Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes

Patricia Dean Simplicity can be a breath of fresh air in jazz. One such example occurred on Thursday, July 20 when drummer-singer Patric...

Suffice it to say, Geri Allen will be there in spirit. Geri Allen at Newport, August 2004 The pianist had been scheduled to perform ...

Giacomo Gates Hot House, New York City’s long-running monthly jazz guide, asked me to profile singer Giacomo Gates, as well as preview s...

The concert season in southern Florida pretty much mirrors the months when the area has the most visitors and seasonal residents.... say Oct...

When a musician gets in a life-altering jam, the music community tends to respond in a very big way. One of the latest instances in...

Taking a look at new CDs by Antonio Adolfo, Mike Longo, Yoko Miwa, Norbert Stachel, and John Stein and Dave Zinno.…

Bass player and educator Brandon Robertson practices what he teaches. Brandon Robertson Robertson earned undergraduate and master’s ...

Taking a look at new CDs by Lili Añel, Ron Boustead, Laura Dubin, Diego Figueiredo, Steve Khan, Joachim Kühn, Sarah Partridge, and The Three...

There was a time after the first phase of the Newport Jazz Festival (1954-1971), that jazz pretty much was a dirty word in Newport. The city...

You never know just what's in store when the Dan Miller Quartet performs on Tuesday nights at the  Roadhouse Cafe in Fort Myers FL. Ther...

April is Jazz Appreciation Month - and it is flying by. The Smithsonian Institution decreed the month's status 16 years ago as a way t...

In the right hands, Dixieland jazz is more of a feeling than a specific repertoire. It’s not what you play, so much as how you play it. Bob ...

Tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander fully embraced the rich and vibrant sound of bebop in his formative years as a jazz player - and continues ...

Diego Figueiredo's Brazilian guitar artistry will make your jaw drop. His nylon-stringed acoustic guitar is merely the vessel for astoni...

Trombonist Wycliffe Gordon is a modern-day ambassador for classic jazz dating back nearly a century. He digs the repertoire and style , putt...

Taking a look at new CDs by Joe Bourne, Andrea Claburn, Ingrid and Christine Jensen, Jeff Rupert & Richard Drexler, and Jimmy Scott….

Here is a rundown of noteworthy jazz events, principally in the Sarasota to Naples territory, from now through April when the 2016-2017 co...

Tenor saxophonist Jeff Rupert & Friends, featuring rising star singer Veronica Swift, wound up a 10-day Florida concert tour on Sunday, ...

Singer Lisa Kelly and trumpeter JB Scott had a few surprises up their sleeves for their return performance at the Charlotte County Jazz Soc...

The depth and breadth of pianist, arranger and composer Dick Hyman’s career seems astonishing by any musical standards. Most aspects of his...

Clarinetist Bud Leeds brought musicians together from near and far - in this case, mostly far - for his annual South County Jazz Club matine...

Jazz singer Jane Monheit's musical home is the Great American Songbook. She showed a Naples, Florida audience on Friday, February 24, th...

Chuchito Valdes Latin fire is in pianist Chuchito Vald é s' genes. He's the son of Chucho Vald és and grandson of the late Bebo...

To say it was long overdue is an understatement. Joshua Breakstone and Don Mopsick grew up in Linden. NJ. Their families knew each other and...

You may not know him by name, but changes are great you've heard this saxophonist's performances over the past five decades on count...

Dick Hyman Either as a snowbird or a full-time resident, pianist-composer-arranger Dick Hyman has lived 30 miles up the road in Venice f...

To fully appreciate the rich place that Brazilian jazz holds today amo ng the world's music forms, you have to go back to its root s in ...

Saxophonists Peter and Will Anderson are steeped in the jazz and Great American Songbook classics, but their material is never fenced in by ...

Giacomo Gates' jazz vocals mastery is rooted deep in the scat and vocalese traditions, then blended with his engaging ability to put son...

Veronica Swift Veronica Swift was born with jazz in her blood. It sounds like singing in the genre comes as natural to her as breathing....

Southwest Florida's 2016-17 jazz concert season will continue through May . Here is a rundown of noteworthy jazz events, principally ...

Eddie Metz Jr. Drummer Eddie Metz Jr. brought his mighty International Trio plus tenor saxophonist Harry Allen to Sarasota FL to provide...

Guitarist Larry Coryell, Russell Malone and Nate Najar teamed up Thursday, January 19 for an evening that showcased their individual styles...

Toronto-based singer June Garber deliver ed a superb - and superbly programmed - performanc e on Friday, January 13 as part of the So uth Co...

What a difference three years makes. The Sarasota Jazz Project returned to Port Charlotte on Monday, January 9 for Big Band Night in the Cha...

Martin Taylor Jazz guitar master Martin Taylor was the Naples Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra’s featured guest at the sextet’s January 4 con...

My comprehensive compilation of significant jazz happenings across the US and around the globe during 2016 is now posted at All About Jazz ...

Best wishes to you. your friends and families for a very Merry Christmas 2016, joyous New Year - and hopeful 2017 - from the Jazz Notes staf...

There is something mighty special about Brazilian music. The pulse of its varied rhythms, the sensuous sway of its melodies and the textures...

Ira Sullivan Ira Sullivan was in a holiday frame of mind for his sextet appearance at the Charlotte County Jazz Society's concert se...