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Posts tagged as “Jazz Appreciation Month”

MUSIC MONDAY: “Jazz Appreciation Month 2024” Playlist (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Jazz Appreciation Month 2024” Playlist (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on April 22, 2024

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Threads: @stlmarlonwest IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

Thanks to our Editor-In-Chief, Lori Lakin Hutcherson, for reminding me that it April is Jazz Appreciation Month. So, to that end, I’ve assembled this collection of new and recent Jazz releases.

Most of these track have been released in 2024. None of them is older than five years old. These tracks encompass a wide range of styles and showcase the creativity and artistry of today’s jazz musicians.

This collection features rom compelling compositions to virtuosic performances, by the likes of Ulysses Owens Jr. and Generation Y, Marlon Simon, Lawrence Fields, Kandace Springs and so many others.

Jazz is a most truly American art form, its soulful and rich roots go back to the 1890s. Jazz Appreciation Month (fondly known as “JAM“) was created at Smithsonian National Museum of American History in 2001.

According to their website, “to recognize and celebrate the extraordinary heritage and history of jazz for the entire month of April. JAM is intended to stimulate and encourage people of all ages to participate in jazz – to study the music, attend concerts, listen to jazz on radio and recordings, read books about jazz, and more.” Works for me!!

The roots of jazz can be found in the blues and that is true of this playlist too. The journey of jazz started in the deep south along back roads, spread to nearly every city in America and eventually the world.

The variety and richness of jazz is on full display on with this collection. Enjoy JAM!

And as always, stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “A Love Supreme” – The Best of Sacred Jazz (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “A Love Supreme” – The Best of Sacred Jazz (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on April 18, 2022

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

It’s Music Monday! In celebration of Easter and #JazzAppreciationMonth, here is a collection of Sacred Jazz.

When jazz emerged in the first half of the 20th century as music of liberation, entertainment and modernism, it provoked a backlash among cultural and religious-establishment figures.

Many of them went so far as to call it “the music of the devil.” By the middle 1950s, jazz had found its way into the church, sometimes employed in the ritualistic proceedings of liturgies and other traditional ceremonies, or presented in other thematic ways in overt religious homage.

Religion, in some respects, was there from the jump. Many African-American musicians grew up attending and performing in church services, and the imprint of that experience can be found in albums ranging from John Coltrane‘s landmark 1965 LP A Love Supreme to Miles Davis‘ Kind Of Blue.

It was inspired in part, in the words of Davis, “some other kind of sound I remembered from being back in Arkansas, when we were walking home from church and playing these bad gospels.”

This collection features Mahalia Jackson and Rosetta Tharpe contributions to gospel and sacred jazz, along with pianist and composer Mary Lou Williams, known for her Jazz Masses in the 1950s.

Duke Ellington, Kamasi Washington, Pharaoh Sanders, The Free Nationals and many others are on hand too.

Do enjoy.  As always, stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: “Now’s The Time” – a Collection of Live Jazz (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Now’s The Time” – a Collection of Live Jazz (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on April 19, 2021

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

Happy Music Monday, you all. As promised a couple of weeks ago, this collection is devoted to live jazz performances.

April is also Jazz Appreciation Month, so this playlist is arriving not a moment too soon. For many of us, live jazz is the best way to enjoy jazz. The unbridled spontaneity of top-notch musicians at the very top of the game, improvising and spurring each other on to greater creative heights is the essence of the art form.

[spotifyplaybutton play=”spotify:playlist:3ag6yyfj1b9K7rd5lTn3Ry”]

I’ve gathered performances from nearly 100 years of jazz music. Big band, Be-Bop, Avant Garde, Soul Jazz, and so many other styles are present. There are recordings from Massey Hall, the Village Vanguard, the Newport Jazz Festival, Birdland, and many other iconic venues.

Nina Simone, Miles Davis, Eric Dolphy, Duke Ellington, Art Blakey, Geri Allen, and dozens of other greats are included in this over 13-hour collection of stunning performances. While the sound quality in some venues isn’t as good as that of a state-of-the-art recording studio, and post-production is not on the table, the improvisatory nature of jazz makes live performance the quintessential way to experience the music. Do enjoy!

And as always, stay sane, safe, and kind. “See” ya next week.

PS: This is another one to set that crossfade, on Spotify, at 12 seconds if you are listening on a computer.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)