CityArts-New York

CityArts New York June jazz fests bustin’ out-all-over supplement

May 5, 2011 by Howard Mandel

CityArts New York let me play jazz supplement editor. Read my lead feature on upcoming in June the NYC Blue Note Jazz Festival, UnDead Festival, gigs everywhere and more respect! Also Kurt Gottschalk on the Vision Festival's backstory, David Adler on three successful, smart, younger jazzers, snapshots of Brazilian drummer Adriano Santos, Korean singer (of Portuguese Yeahwon Shin and soul-tinged singer songwriter Laura Cheadle by Ernest Barteldes, and the big band w/classical Asian instruments Project Hansori led … [Read more...]

Creative Music Studio, Woodstock at Columbia U and East Village

April 21, 2011 by Howard Mandel

My CityArts - New York column is about the Creative Music Symposium, organized by Karl Berger, pianist/vibist with his wife Ingrid Sertso, who cofounded with free-thinking Ornette Coleman of the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock NY (1972-1984). The symposium at Columbia University's Center for Jazz Studies (directed by trombonist and digital music innovator George E. Lewis, once a CMS student/participant) last weekend dipped into the history and practices of the CMS, a paradise where cross-genre visionary improvisers … [Read more...]

I'm a Chicago-born (and after 32 years in NYC, recently repatriated) writer, editor, author, arts reporter for National Public Radio, consultant and nascent videographer -- a veteran freelance journalist working on newspapers, magazines and websites, appearing on tv and radio, teaching at New York University and elsewhere, consulting on media, publishing and jazz-related issues. I'm president of the Jazz Journalists Association, a non-profit membership organization devoted to using all media to disseminate news and views about all kinds of jazz.
My books are Future Jazz (Oxford U Press, 1999) and Miles Ornette Cecil - Jazz Beyond Jazz (Routledge, 2008). I was general editor of the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz and Blues (Flame Tree 2005/Billboard Books 2006). Of course I'm working on something new. . . Read More…

Howard Mandel on Hyde Park Jazz Fest, summer’s last dance (photos): “thanks Bob -- Andrew is playing at his peak, should be heard!” Oct 1, 17:05
Bob Gluck on Hyde Park Jazz Fest, summer’s last dance (photos): “Thanks for the report on what sounds like a vibrant festival mixing generations and approaches. I particularly appreciate the space…” Oct 1, 14:57
Howard Mandel on The Jazz & Blues Art Box — instant collection, rare data trove: “I dont know about the publicfunding for the Bern jazz festival OR the videos; the Box itself seems to be…” Jul 31, 00:13
William Osborne on The Jazz & Blues Art Box — instant collection, rare data trove: “The Swiss have made similar collections of recordings of their contemporary classical composers -- not that large, but very comprehensive.…” Jul 30, 20:52
Afifah Rachmawati on Great new jazz photography: Sánta’s faces of Northsea Jazz Fest: “It's great!!” Jul 24, 15:28

ESP Disks — origins of jazz beyond jazz

Reviewing a sleeping giant, ESP Disks before its early '00s revival Howard Mandel c 1997, published in issue 157, The Wire It was a time before psychedelics. Following the seismic cultural disruptions of the mid '50s, rock 'n' roll had hit a … [Read More...]

William Parker, my DownBeat feature from 1998

Howard Mandel c 1998/published by DownBeat, July 1998, under headline Beneath the Underdog (the editor's reference to Charles Mingus's autobiography): There's an anchor for New York's downtown free jazz and improv "wild bunch": his name is William … [Read More...]

Matthew Shipp, my feature for The Wire, 1998

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="IFeXJPobvykRyuU4dU68FilRPv0EE8oC"] This is a complete version of the feature on pianist Matthew Shipp I wrote for The Wire, published in February, 1998 Is this the face of New York's jazz avant now? Pianist Matt … [Read More...]

Rashied Ali (1935 – 2009), multi-directional drummer, speaks

A 1990 interview with drummer Rashied Ali, about his relationship with John Coltrane. … [Read More...]

On The Corner program notes, Merkin Hall concert 5/25/09

Miles Davis intended On The Corner to be a personal statement, an esthetic breakthrough and a social provocation upon its release in fall of 1972. He could hardly have been more successful: the album was all that, though it has taken decades for its … [Read More...]