I ran across a wonderful book last year called The Art of Clean Up: Life Made Neat and Tidy. It’s a collection of paired photos by Swiss artist Ursus Wehrli that makes me laugh—and makes me think. The back cover shows a red polka-dot bowl of a spectacular fruit salad with a dollop of whipped […]

If you ever find yourself in New York City on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, take a walk down 8th Ave from Columbus Circle, and stop in to Guantanamera, a Cuban restaurant featuring one of the baddest bands in New York, The Pedrito Martinez Group. Pedrito is one of the world’s pre-eminent congueros and batá […]

New Orleans is one of the only places in the world where you encounter a city, a culture, and a music scene all at the same time. When I arrived here a year ago, I wasn’t prepared for how interwoven music, dance, food, and history are in this city, and how quickly I would be swept […]

It was jazz singer Annie Ross who first proposed pairing the singer’s singer Tony Bennett with Bill Evans, the most emotionally evocative pianist of them all. There was just one problem: Evans almost always worked alone. In his autobiography, Bennett says he was surprised when Ross suggested the collaboration because Evans rarely recorded with singers […]

“A Great Day in Harlem” is one of the iconic images in jazz. A crowd of dapper musicians spills down the steps of a New York brownstone, and a row of kids sits along the curb in front of them. In 1958, the New York jazz scene was electric, with busy clubs and enthusiastic fans. […]

It’s been a great summer for the Jazz on Wheels band, and their cohort of fiery young musicians from the Jazz on Wheels Academy! In July, six promising students—a drummer, a guitar player, a pianist, a bass player, and two singers—met with Steve Kirby and a band of talented teachers. The kids were hand-picked from […]

You may have seen guitarist Jocelyn Gould at a collage-à-trois show, or on the flatbed playing with Jazz on Wheels a couple of summers back. She’s a passionate musician with a warm sound and a quick smile. A few months ago she started up a jam session on Sunday nights at Maw’s, a new little […]

If you happened to be in the crowd a couple of years ago when Christian McBride was in town with “Inside Straight,” you will remember Warren Wolf, the young vibraphonist fronting the band. This fall, he returns to the Izzy Asper Jazz Performances leading the Warren Wolf Quartet. Warren Wolf has made a name for […]

Trumpet superstar Etienne Charles was born on the island of Trinidad, but if you’ve ever heard him play, you probably already know that. His Trinidadian roots extend into every facet of his performance, giving him a fresh new sound which inspires in listeners a sense of being a part of something big. Not since Dizzy […]

When established artists tour, they face a conundrum: whether to play old favourites or exciting new material. Chick Corea, piano virtuoso and innovative master of jazz fusion, has found an ingenious solution. The Vigil tour rolling into Burton Cummings Theatre September 23 will be no mere retrospective. It will be a bold reimagining of the […]