Sonny Rollins

Yoshitomo Saito's Bemsha Swing in Denver: A Monk dance in bronze at Ironton Gallery

Yoshi Saito's sculpture is a little bit wacky, but in the most delightful and natural way. His new show at Ironton Gallery -- currently on view through May 18, with a reception on Friday, May 3, from 6 to 9 p.m. -- offers new insight into what's in Saito's mind as he creates his bronze pieces, all w ... More >>

The ten best concerts in Denver this weekend

Welcome to the weekend! Another work week is almost in the books. Time to cut loose. If it's live music you seek, you've come to the right place. Tons of great music on tap this weekend, a diverse array of options whatever your flavor, everything from jazz and jam to hip-hop and hardcore to industri ... More >>

The ten best jazz shows in Denver this month

While January had some stellar shows like Joe Lovano Us Five, February is poised to be an utterly fantastic month for jazz in the Mile High City, especially with shows like the Ron Miles Trio featuring Brian Blade and Bill Frisell at Dazzle, plus dates from Fred Hersch Trio, Kurt Elling, Kurt Rosenw ... More >>

For Grammy-winning jazzman Joe Lovano, freedom and variety are key

R.I.P. jazz pianist Dave Brubeck

According to his producer, conductor and manager Russell Gloyd, pianist Dave Brubeck, whose Time Out recording was one of the best selling jazz albums of all time, died of heart failure this morning, a day before his 92nd birthday, en route to a regular treatment with his cardiologist.

Ten essential jazz albums if you know squat about jazz but want to become more versed

About two decades ago, I heard Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, and it floored me. It's the best selling jazz of all time, and if there's one album that truly started an obsession with jazz, it was that one. As a kid, I'd gotten to see cats like Red Rodney, Zoot Sims and Slide Hampton at Dick Gibson's j ... More >>

Music legend David Amram on his creative process, why he loves the Colorado Symphony, and meeting Woody Guthrie

From collaborating with jazz legends to hanging out with Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady, David Amram has accumulated quite an impressive resume. He's written multiple books as well as musical pieces, and he's in Denver this week performing at a variety of events to celebrate the hundredth birthday of ... More >>

John Abercrombie on how even jazz players are feeling the brunt effects of the down economy

As a teenager in the early '60s, guitarist John Abercrombie had some key recordings that helped shape his musical focus, including Miles Davis's Kind of Blue, John Coltrane's Crescent, Sonny Rollins's The Bridge, Ornette Coleman's This Is Our Music and Bill Evans's Interplay. On Abercrombie's latest ... More >>

The ten best jazz shows in Colorado this month

Denver gets its share of national jazz talent, but September proves to be an exceptionally good month, with some legendary folks like Esperanza Spalding, John Ambercrombie, David Torn, Brian Blade and Allison Miller coming to town, as well as a fine selection of estimable local talent. Keep reading ... More >>

Bill Frisell on studying with Dale Bruning: "I don't know if I'd really be playing now if it wasn't for him"

In this week's feature on Dale Bruning, the Longmont-based jazz guitarist talks about his five years of teaching Bill Frisell, who has since gone on to be one of the world's finest guitarists, both in the jazz realm and beyond. We caught up with Frisell, who is performing with Bruning and bassist Mi ... More >>

Weekend's best live bets: Lenny Kravitz, Widespread Panic and more

Ah, yes, we've reached the end of another glorious week in the Rockies, which can only mean another dope weekend of music in the Mile High City. Lenny Kravitz kicks things off tonight with a show at the Buell Theatre, Widespread Panic pulls into the Fillmore for a three-night stand, TaunTaun returns ... More >>

Reader: John Hickenlooper invited to hang with Barack Obama because he's a sell-out, too

John Hickenlooper still isn't sure why he was the only elected official invited to sit in the President's Box with Barack Obama and this year's Kennedy Center Honors recipients: Yo-Yo Ma, Sonny Rollins, Neil Diamond, Meryl Streep and Barbara Cook. But Colorado's governor knows it was the thrill of a ... More >>

