DOWN BEAT

1 week ago | downbeat.com | Michael. J. West

By Michael J. West   I  May. 5, 2025 Bremen, Germany, is certainly not one of the most likely spots for the world’s largest annual jazz industry gathering. But that unlikelihood didn’t deter more than 20,000 musicians, presenters, producers, agents, media and other professionals from 60 countries from descending on the northwest German city for this year’s edition of jazzahead!, which took place April 24–26. And they weren’t just professionals looking to exchange business cards.

1 week ago | downbeat.com | Ammar Kalia

Interview, From the Magazine, Knats By Ammar Kalia   I  May. 5, 2025 Let’s get one thing perfectly clear: Though Knats currently live in London, they do not play London jazz. They’re from the West End of Newcastle upon Tyne, in the far north of the U.K., and pride themselves on playing Newcastle’s homegrown Geordie jazz, known for its deep, danceable drum’n‘bass grooves and infectious, aggressive melodies.

1 week ago | downbeat.com | John Murph

By John Murph   I  May. 5, 2025 This year’s edition of International Jazz Day served as its most peculiar chapter so far as jazz luminaries from various regions of the globe — including the U.S., Panama, Japan, China, Morocco, Iraq and India — swarmed down on Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which hosted the annual event’s main April 30 concert.

2 weeks ago | downbeat.com | Phillip Lutz

News, From the Magazine, Rondi Charleston, Fred Hersch By Phillip Lutz   I  Apr. 29, 2025 Projects produced during the pandemic are hardly in short supply. But few are as pointed, or as poignant, as Suspended In Time–A Song Cycle, a sequence of seven songs with words by Rondi Charleston and music by Fred Hersch.

2 weeks ago | downbeat.com | Dan Ouellette

Interview, From the Magazine, Tania Giannouli By Dan Ouellette   I  Apr. 29, 2025 While virtually unknown in the U.S., Tania Giannouli, born and based in Athens, stars as a genre-defying jazz piano maestra across Europe at various high-profile festivals including Jazztopad and Trondheim Jazzfest as well as at such impressive venues as Bimhuis in Amstersdam and both Flagey and Ars Musica in Brussels.