In a Mellow Tone

May 4, 2020. Mother’s Day will be a lot different this year. The jazz brunches that would normally be packed will be replaced by curbside pickup and listening to Sunday Jazz Brunch with Bob Perkins on WRTI 90.1 (not too shabby) while chatting with family via Zoom.

We are so sad to report that Philadelphia jazz legend, Robert "Bootsie" Barnes—tenor sax player extraordinaire—passed this morning of COVID-19 at age 82. "The man with the tenor touch," he was beloved by so many in our jazz community and beyond. Read obituary here.

March 9, 2020. Grammy-winning pianist Bill Cunliffe has worked on all different types of projects, and is known for having an affinity for Latin jazz. On Sunrise Over Moloka’i, Bill deviates from the predictable, and sets his musical sights on Hawaii, even completing his trio with Bruce Hamada (bass) and Darryl Pellegrini (drums), who both call Hawaii home.

August 19, 2019. It would’ve been more than understandable for pianist George Cables to call it quits; retirement almost certainly would’ve been the prudent, pragmatic course for the 74-year-old pianist after losing most of his left leg to a deathly serious health scare.

April is Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM), and this year marks the 60th anniversary of the most influential year in jazz, 1959. Each week we've highlighted one of the game-changing albums that left an indelible mark in jazz history, and changed the course of its future.

April 15, 2019. On trumpeter Josh Lawrence’s latest, Triptych, it’s hard to see the forest through the "threes." Of the album’s 10 tracks, nine of them are divided into three distinct suites of three-movements apiece.

February 11, 2019. Pat Bianchi, by now a bonafide jazz star in his own right, may always be thought of in the same breath as Philadelphia native, and fellow Hammond B-3 master, Joey DeFrancesco. If Bianchi’s latest album, In the Moment, is any indication, this is something he’s leaning into, as opposed to shying away from.

January 21, 2019.  Charlie Dennard doesn’t waste much time on his new album, Deep Blue, before paying homage to his adopted home. The longtime New Orleans keyboardist immediately announces a Crescent City connection, opening the album with “St. Charles Strut,” with an unmistakably New Orleanian second-line drum beat.

November 5, 2018. The name Christian McBride is synonymous with Philadelphia jazz. He was born and raised here, attended the High School of Creative and Performing arts with music royalty, and acts as an ambassador of our city to the world.  New Jawn is a release for his city.