Jazz Chronicles

Maybe it's human nature, but there's always a certain temptation to make things appear harder to do than they are, all in pursuit of...

My father died two weeks ago at the age of 90. He had a good life—charmed, actually, in many ways—and he was lucky to slide away from us ...

Aside from jazz, one of my favourite interests is cities and how they develop, and no city attracts my interest more than my own. I grew...

Photo by Michael Jackson Wasn't that a man? David S. Ware made a mighty sound, and was one of those musicians whose soulfulness wa...

Heading off this week for the sixth Quebec City International Jazz Festival , which always forms a nice bridge between the end of the summer...

With October upon us I suppose it's time to take a quick scan across the 2012 releases, with a view to getting some idea of how tough it...

Back in the early 1980s, liking Michael Jackson could get you hurt. At that time, I hosted a Saturday evening radio program on CKCU-FM...

Next to receiving free CDs, covering a jazz festival is likely the ideal thing that people think of when/if they consider how great it wo...

Perhaps I was too enraptured by his so-called American Quartet or too much in love with his rapturous solo inventions of the 1970s, but I ...

When a standalone restaurant closes, it's usually a highly local story. But, when that restaurant doubles as the headquarters of a city...

There are few things as thrilling in music as when musicians whose work you love form a new group and the results define the cliché of the w...

The main stage structure in Ottawa's Confederation Park—home base for the TD Ottawa International Jazz Festival—has only just been disma...

On the eve of summer, and the attendant launch of jazz festival season across Canada and the United States, one of my favourite festivals—th...

In the dead of winter, especially in the dead of a winter in Eastern Ontario, it can seem like a long time between jazz festivals. But, now,...

I met Gregg Allman in 1978 on a steamy day in Macon, Georgia, at an event that he mentions briefly in his new autobiography, My Cross To Bea...

So much has been written and said about Levon Helm in the days since his health took its final turn that there's not much to add. But ...

Michelle Mercer and me at AWP I'm just back from an extended trip to Chicago, which included a speaking engagement at the annual co...

If you're interested in speculative fiction in addition to music, check out my new piece on Canadian bassist Chris Tarry, who has been ...

My friend Peter Hum has a blog post  decrying the absence of jazz musicians on the televised portion of the Grammy Awards, but really, do we...

As it continues to revamp its music offerings on its traditional FM frequencies and on SiriusXM satellite radio, the Canadian Broadcasting C...