Kevin Whitehead

Kevin Whitehead appears in the following:

Hulu's New Billie Holliday Biopic Falls Short Of Capturing Her Real Story

Friday, February 26, 2021

Though Andra Day plays the jazz legend with conviction, The United States vs. Billie Holiday fictionalizes the particulars of Holiday's life, where the real story is dramatic enough.

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Remembering Legendary Jazz Pianist And Composer Chick Corea

Friday, February 19, 2021

Corea, who died Feb. 9, had a strong melodic sense and a crisp, distinctive touch at the keyboard. Looking back, it's easy to hear why he was among the most beloved of modern improvising composers.

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With 'Some Kind Of Tomorrow' 2 Jazz Musicians Improvise Together Over Zoom

Thursday, January 21, 2021

Soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom and bassist Mark Helias play together in a new remotely recorded digital album. These seasoned improvisers line up just right, despite the recording challenges.

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Joshua Abrams' Chameleonic Quartet Gets Exuberantly Ornery On 'Cloud Script'

Friday, January 08, 2021

Abrams' quartet can groove and play pretty, but they can also do free jazz. Their new album is about being part of something bigger, where each player is stronger for all the ways they interlock.

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Remembering The Jazz Legends Who Died In 2020

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Dozens of notable jazz musicians died this year, many from COVID-19. Fresh Air critic Kevin Whitehead remembers some of the legends lost, including Bucky Pizzarelli, Ellis Marsalis and Jimmy Heath.

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Tenor Sax George Coleman Shines On Newly Released Live Record, 'In Baltimore'

Monday, December 21, 2020

The album showcases 45 minutes from Coleman's '71 sets at Baltimore's Famous Ballroom, where the atmosphere was typically lively and the jazz legend was elegant and full of fire.

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Sonny Rollins Plays His Heart Out In A Newly Discovered Live Recording

Thursday, November 26, 2020

Recorded over the course of three days in 1967, during a period when the saxophonist was disillusioned with the record business, Rollins in Holland presents a jazz master in an ideal setting.

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Pianist Keith Jarrett On The 'Calling' That Drew Him To Jazz

Saturday, November 14, 2020

Jarrett is acclaimed for his intense and physically energetic improvised performances. Kevin Whitehead reviews Jarrett's new album, Budapest, and we listen back to a 2000 interview with him.

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Cornet Player Ron Miles Embraces His Pop Influences On 'Rainbow Sign'

Wednesday, November 04, 2020

Much of the music on Miles' new album has a poppy accessibility — but it isn't quite easy listening. Instead his quintet stretches the material and lets things get a little warped.

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Latin Jazz Album 'El Duelo' Features Lively Solos And Moments Of Surprising Beauty

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

For 30 years, trumpet and flugelhorn player Diego Urcola has toured and recorded with Cuba-born saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera. For his own new album, Urcola hired his boss as featured sideman.

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Temporary Trio Creates A Quirky Groove On 'General Semantics'

Thursday, October 08, 2020

Reed players Geof Bradfield and Ben Goldberg join formidable drummer Dana Hall on a new album that features humor, sobriety and a piece that's funky one minute and chamber music the next.

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Artemis Brings Together An International, Inter-Generational Band Of Women

Monday, September 28, 2020

A few years ago, pianist Renee Rosnes organized a jazz band featuring six female musicians sometimes joined by a singer. These jazz all-stars are in alignment on Artemis' self-titled new album.

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French-Canadian Clarinetist François Houle Bridges The Border With 'RECODER'

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

An improviser well-versed in modern jazz, Houle often works with international collaborators in all sorts of settings. His latest album features music from a half-Canadian, half-American quartet.

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'Fresh Air' Celebrates The 90th Birthday Of Jazz Improviser Sonny Rollins

Tuesday, September 08, 2020

Rollins recorded his first sessions in 1949, and played his last live shows in 2012. Kevin Whitehead offers an appreciation, then we listen back to a 1994 interview with the tenor saxophonist.

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Charlie Parker, Born 100 Years Ago, Made Jazz Complexities Sound Deceptively Easy

Friday, August 28, 2020

More blues singer than Broadway, the Bird helped introduce bebop to jazz — and along the way redefined jazz velocity with his scrappy sound and pithy melodic figures.

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Pianist James Carney's 'Pure Heart' Is A Party Where Everyone's Eager To Mingle

Monday, August 17, 2020

Carney rounds up diverse musicians in a sextet that cuts across generations, stylistic preferences and social circles. Their interpersonal chemistry flows on a new album.

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Belated New Music From Drummer Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers Is A Gem

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Blakey led his band for almost 40 years, making many classic records with top musicians. Just Coolin', a newly unearthed 1959 recorded studio session, showcases his stylistic precision.

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Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire Mixes The Playful And Solemn On A New Album

Monday, July 13, 2020

The Bay Area trumpet player broke out in jazz over a decade ago. A new album by his quartet, on the tender spot of every calloused moment, shows just how pretty Akinmusire can play.

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Drummer Chad Taylor Radiates Good Vibrations On 'The Daily Biological'

Wednesday, July 08, 2020

Taylor brings hi-hat funk to his new trio's album. It's a slightly odd line-up, with no bass instrument — which opens up possibilities for different ways to kick the rhythm along.

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In Defense Of Jazz Biopics: Melodramas And Morality Tales, Set To Music

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Many jazz fans hate biopic films, but critic Kevin Whitehead likes noticing which true elements get in — or get left out — as messy lives are squeezed into stock-story formulas.

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