Jazz Police, Author at Twin Cities Jazz Festival

Litchfield Jazz Festival Presents the Emmet Cohen Trio

April 15, 2021 •

Emmet Cohen © Kevin R. Mason Vita Vita Muir © Kevin R. Mason The Litchfield Jazz Festival presented the Emmet Cohen Trio virtually on Friday, December 18, 2020, featuring Emmet Cohen on piano, Kyle Poole on drums, and Philip Norris on bass. […]

Another Look Back at 2020 – David Amram’s 90th Birthday Celebration at Jazz Forum

March 29, 2021 •

David Amram and Mark Morganelli at the Jazz Forum © Kevin R. Mason The Jazz Forum in Tarrytown, NY celebrated yet another marvelous birthday with David Amram & Friends. This time, it was Amram’s 90th birthday, with a November 14 live-streamed set. Although the anniversary of Amram’s birth actually falls on November 17, these early […]

Looking Back – The 2020 Monterey Jazz Festival – Virtual!

March 24, 2021 •

Christian Sands – 2020/2021 Monterey Jazz Festival Artist-in-Residence © Kevin R. Mason 2020 was an unprecedented and challenging year for live, in-person music events. Due to the pandemic, most jazz festivals held in 2020 were presented online. Occasionally, a few live, socially distanced performances took place as a part of jazz festivals, but they were […]

Mourning and Celebration: Notes on Recent Losses in Twin Cities Jazz

March 22, 2021 •

By Bill Stieger. “You want to play JAZZ? That music is too good. Now, you’ll really starve” – William Stieger Sr. The consequences of aging accumulate with each passing year. The aches, fatigue, diminishment of the senses reminds us gummers daily that things are headed South, It’s an old story–perhaps the oldest story-and guaranteed to […]

Prepared Piano Albums from Benoît Delbecq and Satoko Fujii

March 21, 2021 •

The Weight Of Light by Benoît Delbecq was released on February 13th and Beyond, the debut recording of Futari, a duo of pianist-composer Satoko Fujii and vibraphonist Taiko Saito was released on January 22nd. Both new releases that feature prepared piano, a method of extending and altering sounds by placing objects on or between the […]

Coping With COVID: Views From the Perspective of Twin Cities Jazz

March 12, 2021 •

The pandemic of 2020 has forced a tsunami of change for everyone in the performing arts. With nightclubs, theaters, and museums closed, or operating at limited capacity, Twin City jazz musicians have had to double their efforts to stay musically involved. Things grew difficult for the clubs that offer jazz, as well. But all is not […]