Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes

 Billy Marcus Billy Marcus has been a fixture on the Florida jazz scene for more than 30 years. After an extensive club reign in...

Just three weeks into its new home the South County Jazz Club's Tuesday night jam session feels fully entrenchedat Valenti's Alleg...

 Dick Reynolds and Ira Sullivan Multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan cut his jazz teeth on the vibrant jazz scene in Chicago in the 195...

A look at new CDs from Lynne Arriale, Jeff Hamilton and Jonny King....

Jake Pinto does spring break a bit differently than most of his college peers. He headed home fro m New York University to Sarasota FL fo...

Dave Pruyn brought his Jazz Legacy Big Band to Port Charlotte FL last night for a concert that revealed the all-around excellence of the...

Founding producer George George Wein today announced the lineup for the Saturday and Sunday programs of the 2012 Newport Jazz Festival on Au...

Saxophonist Ron Drischel, whose main axe is the tenor, has a brawny style and a robust tone th at serve him well. He put them to good use Th...

Just wanted to share a photo from Tuesday night's South County Jazz Club jam session at Snook Haven, where there's been jazz every T...

I’m a big fan of jazz CDs that have the Hammond B3 at the heart of the action. The leader doesn’t have to be the organist for the recording ...

I spent much of President’s Day Weekend covering the seventh annual Punta Gorda (FL) Wine & Jazz Festival for JazzTimes.com . The main e...

Wes Montgomery , Echoes of Indiana Avenue (Resonance) Jazz guitar compleatists will dig this one, which is mandatory listening for anyon e ...

The competition for the live entertainment audience has intensified as the number of venues has increased over the years. People only have s...

Drummer Al Hixon, who at times sounds like he could have a second career as a semi-corny standup comedian, brought his quartet into the Veni...

Ira Sullivan is on his SW Florida annual tour, which stopped last night in Port Charlotte. My coverage of the octagenarian's concert has...

Another random thought on the Grammys last night. Maybe the voters have begun a course correction for the major categories. Adele goes six ...

The portion of the Grammys featuring jazz categories and jazz musicians took place hours before tonight’s prime time telecast of the least-c...

Singer Debbie Keeton and tenor saxophonist Jim Wellen work together frequently. And they work well together, which was evident at the F...

Get there early - and make a reservation if you want to have any chance of getting in to the South County Jazz Club's weekly jam sessio...

Gregory Porter, Be Good (Motéma) Singer-songwriter Gregory Porter is the real deal. This second r ecording in as many years is a delight i...

Trombonist Greg Nielsen brought his quartet- and a lot of versatility - to the V enice Art Center on Friday, January 27 for an SRO performan...

Harry Allen, Rhythm of the River (Challenge) Perhaps more than any other musician, pianist Dave McKenna had a knack of weaving thematic med...

Miles Davis will receive his very own commemorative postage stamp from the U.S. Postal Service in June as part of an overseas partnership. T...

I talked with Italy-based Scott Hamilton this month for a feature in Hot House magazine’s February issue. (He’s a guest artist with fellow...

Football's Super Bowl will be here in 13 days, which means we're less than three weeks away from the Grammys. Don't groan all at...

My review of the the Ed Metz – Nicki Parrott – Rossano Sportiello trio concert at the Charlotte Cultural Center has just been posted online...

Some drummers and percussionists are known to play everything but the kitchen sink. Tupac Mantilla goes beyond that metaphorical barrier o...

With no full-fledged local jazz nightclub now in existence, where better to showcase the art of jazz than in an art gallery? That’s the case...

As five more musicians formally receive their NEA Jazz Masters awards in New York tonight in the 30th such annual presentation, comes word t...

The website allaboutjazz.com has just published my extensive Year in Jazz retrospective. There was a lot going on and I've tried to touc...

I had a long conversation with trumpeter Jimmy Owens in preparation for a feature in the January issue of Hot House , which is just out. He ...

Joyous holiday wishes to each of you on this special day. It feels a bit odd to be celebrating away from the usual white carpet of snow in u...

Rene Marie, Black Lace Freudian Slip (Motéma) Rene Marie is not a “chick singer” covering standards. Even the thought of that at this stag...