“Thirty-Onederfuls” Are Coming!

Being a series of reflections and snapshots of 31 years of reviewing…and a lifetime of listening   Any of my regular readers who have been signed up for about a year and a half or so may remember that I touted a new series of posts collectively titled “Thirty-Somethings.” November 1, 2018 was the 30th…

Lincoln Center Sizzles on State Street

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis delivers the big picture   For seventeen years I’ve been saying that the night I heard Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (pictured above, courtesy of Joe Martinez) in Santa Barbara, CA was one of the “Top 10” live performances I had ever experienced.…

Sun Prairie Jazz Band Heads to “Big Apple”—Again

This week marks the 11th time Steve Sveum’s group makes the cut for the “Essentially Ellington” finals If high school jazz bands were a sport, we would say that we are living in the shadow of a major musical dynasty. Call it what you will—and feel free to use hyperbole—but the fact that the Sun…