Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes

New Orleans-based OffBeat magazine has published my review of saxophonist Randal Despommier's latest CD, A  Midsummer Odyssey , in its J...

Jo Harrop, The Heart Wants (Lateralize) London-based singer and songwriter Jo Harrop has a winner here. Her lyrics are intelligent and her ...

In my mind, June is a month for saxophonists. At least this June. For this jazz journalist. Let me explain. The June issue of Hot House jaz...

The Dan Miller-Lew Del Gatto quartet's weekly gig at the Barrel Room in downtown Fort Myers FL always has a surprise or two, and the Thu...

Singer Halie Loren covered the jazz and popular music waterfront - on the waterfront - in a Sunday, May 15, matinee concert at Selby Gardens...

Hammond B-3 player Tony Monaco's music is rooted in a mighty tradition, but isn't stuck there. He can take the B-3 to church, and ev...

The May issue of Hot House includes my profile of drummer Quincy Davis, who performs with his quintet May 20-21 at Smalls Jazz Club in Gree...

Chiara Izzi Here is a rundown of noteworthy jazz events, principally in the Sarasota to Naples territory, from now through early June.  Keep...

When Japanese pianist Makoto Ozone last visited New York City, a not-so-funny thing happened. He was in the Big Apple in January 2020, plann...

Trombonist Herb Bruce and his Herbicide Jazz Band closed the Charlotte County Jazz Society's 2021-22 concert season on Monday, April 11 ...

 You can hear it in the music, and you can see it in the faces. Jazz at its best touches the audience, and is celebrated deeply in the music...

Here is a rundown of noteworthy jazz events, principally in the Sarasota to Naples territory, from now through May. Keep in mind the reality...

It took an extra two years to get there, thanks to the pandemic. The Jazz Club of Sarasota's long-running jazz festival held its 40 th ...

The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, led by trumpeter and singer David Pruyn, drew the Charlotte County Jazz Society's largest audience of the 20...

Here is a rundown of noteworthy jazz events, principally in the Sarasota to Naples territory, from now through March. Keep in mind the reali...

Y ou can't go wrong with the standards, be they items from the Great American Songbook, Braziliana or tried-and-true jazz chestnuts. You...

The all-star International Trio returned to the Charlotte County Jazz Society concert stage on Monday, February 7 for their fifth appearance...

I spent a good chunk of time over the past two weeks digging into the previously unreported passing of respected West Coast jazz critic Don ...

Trumpeter Terumasa Hino, at age 79 a jazz dynamo and elder statesman in his native Japan, divides his time between his homeland and the U.S....

Duke Ellington's impact on jazz seems beyond measure, no matter how you count it. He wrote, co-wrote or took credit for writing more tha...

Here is the latest update to our running, chronological list of jazz-related jazz-related COVID-19 deaths, updated as we receive them.   Thi...

Here is a rundown of noteworthy jazz events, principally in the Sarasota to Naples territory, from now through February. Keep in mind the re...

All About Jazz has published my annual comprehensive compilation of trends, challenges and noteworthy happenings in the global jazz world. S...

‘Tis the season for the outpouring of Top 10 lists, and their many variations, for jazz, world events, etc. The jazz lists tend to have a l...

Kenny Washington Oakland CA-based singer Kenny Washington is a marvel, plain and simple. And his return performance to Artis Naples' All...

One of the great joys in hearing live jazz is a night when talented players who've never performed together get on stage and find instan...

With co-leader Dan Miller out of town, tenor saxophonist Lew Del Gatto brought in guitarist Frank Portolese to join the fun for the weekly q...

There is so much to admire at an Acme Jazz Garage concert. The Tampa-based band leaps with enthusiasm into a wide-ranging bag of influences ...

Conguero Sammy Figueroa brought a quintet version of His Latin Jazz Explosion band to Sarasota on Monday, November 22. As befits its name, t...