davis, Jr. Haynes almost lived to see it; he died last year at 99. The others died years ago.
Billy Hart's New Memoir And Albums Are Treasures For Jazz Fans
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New Album 'Off The Record' & More
The distinction between composition and improvisation has always been fraught territory in the discourse surrounding jazz; some artists have argued that all music begins as improvisation, and what makes it “composition” is notating the ideas after you’ve played them.
Joni Mitchell 'Joni’s Jazz' Box Set Review
Is Joni Mitchell a jazz artist? Short answer: No. Long answer: No, but… Nevertheless, there’s a new box set, 61 tracks and just under five hours long, called Joni’s Jazz that pulls tracks from 1968’s Song To A Seagull all the way up to 2023’s At Newport, recorded at the Newport Jazz Festival. The cover features a photo of Mitchell with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter, and both men are featured extensively. Did you know Shorter played on 10 of Mitchell’s albums?
“Postmodern future funk rock”: Melvin Gibbs reviewed
Melvin Gibbs Amasia: Anamibia Sessions 2 Hausu Mountain CD/DL/LP Bassist Melvin Gibbs made his professional debut in 1980 with Defunkt, the avant funk band led by trombonist Joseph Bowie. Within the year, though, he’d moved on, joining drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson’s Decoding Society alongside guitarist Vernon Reid and saxophonist Byard Lancaster.
Chicago Underground Duo Return, Having Never Really Left
Almost 30 years ago, a new sound began bubbling up in small venues around Chicago — jazz clubs sometimes, but punk clubs and arts centers and other less defined spaces too.
New Album 'Memories, Dreams, Reflections' & More
Nicole Glover is always thinking. The 36-year-old saxophonist, who grew up in Portland, OR, speaks the way she plays: with confidence and without hesitation. Every question I asked when we spoke by phone earlier this month generated a thoughtful, multi-paragraph response, and her approach to her music is as considered as her solos.
New Album 'Words Fall Short' & More
Saxophonist Joshua Redman has been on the jazz scene for over three decades. He made his debut on his father Dewey Redman’s 1992 album Choices and released his own self-titled album on Warner Bros. the next year. He actually put out two albums in quick succession; Joshua Redman came out in March, and Wish — with Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden, and Billy Higgins — arrived in September.
Author Andrew Berish On His New Book
I started listening to jazz when I was around 15. My entry point was a common one: Miles Davis’ Kind Of Blue, which I bought on cassette for $5.99.
Why Do You Hate Jazz?
1 hour ago Kneecap issue statement after group member charged with terror offense: "This is political policing" Kneecap have issued a statement after group member Mo Chara (real name Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh) was charged with a terror offense. The charge stems from … Now Chance the Rapper, Kaytranada Highlight Montauk's Surf Lodge Summer Concert Series No matter how you get there — early-morning LIRR, stuck on Montauk highway traffic, or affluent aerial transport (if you’re doing the latter, let’s …
New Album 'Birdly Serenade' & More
David Murray turned 70 in February. That feels wrong somehow, not because I’m unaware that time only moves in one direction but because Murray doesn’t fit the mold of an elder statesman. Since his arrival in New York in the mid-’70s, he’s been on a unique creative path, releasing a torrent of material — his Discogs page lists close to 300 credits — in contexts ranging from solo recitals to big bands to collaborations with musicians from all corners of the globe.
'Consentrik Quartet,' Wilco, & Much More
I first heard Nels Cline in 1999, when he and drummer Gregg Bendian released Interstellar Space Revisited. The original Interstellar Space album was a set of four saxophone-drums duos played by John Coltrane and Rashied Ali, recorded in February 1967 but not released until September 1974.
Sullivan Fortner Embraces Music’s Past And Its Future
Pianist Sullivan Fortner is originally from New Orleans, but is one of the most respected and creative players in New York at the moment. He’s recorded with trumpeter Theo Croker, vocalist Jazzmeia Horn, guitarists Peter Bernstein and Lage Lund, drummer/producer Kassa Overall, and others, most notably singer Cécile McLorin Salvant.
