Today marks the one-hundredth birthday of pioneeering jazz drummer, composer, and activist Max Roach. Roach was a percussion virtuoso who was widely admired for his impeccable brush technique and mastery of dynamics. Along with drummer Kenny Clarke, Roach revolutionized jazz drumming, keeping time on the ride cymbal and playing irregular accents on the bass drum in order...Read More

Today is Meshell Ndegeocello’s birthday. Born on August 29, 1968, she is a singer-songwriter, poet, and bassist. Her influences are far reaching and include funk, soul, jazz, hip hop, reggae and rock.  I am happy to celebrate this avant-garde musician.  I was introduced to Meshell Ndegeocello through her album, Bitter. I was a college freshman...Read More

Jazz88 celebrates the birthday of Eddie Costa, a pianist, vibraphonist, composer, and arranger who was the first artist to be recognized as a “new star” by DownBeat magazine on both instruments in the same year. Costa had an eight-year recording career, during which time he partook in more than one hundred sessions. He was featured as a...Read More

Jazz88 celebrates the birthday of Jim Hall, born this day in 1930 in Buffalo, New York. Hall was widely admired for his harmonic acumen, his understated guitar style and his distinctive compositional voice. While he admired guitar innovators like Charlie Christian and Barney Kessel, he was largely inspired by horn players like Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young. After morving to Los Angeles...Read More