by Ken Laster Mastodon is a social network that, although nearly a decade old, has recently seen a surge in membership and notoriety due to the takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk. Since that event occurred, changes in policies and politics have spurred a Twitter exodus by tens of thousands to other platforms. Mastodon [...]
by Ken Laster As a pillar of the west coast jazz scene, San Diego's Gilbert Castellanos has appeared on dozens of recordings. He often shares the stage with Charles McPherson, Willie Jones III, Gerald Clayton and the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. As an educator, Gilbert is the founder of the Young Lions Jazz Conservatory, teaching the [...]
As we turn our calendar to the New Year, it's always a fun to look back at some of the best jazz releases from the previous year. As the current webmaster to the Hartford Jazz Society and now a resident of San Diego California, I have a hand in each of these cities jazz scenes. [...]
In recent weeks we have seen a batch of new album releases from musicians with roots in the Hartford jazz scene. I have listened to them all, and they are excellent. Support these local jazz artists through purchasing their albums, or streaming them through your prefered music source. Click on the links or cover art [...]
A wonderful Charles Mingus documentary was aired on PBS earlier this month. It features a performance by the Mingus Big Band interspersed with conversations on the life and music of this jazz icon. For Hartford jazz fans, you will recognize several familiar faces of University of Hartford alumni/faculty that have appeared around town over the [...]
Congratulations to the NEA Jazz Masters recipients for 2023. Among the highest honors bestowed upon jazz musicians, journalists or producers is the National Endowments of the Arts, Jazz Masters. The artists honored this year were all raised in Detroit, Michigan, and have gone on to make extraordinary contributions within jazz. These honorees will be [...]
The Louis Armstrong Department of Music Therapy | Mount Sinai The Healing Power of Music: Johns Hopkins Center Marries Music and Medicine Music as Medicine – The Musical Recommended Daily Allowance Music as medicine? 30 minutes a day shows benefits after heart attack Keep Your Brain Young with Music Music as Medicine: The Power of [...]
After a long hiatus due to the pandemic, regularly scheduled jazz jams will be returning to Black Eyed Sally's. Beginning May 18, and then the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month Beginning September, every Wednesday 7-10PM there will be a featured jazz ensemble followed by an open jam session. Bring your axe and [...]
Jazz music and the Grammy Awards have been strange bedfellows. Jazz categories are not included in the televised ceremony, and appearances by jazz artists are few in number with minimal air time. Album of the Year awards went to jazz artists only a couple times in the Grammy's history (Getz/Gilberto 1964; Hancock's Joni Mitchell [...]
If there is a silver-lining to these pandemic years (2020-2021) it may be our ability to adapt to new realities in ways we hadn't imagined. One of those has been in finding new ways to present performance art. When it comes to live jazz, Internet streaming has become the "new norm". It took hold [...]