George Coleman's Run As Miles Davis' Saxophonist Is Underrated
Being the saxophonist in a Miles Davis band was never the easiest job in the world. Even if he liked you, he often led by challenging his musicians, giving them enigmatic or even contradictory instructions. Once, when saxophonist Gary Bartz complained that he didn’t like what Keith Jarrett was playing behind him, and asked Davis to rein the keyboardist in, the trumpeter instead told Jarrett that Bartz loved was he was playing and wanted to hear more of it.
Improvisation, Composition, New Album 'The Susceptible Now,' & More
In 2018, I met up with Tyshawn Sorey at the Guggenheim Museum in New York for an interview that involved me playing a series of records for him and soliciting his thoughts. We listened to everything from Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell, and Eric Dolphy to Metallica, Redman, and Autechre.
Nubya Garcia's Jazz Odyssey
Nubya Garcia’s moment seems to have come at last. And it’s weird to say “at last” about someone who’s only in her early thirties, but I’ve been listening to her music for the better part of a decade. I first met Garcia in January 2018 when she came to New York for Winter Jazzfest. I sat down in a rehearsal room at the New School with her, Shabaka Hutchings, and trumpeter Yazz Ahmed for a roundtable interview about their music, the state of British jazz, the impact of Brexit, and much more.
Nubya Garcia’s Jazz Odyssey
Nubya Garcia’s moment seems to have come at last. And it’s weird to say “at last” about someone who’s only in her early thirties, but I’ve been …
Author Mike Smith Interview
The avant-garde has won the battle for jazz history. The performers who were seen as existing on the farthest fringes of the music in the 1960s and 1970s are now lionized by critics and institutions as its greatest heroes. Ornette Coleman and Henry Threadgill won Pulitzer Prizes. Cecil Taylor was awarded a MacArthur fellowship, a Guggenheim grant, and the Kyoto Prize. Anthony Braxton has also received MacArthur and Guggenheim recognition.
The Top 10 Do’s and Don’ts of the Dalton Highway
With 414 miles of frost-heaves, broken chip-seal, and grated dirt surfaces, the Dalton Highway certainly has its challenges. On a good day, you can ride it wide open. On a bad day… you can go home in a helicopter. Every year motorcyclists are killed on the Dalton Highway. But this road offers the rider the adventure gamut. Almost half of the highway is paved or chip-sealed. The other half can be smooth or baseballs.
Alto Saxophonist On 'Phoenix' And Much More
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but alto saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin has been blasting through the jazz world like a comet the last couple of years. She’s been around for a while — her debut, Retox, was released in 2012, and her next album, Rise Up, in 2018 — but her third, Pursuance: The Coltranes, was her first truly great record.
PAM For Small to Medium-Sized Enterprises: Comprehensive Protection
In today's connected world, organizations of any size are at risk of being breached. Historically, large enterprises were the main targets as they had the budget and necessity to meet compliance standards. However, small to medium-sized organizations often believed they were too insignificant to be targeted. This mindset has proven dangerous, as hackers frequently seek quick wins by exploiting the perceived vulnerability of smaller companies.
Nasheet Waits Steps Into The Spotlight
Nasheet Waits is second-generation jazz royalty. His father was percussionist Freddie Waits, who was a studio drummer for Motown Records before making his name in the jazz world. The elder Waits played on records by a stunning array of artists including McCoy Tyner, Freddie Hubbard, Andrew Hill, and Bill Dixon, among others, and was a founding member of Max Roach’s pioneering all-percussion ensemble M’Boom.
Lenny Kravitz Is Good, Actually
Lenny Kravitz turned 60 on Sunday. He’s just released his twelfth studio album, Blue Electric Light, and announced a Las Vegas residency, which will take place at Park MGM in October. I spent the last 35 years basically ignoring Lenny Kravitz. Occasionally, I would become aware of one of his songs, like “Are You Gonna Go My Way,” “Fly Away,” or his cover of the Guess Who’s “American Woman” (not as good as the Butthole Surfers’ version, not as bad as everyone says).
