jazz

The great Montreal bandleader Vic Vogel calls in sick for his farewell gig. Paul Wells looks back on a legendary career.

A certain place, and a certain moment, helped create Ornette Coleman. Jazz musicians, and fans, should remember that.

Pianist, singer and songwriter Laila Biali on life, death and starting over

Jazz singer and pianist Diana Krall on touring with her kids, paying to see Oscar Peterson and her late father’s legacy

Can a new ally and a new genre end Lady Gaga’s slump?

Paul Wells interviews the jazz and classical saxophonist about his two musical worlds

Paul Wells catches the great pianist on a good night

The little bio on this blog claims I write occasionally about jazz. This is very close to never true any more. I have almost stopped attending live jazz concerts over the past decade. Most of the music I listen to these days is classical, and while I do still listen to jazz, very little of it is recently recorded. After covering the Montreal International Jazz Festival 17 years in a row, I paused for logistical reasons in 2006 (I was writing a book) and have essentially never bothered to return. This is not because I’m angry at that festival for programming music that isn’t jazz; it’s that I was starting to feel that too many of the jazz musicians were wasting audiences’ time.

Tony Bennett, 85, sings with Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga on his new CD, and has taken up sculpting. Try to keep up.

Vancouver-born Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society is turning heads in the jazz world

The 96-year-old composer of the classic holiday song talks about his life

Purists take issue with the Montreal jazz festival’s ‘junkyard’ of headline acts