Foday Musa Suso absorbed centuries of tradition growing up in Gambia. As part of the griot caste, his family had performed a centuries-long role in Gambian society, narrating historical epics and singing praise songs while playing the kora, a harplike 21-string instrument his distant ancestors invented. Suso dreamed of bringing his music to places far […]
Tag: Pharoah Sanders
Posted inMusic
Ari Brown belongs in Chicago’s canon of great tenor saxophonists
Ari Brown hasn’t often sought the spotlight, but his blend of bebop rigor and avant-garde daring puts him on par with the likes of Fred Anderson and Von Freeman.
Posted inMusic
The Chicago Underground Quartet bottle their lightning again
For 19 years, the Chicago Underground Quartet’s first album was their only album—but now longtime collaborators Rob Mazurek, Jeff Parker, and Chad Taylor have recaptured the group’s freewheeling jazz spirit.
Posted inBlogs
The year’s best box sets, honorable mentions
More gifts for music fiends: Elvis’s very earliest work, spiritual jazz by Pharoah Sanders, underappreciated postpunk by Seattle weirdos the U-Men, and more
Posted inMusic
Hamid Drake drums around the world, but he’s not a star at home
Hamid Drake’s fluid fusion of jazz, reggae, and world-music percussion styles has made him an invaluable part of countless groups.
Posted inBlogs
Sonny Sharrock’s brilliant 1991 album Ask the Ages gets reissued
Listen to the guitarist’s coruscating swing for today’s 12 O’Clock Track.
Posted inBlogs
There’s plenty to see this weekend at the HotHouse’s Old and New Dreams Festival
Mark Helias and Karl Berger are among the artists playing this weekend’s event at Promontory.
Posted inBlogs
Listen to ‘Thembi,’ get psyched for Pharoah Sanders on Saturday
The saxophonit joins the Chicago Underground Duo at the Promontory for his first appearance in Chicago in more than a decade.
Posted inBlogs
12 O’Clock Track: “Promises Kept,” masterful modern jazz from Sonny Sharrock
The opening track from one of the greatest jazz records of all time, by guitarist Sonny Sharrock
Posted inBlogs
Celebrating the good and bad of jazz producer Creed Taylor
A deluge of reissues of titles from Impulse and CTI Records celebrates the 50th and 40th anniversaries, respectively, of two iconic labels founded by jazz producer Creed Taylor.