Jazz Police, Author at Twin Cities Jazz Festival

Twin Cities Summer 2020 Jazz Calendar

March 29, 2020 •

Patty Peterson and the Jazz Women All Stars,, coming to Crooners July 11th Live events are beginning to pop up around the Twin Cities, including the innovative “Lakeside Drive In” and upcoming live music on the patio at Crooners Lounge. Venues are experimenting with live streaming and the state is allowing indoor events under specific […]

The Baylor Project

March 23, 2020 •

The Baylor Project Band © Kevin R. Mason Writer’s Note: With all that is going on with the growing concerns over the virus pandemic, it is nice to look back at one of the many excellent free concerts in the New York area. I hope it is a nice distraction […]

Will the Arts Face a Corona Virus Challenge?

March 3, 2020 •

Red Poppy Art House (photo courtesy of Red Poppy) As the announcement of art events cancellations appear from Europe, the question is how could this event affect the arts. Locally here in San Francisco, there is the question of how this situation, if it develops as predicted, would affect the San Francisco economy overall and […]

The 2019 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition – The SASSY Awards!

March 1, 2020 •

2019 SASSY Awards Finalists © Kevin R. Mason On Sunday, November 24, 2019, the 8th annual contest named after the legendary Sarah Vaughan, “The Divine One,” gave five vocalists an opportunity to compete for a $5,000 cash prize and a performance slot at the 2020 Newport Jazz Festival. Past winners and finalists […]

David Amram’s 89th Birthday at Jazz Forum

February 9, 2020 •

Jazz Forum Celebrates David Amram at 89 © Kevin R. Mason On November 16, 2019, multi-instrumentalist/composer David Amram celebrated his 89th birthday at the beautiful, intimate, art-filled Jazz Forum nightclub in Tarrytown, New York. Since opening in 2017, Jazz Forum has become established as the premier location for live jazz in […]

Jesse Simon: Ambassador of Hard Bop

February 2, 2020 •

The Minnesota Hard Bop Collective (L-R, Dale Alexander, Jesse Simon, Ted Olsen, Omar AbdulKarim, Jeff Rinear © Mn Hard Bop Collective 2020) Good things have a way of sticking around. And few things are better than the music called hard bop which flourished roughly from 1955 to 1965. Luckily for those of us in the […]