Articles by C. Andrew Hovan
Vince Guaraldi and Bola Sete: From All Sides
by C. Andrew Hovan
When it comes to West Coast jazz of the highest order, Lester Koenig's Contemporary label set the standard, although Fantasy Records would also carve its own niche. Founded by the Weiss Brothers in 1949, Fantasy would be the home to two early jazz crossover artists, Dave Brubeck and Vince Guaraldi. With a taste for multiple genres, the label also documented the work of comedian Lenny Bruce and the country rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival. The latter group actually earned ...
Continue ReadingIn the Land of Giants: OJCs from Thad Jones and Red Garland
by C. Andrew Hovan
The late 1950s marked a particularly fertile period in jazz. Big bands still commanded audiences, while smaller combos often blended veterans of the swing era with the rising architects of modern bop. Musicians such as Thad Jones, Frank Wess, Illinois Jacquet, and Coleman Hawkins moved fluidly among ensembles, thriving in a moment before the stylistic fault lines of the mid-1960s hardened into full-blown “style wars." Prestige Records capitalized on this rich talent pool, frequently assembling ad hoc all-star groups for ...
Continue ReadingMakaya McCraven at the Cleveland Museum of Art
by C. Andrew Hovan
Makaya McCraven Cleveland Museum of Art Cleveland, OH February 18, 2026 As the Cleveland Museum of Art continues to expand its artistic reach under the leadership of Gabe Pollack, director of performing arts since 2022, the dividends are increasingly apparent. With the resources to present artists beyond the scope of a typical club or restaurant venue, the museum has transformed the recently refurbished Gartner Auditorium into one of Northeast Ohio's most compelling listening rooms. Recent ...
Continue ReadingTerence Blanchard & Ravi Coltrane: Miles Davis & John Coltrane Centennial at UMS
by C. Andrew Hovan
Terence Blanchard & Ravi Coltrane Hill Auditorium Miles Davis & John Coltrane Centennial Ann Arbor, Michigan February 15, 2026 How fitting that jazz titans Miles Davis and John Coltrane were both born in 1926. As the centennial of their births is celebrated across the country, tributes have taken many forms. Trumpeter Terence Blanchard has joined forces with saxophonist Ravi Coltrane for a series of commemorative performances, launching the collaboration at Hill Auditoriumon the campus ...
Continue ReadingBill Evans: Haunted Heart: The Legendary Riverside Studio Recordings (Remastered 2025)
by C. Andrew Hovan
The past five years have been a banner period for recordings drawn from the vast canon of Bill Evans work, encompassing both previously issued material and newly discovered performances. Adding to the fact that one can easily hunt down previously issued expansive reissues of Evans' Riverside, Verve, and Fantasy catalogs, many unearthed tapes have finally seen the light of day through the efforts of Elemental Music and Resonance Records. And while it has been several decades since the JVC XRCD ...
Continue ReadingRay Barretto: Together
by C. Andrew Hovan
As of this writing, it has been more than 20 years since we lost the great conguero Ray Barretto. A native New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent, Barretto was among the first musicians to bring the conga drum into the standard jazz combo. His unmistakable touch can be heard throughout the early 1960s on a string of jazz classics by Lou Donaldson, Red Garland, Gene Ammons, Kenny Burrell, Herbie Mann, and Jimmy Forrest. As the Latin music scene exploded in ...
Continue ReadingWes Montgomery: Boss Guitar
by C. Andrew Hovan
By the time Wes Montgomery left us in 1968 at just 45, he had already produced a staggering body of work. To say he changed the way musicians approached the guitar forever is no overstatement. Thanks to producer Orrin Keepnews, Montgomery documented his prime years on Riverside, recording nearly a dozen albums between 1959 and 1963. While some listeners discount his later efforts for Verve and A&M, the truth is that Montgomery never made a record that was not infused ...
Continue ReadingC. Andrew Hovan's Best Jazz Albums of 2025
by C. Andrew Hovan
On many levels, 2025 proved to be a challenging year marked by considerable strife. Fortunately, as Art Blakey once observed, “Music washes away the dust of everyday life." And yet, given the current state of affairs, the moment might be more accurately captured by a line from The Police: “When the world is falling down, you make the best of what's still around." Over the past decade, the trajectory of jazz has often been bent toward rule-breaking and linguistic expansion, ...
Continue ReadingA Muse Renaissance: Reissues from Roy Brooks, Kenny Barron, and Carlos Garnett
by C. Andrew Hovan
The independent jazz label has long served as a bellwether for the music's highest artistry, ever since the advent of the long-playing record. Labels such as Verve Records, Blue Note Records, Prestige Records, Contemporary Records, and Riverside--each a modest operation led by passionate entrepreneurs--were devoted to documenting the sound of their era with fidelity and purpose. As rock and other modern styles began to overshadow mainstream jazz in the early 1970s, producer Joe Fields emerged as a tireless advocate for ...
Continue ReadingA Savoy Revival: New OJCs from Hank Mobley & Yusef Lateef
by C. Andrew Hovan
Although the Concord Music Group acquired the legendary Savoy Records archives in 2017, the catalog has seen little reissue activity since. Founded in 1942 by Herman Lubinsky, Savoy earned distinction for documenting rhythm and blues, gospel, and jazz over several decades. The label captured many of bebop's pioneering voices--Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, Kenny Clarke, and Dizzy Gillespie, among them--on a series of landmark recordings. By the mid-1970s, Savoy endured a turbulent stretch of shifting distribution deals, first aligning ...
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