Bill Laswell's Putting Rare Last Exit Recordings On His Subscription-Only Bandcamp
Bill Laswell, the legendary bassist and producer, is in rough shape these days. He’s had a lot of health issues since before the COVID-19 pandemic started, and since he’s been effectively unable to work, he’s been in danger of losing both his home and his New Jersey studio, Orange Music, which he’s been running for over 20 years since leaving his former longtime spot in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
New Album 'Fearless Movement," Snoop Dogg, St. Vincent, & More
We’ve Got A File On You features interviews in which artists share the stories behind the extracurricular activities that dot their careers: acting gigs, guest appearances, random internet ephemera, etc. It’s possible to divide 21st century jazz into two eras: pre- and post-The Epic. Kamasi Washington’s three-hour triple LP, for all intents and purposes his debut (though, as you’ll read below, he’d been around for a decade before it was released), created a sensation upon its release in 2015.
Kenny Garrett & Svoy 'Who Killed AI?' Interview
Alto and soprano saxophonist Kenny Garrett is an explorer. He’s constantly seeking new situations, new sources of inspiration, and new ways to expand the boundaries of his own musical conception. Many people know Garrett as Miles Davis’ last saxophonist. He joined the trumpeter’s band in 1987 and remained with him until Davis’ death in 1991.
'Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace'
In 2022, Shabaka Hutchings began the process of unwinding an extraordinarily exciting career that he’d spent more than a decade building. As the leader of Sons Of Kemet and The Comet Is Coming, as well as Shabaka And The Ancestors, he’d laid revolutionary poetry from Joshua Idehen, Kae Tempest, and others atop pounding acoustic and electronic grooves that borrowed from techno, Caribbean parade music, and more.
The Black Art Jazz Collective Rolls On
The Black Art Jazz Collective came together in 2013, with saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, trombonist James Burton III, pianist Xavier Davis, bassist Dwayne Burno, and drummer Johnathan Blake. Burno died suddenly in December of that year, though, and the other members recruited Vicente Archer to replace him.
Ministry's New Album, Performing In 'A.I.,' & That Trent Reznor Photo
We’ve Got A File On You features interviews in which artists share the stories behind the extracurricular activities that dot their careers: acting gigs, guest appearances, random internet ephemera, etc. When Al Jourgensen formed Ministry in Chicago in 1981, they were an electro-disco synth-pop band that quickly carved out a space for themselves on the city’s burgeoning New Wave scene.
Vijay Iyer, A Man Without Boundaries
I’ve been listening to Vijay Iyer’s music for almost 20 years. We first met in 2006, when I was the editor of the world music magazine Global Rhythm and he had just released Raw Materials, an album of duos with saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa. They came up to the magazine’s offices and I interviewed them together.
The Bad Plus Pianist On New Album 'Technically Acceptable'
Pianist Ethan Iverson released his first album, School Work, in 1993, when he was 20. In about 1997, he started playing with bassist Reid Anderson, and at the turn of the millennium, they connected with drummer Dave King and formed the Bad Plus. That trio was one of the breakout jazz groups of the early 21st century, releasing 13 albums in 16 years and selling a surprising number of records along the way.
Perpendicular to sketch message
Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.
The 10 Best Jazz Albums Of 2023
2023 has been a transitional year for jazz.
The 10 Best Jazz Albums Of 2023
1 day ago I'm Richard Brody. I'm a film critic at The New Yorker, and these are the best movies of 2023. [upbeat music] [upbeat jazz music] The third best movie of the year is Barbie, one of the most extravagant and comprehensive cinematic fantasies I've seen in a very long time. ♪ Dance the night away ♪ ♪ I'll still …
So You've Heard André 3000's Flute Album — Now What?
