What we discover about Kamala Harris from an armful of record albums

Like her or not, readers of this site will enjoy learning that Vice President Kamala Harris is a fan of jazz music.  Witness this recent clip (via Youtube) of her emerging from a record shop…

“Adrian Rollini Lives” – an appreciation, by Malcolm McCollum

Stating the genius of the multi-instrumentalist who played with the likes of Bix Beiderbecke, Benny Goodman, Red Nichols, Miff Mole, and Joe Venuti

Jazz History Quiz #173

Described as a “Louis Armstrong sound-alike on both trumpet and vocals” whose recording of “On the Sunny Side of the Street” was so close to Armstrong’s live show that some listeners thought Armstrong was copying him, this trumpeter (along with Bobby Stark), was Chick Webb’s main trumpet soloist during the 1930’s. Who is he?

“Stars” – a short story by Ronald McGuire

In this story – a finalist in the recently concluded 65th Short Fiction Contest – a missing guitar leads to the dissolution of a chart-topping band. Years later their subsequent reconciliation reverberates across generations.

The Sunday Poem: “Why I Play Guitar” by C.J. Trotter

because Jupiter is 1300 times the volume of the Earth
because milkweeds in the yard are as beautiful as
“Hushabye”
because on clear nights the moon pours in my window
like a spotlight and makes me think
Paul Simon’s in the room

Gary Giddins – NEA Jazz Master

The most eminent jazz writer of his generation (who has frequently appeared on this website in Jerry Jazz Musician-hosted interviews) is now a recipient of the 2025 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Jazz Masters Fellowship.

“An Evening at the Genesee” – a short story by Salvatore Difalco

The story – a finalist in the recently concluded 65th Short Fiction Contest – concerns a heart-broken man trying to deal with his sadness via journaling and jazz.

Four baseball (and jazz) poems…

In which poets connect the swing of the bat with that of the bandstand…

The Sunday Poem: “Ten-Suite Epistrophies and Improvisations: for T. Monk” by Bill Siegel

When he plays he wears invisible glasses
picks his keys with patience and purpose
a tornado with time on his hands
while in walks light

“Music Depreciation” – a short story by Dr. Martin Blinder

The author’s story – a finalist in the recently concluded 65th Short Fiction Contest – describes the unlikely and circuitous route by which, against all odds, he became a jazz musician.

Pianists and Poets – 13 poems devoted to the keys

From “Fatha” Hines to Brad Mehldau, poets open themselves up to their experiences with and reverence for great jazz pianists…

Excerpts from David Rife’s Jazz Fiction: Take Two – Vol. 3: “Louis Armstrong”

A substantial number of novels and stories with jazz music as a component of the story have been published over the years, and the scholar David J. Rife has written short essay/reviews of them. In this third edition featuring excerpts from his book, Rife writes about four novels/short fiction that include stories involving Louis Armstrong.

“The Naked Jazz Musician” – A playlist by Bob Hecht

As Sonny Rollins has said, “Jazz is about taking risks, pushing boundaries, and challenging the status quo.” Could there be anything riskier—or more boundary-pushing—than to stand naked and perform with nowhere to hide? Bob’s extensive playlist is comprised of such perilous undertakings by an array of notable woodwind and brass masters who have had the confidence and courage (some might say even the exhibitionism) to expose themselves so completely by playing….alone.

The Sunday Poem: “When Sonny Gets Gray” by John Menaghan

Surely Sonny still gets blue at times

I mean he’s a human being after all
isn’t he although sometimes he
seems more superhuman celestial
take now for instance as he bends
nearly all the way to the stage in
his 80s and plays and plays
and plays and plays and plays

If You Want to Go to Heaven, Follow a Songbird – Mary K O’Melveny’s album of poetry and music

While consuming Mary K O’Melveny’s remarkable work in this digital album of poetry, readings and music, readers will discover that she is moved by the mastery of legendary musicians, the wings of a monarch butterfly, the climate and political crisis, the mysteries of space exploration, and by the freedom of jazz music that can lead to what she calls “the magic of the unknown.”

A Collection of Jazz Poetry — Spring/Summer, 2024 Edition

In this, the 17^th major collection of jazz poetry published on Jerry Jazz Musician, 50 poets from all over the world again demonstrate the ongoing influence the music and its associated culture has on their creative lives.

On turning 70, and contemplating the future of Jerry Jazz Musician

Thoughts on embracing a new stage in life, and where I hope to go next with Jerry Jazz Musician

The Photographs of Giovanni Piesco: Archie Shepp

Beginning in 1990, the noted photographer Giovanni Piesco began taking backstage photographs of many of the great musicians who played in Amsterdam’s Bimhuis, that city’s main jazz venue which is considered one of the finest in the world. Jerry Jazz Musician will occasionally publish portraits of jazz musicians that Giovanni has taken over the years. This edition is of the saxophonist Archie Shepp, taken at Bimhuis in 2001.

Calling All Poets!

News about a Jerry Jazz Musician printed jazz poetry anthology, and information about submitting your poetry for consideration

Jazz History Quiz #172

What fellow pianist is Teddy Wilson (pictured) describing?:

“That man had the most phenomenal musical gifts I’ve ever heard. He was miraculous. It’s like someone hitting a home run every time he picks up a bat. We became such fast friends that I was allowed to interrupt him anytime he was playing at the house parties in Toledo we used to make every night. When I asked him, he would stop and replay a passage very slowly, showing me the fingering on some of those runs of his. You just couldn’t figure them out by ear at the tempo he played them.”

Who is the pianist he is describing?

Interview with Laura Flam and Emily Sieu Liebowitz, authors of But Will You Love Me Tomorrow?: An Oral History of the 60’s Girl Groups

Little is known of the lives of many of the young Black women who – in the Girl Groups of the ‘60’s – sang, wrote, created, and popularized their generation-defining music, and even less about the challenges they faced while performing during such a complex era, one rife with racism, sexism, and music industry corruption.  The authors discuss their book’s mission to provide them an opportunity to voice their meaningful experiences so crucial to the evolution of popular music.

Interview with Tad Richards, author of Jazz With a Beat: Small Group Swing, 1940 – 1960

Richards makes the case that small group swing players like Illinois Jacquet, Louis Jordan (pictured) and Big Jay McNeely played a legitimate jazz that was a more pleasing listening experience to the Black community than the bebop of Parker, Dizzy, and Monk. It is a fascinating era, filled with major figures and events, and centered on a rigorous debate that continues to this day – is small group swing “real jazz?”

Short Fiction Contest-winning story #65 — “Ballad” by Lúcia Leão

The author’s award-winning story is about the power of connections – between father and child, music and art, and the past, present and future.