Live Review
Reporting on live jazz from around the globe.
Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville 2026
by Mike Chamberlain
Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville Victoriaville, QC May 11-17 2026 The theme of the 42nd edition of the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville was change. This was the third edition of the festival under the artistic and general direction of Scott Thomson. The 40th edition in 2024 was very much like a typical Victo schedule, and 2025 saw a drastically cut-down edition due to unforeseen manpower issues. Consequently, this was the first ...
Continue ReadingGunhild Carling and her Jazz Band at Joe Henderson Lab
by Steven Roby
Gunhild Carling and her Jazz Band Joe Henderson Lab San Francisco, CA May 24, 2026 About 45 minutes before showtime, Gunhild Carling was her own roadie. Meticulously, she arranged her merchandise table at the Joe Henderson Lab--custom-designed ties in the center, posters, bags, and her paintings to the left, and albums and CDs filling the right. After a brief chat with early arrivals, she disappeared into her dressing room to prepare. What followed was ...
Continue ReadingBrad Mehldau at the Cleveland Museum of Art
by C. Andrew Hovan
Brad Mehldau Trio Cleveland Museum of Art Cleveland, OH May, 13 2026 It had been exactly a decade since pianist Brad Mehldau last appeared on a concert stage in Northeast Ohio when he returned on a cold spring evening for his first performance at the Cleveland Museum of Art's Gartner Auditorium. Much had changed in the interim. Gone was the blustery trio featuring Larry Grenadier and Jeff Ballard, replaced instead by the more subdued pairing ...
Continue ReadingJohn Beasley Sextet at Presidio Theatre
by Steven Roby
John Beasley Sextet Presidio Theatre Miles Davis at 100 San Francisco, CA May 14, 2026 Spanning a 90-minute set from Birth of the Cool to Amandla, John Beasley's sextet anchors the centennial with Miles's most influential band--the 1965--68 quintet featuring Wayne Shorter. Last September at San Francisco's Presidio Theatre, percussionist and former Miles Davis collaborator Mino Cinelu marked the trumpeter's centennial by lighting 100 candles across the stage and performing four Davis ...
Continue ReadingDave King Trio At Buffalo’s Art Of Jazz
by Frank Housh
Dave King Trio Buffalo Akg Art Museum Art Of Jazz Buffalo, NY May 17, 2026 A sunny, 75° day greeted Buffalo jazz lovers as we queued up for the final of four “Art Of Jazz" concerts at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum. A near-capacity crowd heard Dave King Trio reduce six jazz standards into individual threads and weave them into a wild tapestry. The concert began with Ornette Coleman's “Lonely Woman." King built a ...
Continue ReadingOne Night Only: Vinnie Sperrazza with Alex Laurenzi and Solomon Gottfried
by David A. Orthmann
Alex Laurenzi Trio Wayne Public Library Wayne, NJ March 12, 2026 I have long admired drummer Vinnie Sperrazza's musicianship on recordings to the exclusion of experiencing him in live performance. It was a pleasure to review Juxtaposition (2017), his Posi-Tone Records release as a leader, as well as Swing & Soul (2024) and Force & Grace (2025), by the band Blue Moods. Directions & Expressions, perhaps the most eclectic of Blue Moods's discs on Posi-Tone, ...
Continue ReadingCécile McLorin Salvant At Buffalo’s Art Of Jazz
by Frank Housh
Cecile McLorin Salvant with Sullivan Fortner Buffalo Akg Art Museum Art Of Jazz Buffalo April 19, 2026 Thick, bright, layered pellets of snow, raised from Lake Erie's surface and chilled in a cold, early spring wind pelted the faces of Buffalo jazz lovers as we entered Buffalo Akg Art Museum's Lipsey Auditorium for the third of the four “Art Of Jazz" concerts on Sunday (April 19, 2026). That snow quickly melted on soil which, only a day earlier, had ...
Continue ReadingSouth African Freedom Day! McCoy Mrubata And Siyabulela With Special Guest Steve Turre at Dizzy's Club
by Kofi Adjepong-Boateng
McCoy Mrubata And Siyabulela With Special Guest Steve Turre Dizzy's Club New York, NY April 25, 2026 Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York was the venue for McCoy Mrubata and his band for the recent South Africa 'Freedom Day' celebrations hosted by Dizzy's Club. Mrubata, the 66-year-old South African jazz grandmaster, was on stage with his impressive band, Siyabulela. For this concert Siyabulela featured Steve Turre, one of the world's most eminent ...
Continue ReadingJoe Alterman, Adam Dorn and Special Guests at Rizzoli Bookstore
by Paul Reynolds
Joe Alterman and Adam Dorn (aka Mocean Worker) and special guests Rizzoli Bookstore Les McCann Tribute / All About Jazz 30th Anniversary Party New York, NY May 3, 2026 A landmark birthday calls for a party, preferably with live music. And that's just what was thrown for All About Jazz on Sunday to celebrate the website's 30 years of history. In remarks to open the festivities, AAJ founder--and still the site's publisher--Michael ...
Continue ReadingEddie Henderson's Miles Legacy At Mermaid Arts Centre
by Ian Patterson
Eddie Henderson's Miles LegacyMermaid Arts Centre25th Bray Jazz FestivalBray, IrelandMay 3, 2026 It was a night of double celebration at Mermaid Arts Centre for the closing act of Bray Jazz Festival 2026. Firstly, BJF was celebrating its 25th edition, a milestone that speaks volumes for the dedication--and tenacity--of the festival's founding directors, Dorothy & George Jacob. Secondly, Eddie Henderson was celebrating the music of Miles Davis in his centenary year. And as if that were not enough to ...
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