I recently went on an early morning jog in pursuit of my health. I had the streets and skies practically to myself. It’s gorgeous here in mid-October—that’s one of the benefits of living in Winnipeg.  At the end of my run, I chanced upon a guy, probably ten years older than me, riding a bike. […]

This year marks the inception of Tarbut: Festival of Jewish Culture, a week of concerts, lectures, and films at the Rady Jewish Community Centre that runs from November 13 through 21. Two of the concerts will be of particular interest to jazz lovers. The first is the headliner concert, “The 3 Cohens,” featuring siblings Avishai […]

The next concert in the Izzy Asper Jazz Performances series is “A New Orleans Celebration,” with one of the sharpest bands we’ve ever put on that stage: trombonist/singer Wycliffe Gordon will be joined by Peter Martin at the keyboard, Jumaane Smith on trumpet, and Quincy Davis on drums. I’ll be holding down the bass chair. […]

Joe Locke is one of the busiest vibraphonists on the scene today. I’ve known Locke since I moved to New York in the 90s, and he has been a good friend. I’ve been lucky to share the stage with him a few times. He is truly a dynamic performer—nobody has more chops or energy on […]

When Karl Kohut was twelve, he started playing his sister’s electric bass. He’d already been studying piano for years, so he learned quickly. In high school, he picked up the double-bass, and at 20, he was named the Grand Prize Winner at the Canadian Youth Talent Competition for his solo rendition of Victor Wooten’s “A […]

In the past, it was considered almost blasphemy in the jazz community to intellectualize the quality we call “swing.” Those on the inside would say, “If you gotta ask, you’ll never know.” Now that jazz education has entered universities, there are books about swing, and teachers who’ve developed strategies to help students get a feel […]

In 1995, the Cuban-born pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba was booked for a week at Yoshi’s Nitespot in Oakland, California when the U.S. State Department refused to grant visas to his drummer and bassist. It just so happened that saxophonist Joe Lovano was trying to book the club for the same week. The club’s owner arranged for […]

The piano has played a pivotal role in the development of jazz, and pianists have created many of the genre’s major innovations. Keith Jarrett is one such player. He started playing at age three and studied the classical repertoire until his late teens, when he turned to jazz. He started out playing bebop, first with […]

I’ve been thinking about history lately. It started with a rousing conversation with my son as he worked out three reasons why history is never completed, a school assignment that certainly eclipses anything I did in history class. His ideas ghosted me when I was reading through the heated conversation about Ken Burns’ Jazz series […]