Did you listen to André 3000’s 90-minute collection of semi-ambient flute jams, New Blue Sun? I did, and I… didn’t hate it! I mean, he stacked the deck by featuring some of the most interesting players in LA on it, including percussionist/multi-instrumentalist Carlos Niño, keyboardist Surya Botofasina, and others.
A Guide To John Zorn & Tzadik Records, Now On Streaming Services
John Zorn turned 70 in September. And, as if he’s decided to celebrate by giving everyone else a gift, his label, Tzadik, has made its catalog available on streaming services. There was no PR announcement, because Tzadik has almost never done PR for any of its activities, but word spread quickly among the devoted, and now there are hundreds of albums’ worth of adventurous, boundary-breaking music to listen to that had previously been available only to CD buyers.
John Zorn & Tzadik Records Are Now On Streaming Services: A Guide
John Zorn turned 70 in September. And, as if he’s decided to celebrate by giving everyone else a gift, his label, Tzadik, has made its catalog available on streaming services. There was no PR announcement, because Tzadik has almost never done PR for any of its activities, but word spread quickly among the devoted, and now there are hundreds of albums’ worth of adventurous, boundary-breaking music to listen to that had previously been available only to CD buyers.
The Wire Issue 477
November 2023 Subscribers: read this issue online. Subscribe to the magazine. Buy issue 477. Inside our brand new issue: Irreversible Entanglements: With a new album in the can, the US quintet discuss freedom, community and dismantling the mechanisms of oppression. By Phil Freeman The Primer: Jazz & Poetry: A user’s guide to the ongoing conversation between mighty music and vibrant verse.
Mary Lou Williams, Tyshawn Sorey, & More
I’ve been quietly obsessed with pianist Aaron Diehl for a few years now. I first noticed him on singer Cécile McLorin Salvant’s 2017 double CD Dreams And Daggers, where his somewhat old-timey style was ideally suited to the songs she had chosen and arranged into a long suite with narrative flow and dark irony. And he got plenty of space in the spotlight; he wasn’t just there to support her vocals.
Remembering jaimie branch
Trumpeter jaimie branch died one year ago this week, on August 22, 2022. The news hit the younger, hipper quarters of the jazz scene like a sledgehammer to the sternum. She’d already been on the scene for 15 years or more, but had really started to make an impact with the 2017 release of her first album under her own name, Fly Or Die.
New Album 'Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lightning'
Chief Adjuah, formerly known as Christian Scott, has been one of the most exciting musicians around for close to two decades. Since releasing his debut as a leader, 2006’s Rewind That, and particularly the following year’s Anthem, he’s been traveling a path that incorporates jazz, electronic music, trap, and all the percussive and rhythmic traditions of his native New Orleans.
The Complete 1970s Atlantic Studio Recordings' Review
Charles Mingus might be the ultimate example of someone who’s “jazz famous.” Within jazz circles, he’s revered, but he should be as well-known as Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, or John Coltrane. His name should be as familiar as theirs to people who know almost nothing about jazz, but it’s not, for a variety of reasons.
The Mars Volta's Debut Album 'De-Loused In The Comatorium' Turns 20
I came to At The Drive-In late. They were already broken up by the time I heard Relationship Of Command. I heard the name the Mars Volta comparatively early, though, because Cedric Bixler-Zavala was one of the guest vocalists on Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs To Benefit The West Memphis Three, a 2002 benefit album put together by Henry Rollins.
St. Anger Turns 20
Metallica have existed in the public eye for 40 years, and it seems like they’ve been battling over the meaning of their own existence for 35 of those years. Their first album, Kill ’Em All, was released on July 25, 1983.
Two Generations Of South African Jazz
Bokani Dyer is not just a leading figure in contemporary South African jazz, he’s also a living link to its history. His father, saxophonist Steve Dyer, was part of Medu, a radical multi-disciplinary arts collective composed of exiled South Africans as well as members and sympathizers from other countries.
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