Jazz 88 celebrates the life and career of drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath, who died on April 3rd at the age of 88. Heath was born in Philadelphia to a family of accomplished musicians. His oldest brother Percy was the bassist with the Modern Jazz Quartet for four decades and his other elder sibling Jimmy was a legendary saxophonist and composer. While still...Read More

Jazz88 celebrates the birthday of legendary bassist Buster Williams, born on this day in Camden, New Jersey. Williams made his first recordings at the age of seventeen, while working with the tenor saxophone duo of Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt. He became a favorite accompanist for several great jazz singers, including Dakota Staton, Nancy Wilson, Shirley Horn, and Carmen McRae. Williams became...Read More

We’ll take all the new music we can get from Kevin Washington & RA Spirit. From his drum stool Kevin Washington has been telling the story of Twin Cities music for decades. But Washington has a lot more to offer than his mastery of the kit. He’s a writer, a vocalist and quite the guitar...Read More

Jazz88 celebrates the birthday of Alonzo “Lonnie” Johnson, an acclaimed vocalist and a pioneer or jazz and blues guitar. Johnson was born in New Orleans and raised in a family of musicians where he learned to play guitar, violin and other instruments. Tragedy struck Johnson’s household while he was on tour in England, and every member of...Read More

It’s a big deal in town when Leslie Vincent drops a new record. She’s a gifted writer and vocalist and she’s got the right players in town to bring her tunes to another level. Jazz88 has been very supportive of the song “Icetown Blues.” It’s a great chart and the telepathic interplay between Vincent and...Read More

  This year Jazz88 has kept track of all the songs we’ve played from the year 2023. We are asking you to vote for your ten favorite tunes to help us put together an hour celebrating the best releases of 2023. Please place your votes before 10pm on Thursday, December 7. Loading… More Posts for...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

Harold López-Nussa is already out on the road and is ready to visit the Cedar Cultural Center on Wednesday November 15 for his debut performance at that venue. López-Nussa’s new release is his first for Blue Note and it’s garnering lots of acclaim for good reason; it’s a reflection on his experiences, both joyous and...Read More

Bob Jurek’s Spooky Picks: 1.  The Twilight Zone by Golden Earring 2. The Egg Plant That Ate Chicago by Dr. West’s Medicine Show And Junk Band 3. Spiders and Snakes by Jim Stafford 4. Wait Til The Midnight Hour by Wilson Pickett 5. I Put a Spell On You by Screaming Jay Hawkins  Sean McPherson’s...Read More

Twin Cities vocalist Aja Parham fell in love with the voice of Sarah Vaughan the first time she heard her on CD. From there, Parham has made an effort to celebrate Sarah Vaughan on stages across the Twin Cities and beyond. She’ll be exploring the Sarah Vaughan songbook on Sunday night over at Crooners. Listen...Read More