News & Updates — jazz

Born today in 1942: a true soul man, Isaac Hayes! Before his multi-platinum singing career as a psychedelic gospel-soul-jazz artist who would bring Burt Bacharach songs into the extended length stetched-out mind-trip format, he was a crucial foundational member of the Stax operation. He wrote or co-wrote, produced and/or played on many '60s hits for Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas, Johnnie Taylor, The Soul Children, Judy Clay, Rufus Thomas, Otis Redding, The Mar-Keys, William Bell and others, often times in collaboration with David Porter and Booker T & the MGs. Of particular note are "Soul Man", "Hold On I'm Coming",...

Happy birthday to the visionary Cuban trombonist/composer/producer Juan Pablo Torres. He made some very funky Latin jazz both in and outside of Cuba, and some of his albums stand as some of the most "fucked-up" or psychedelic-aligned music you'll ever hear from the island. Aside from his own masterpieces, you can hear him with Paquito D'Rivera, Gilberto Santarosa, Hilton Ruiz, Arturo Sandoval, Tata Güines and others. He also led the groups Estrellas de Areito, Algo Nuevo and played in the groundbreaking Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna.

Yes, I know it's the birthday today of a more famous pianist, Bill Evans, but I want to highlight Mal Waldron because I like his music better (it's just a matter of personal taste, pal) and I feel that he is underrated, despite a much-longer career than Evans. Born to West Indian parents in NYC, Mal grew up in Jamaica, Queens and took piano lessons before also playing alto sax in bands as a teenager. In the '40s he was witness to the bebop explosion and after college switched permanently to piano. Turning pro in '50, he cut first record...

Happy birthday to Al Hibbler, the uniquely gifted and underrated vocalist and civil rights activist who's career was disturbed by a near-blacklist recording ban due to his arrests in the movement. Born in Mississippi, he joined a choir at a school for the blind in Little Rock at age 12. He developed his baritone voice and started singing blues in the '30s. In the early '40s he sang in territory bands in the South and Midwest and also with Jay McShann (the same band with young Charlie Parker) where he made his first recorded appearance. In '43 he joined the...

I love jazz violin and Stuff Smith was a major one. He came out of the swing era but played a Louie Armstrong-influenced progressive style with beboppers and even with Sun Ra, inspiring many jazz violinists since, including Billy Bang. And he was the first person to use electronic amplification for it. From Cleveland, Hezekiah Leroy Gordon Smith learned the instrument from his father before studying classical music. At 15 he toured with the Aunt Jemima Revue minstrel show. He played jazz professionally in Dallas starting in '26 and NYC starting in '35 after stints with Jelly Roll Morton and a...