John Hickenlooper hangs with Barack Obama, Neil Diamond at the Kennedy Center Honors

During Tuesday night's broadcast of the 34th annual Kennedy Center Honors, the cameras frequently swept over the President's box occupied by Barack and Michelle Obama, as well as honorees Sonny Rollins, Barbara Cook, Neil Diamond, Meryl Streep and Yo-Yo Ma -- and there, just to the president's right ... More >>

The best national music releases of 2011

Jazz great Jim Hall's guitar is still talking in Conversations

Slim Cessna, A. Tom Collins, Serious Moonlight and DJ MU$A top our weekly playlists

​As people who think about, talk about, listen to and make music, the most common question we encounter is, "What are you listening to right now?" Whether you're looking for recommendations, trying to get a feel for our individual sensibilities, or are just curious, we've compiled a list of al ... More >>

Aloe Blacc, Harry Nilsson, Kid Cudi fill our playlists this week

​As people who think about, talk about, listen to and make music, the most common question we encounter is, "What are you listening to right now?" Whether you're looking for recommendations, trying to get a feel for our individual sensibilities, or are just curious, we've compiled a list of al ... More >>

Backbeat writers weigh in on the year's best national releases

Sounding Off on Zionism

Whether he’s speaking or playing the sax, Gilad Atzmon is a powerhouse.

Heavy Rotation, our top five spins for the week of May 11, 2009<

As music critics, the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation, our latest feature. For the benefit of those who happen to be curious, we've compiled a list of al ... More >>

Beyond Playlist: Doves and more

Doves Kingdom of Rust Astralwerks It's not exactly a mystery why Doves remain more popular in the U.K. than on these shores. After all, the band's music tends toward denseness, not instant accessibility -- and Jimi Goodwin and the brothers Williams, Jez and Andy, feel that brevity is highly overr ... More >>

Dialed In: This week's local-music radio playlists

Here's this week's playlists from the area's local-centric speciality shows. This week, we've added the Colorado Wave in addition to the others we're already tracking: Radio 1190's long running Local Shakedown, KTCL's Locals Only and the Colorado Sound, which originates at KRFC and is rebroadcast al ... More >>

Mini Reviews

Kurt Rosenwinkel Visits the Vanguard

Hear all about it in an amazing new two-disc set.

Q&A: Hunter Brown of Sound Tribe Sector 9

Beyond Playlist: Bob Marley and More

Jack of All Trades

Jack DeJohnette promotes drumming diversity.

All That Jazz

Gerald Albright is one smooth operator.

Candy Caine

Jude Law puts a pretty face on an ugly story in Alfie.

Football Fanatics, Arise

Put your pigskin pedigree to the test.

Vital Organs

Pat Bianchi prepares to meet his master, Joey DeFrancesco, for a night of dueling B-3 beauty.

Exploring the Future

Veteran jazz player Herbie Hancock searches for new frontiers.

The RH Factor

Death comes calling jazz's legendary players.

Hank Mobley

No Room for Squares(Blue Note)
The Turnaround(Blue Note)

Shuck and High Five

New York baseball nostalgia hits Denver.

Jazz for the Ages

Sonny Rollins has more than fifty years of jazz under his belt. But he's thinking about tomorrow.

Night & Day

February 25 - March 3, 1999

Getting Bolder

The Boulder Creative Music Ensemble is still taking chances after all these years.

Young Roy

Roy Hargrove is growing into one of jazz's best players.

And the Winners Are ...

Handing out the trophies for 1997's best albums.

Feedback

READY TO WARE

HOW MUSIC RESCUED SAXOPHONIST DAVID S. WARE FROM A TAXICAB.

BIG TRANE

THE JOYS OF THE NEW JOHN COLTRANE RELEASE.

JUST GO HOME, BABY!

SWEET AS JAM

THRILLS

YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN

DENVER NATIVE BILL FRISELL RETURNS FOR AN EXCURSION INTO COLORADO JAZZ.

TALKIN' 'BOUT A REVOLUTION

THRILLS

CRITIC'S CHOICE