Late great legend Sun Ra (aka Herman Blount) was known for defying convention, incorporating every bold advancement of jazz’s illustrious history into the span of a few brief seconds. Since his passing, his backing band The Sun Ra Arkestra has carried on in his intrepid spirit to bring the most dari...

Larry Coryell deserves a special place in the history books. He brought what amounted to a nearly alien sensibility to jazz electric guitar playing in the 1960s, a hard-edged, cutting tone, phrasing and note-bending that owed as much to blues, rock and even country as it did to earlier, smoother bop...

KURT ROSENWINKEL IN CONCERT: Over the past two decades, jazz guitar virtuoso Kurt Rosenwinkel has been a continual source of jaw-dropping improvisation and game-changing fretboard innovation. Rosenwinkel’s knowledge of harmony verges on encyclopedic, and his live shows treat ticket buyers to a dizzy...

KEVIN EUBANKS IN CONCERT:Jazz guitarist extraordinaire Kevin Eubanks delights audiences with his furious melodicism and engaging passion on the six-string. His lightning-fast fingers and soulful licks are a perfect fit for the jazz fusion he performs in concert, and audiences canít help but be floor...

KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD IN CONCERT:Guitar god Kenny Wayne Shepherd is one of the fiercest young axmen of his generation, and he continues to blow audiences away every time he takes the stage. The self-taught virtuoso is a sight to behold in concert, where his furious fingers and flailing blonde locks s...

KAMASI WASHINGTON IN CONCERT:Tenor sax virtuoso Kamasi Washington is bringing jazz to a new generation of fans with his powerful blend of avant-garde experimentation and hip hop savvy. Washington's cachet in the rap world is nothing newóhe's played sax on tour with Snoop Dogg, Lauren Hill, a...

JONATHAN BUTLER IN CONCERT:Singer-songwriter Jonathan Butler became an apartheid hero in the ‘70s when his teenage debut single became the first song by a black artist to receive airplay on white radio stations in his native South Africa. Nearly 40 years later, he remains an enduring icon of positiv...

JOHN ABERCROMBIE IN CONCERT:Virtuoso jazz guitarist John Abercrombie continues to push the envelope with his experimental playing technique and avant-garde use of electronic effects. Abercrombie is both a traditionalist and an experimenter -- he remains firmly committed to the intsrument's roots...

JOEY MORANT IN CONCERT:Jazz musicians are often at their best and most dynamic when seen in the flesh, and longtime trumpet master Joey Morant is a case in point. For decades the South Carolina native has been mesmerizing concertgoers with his lively horn playing and skillful scat singing. Morant pe...

JOEY DEFRANCESCO IN CONCERT:Jazz virtuoso Joey DeFrancesco is one of the genre's most prolific, decorated, and colorful figures. He's released more than 30 albums, recorded with luminaries like Miles Davis and Ray Charles, and is a 9-time winner of the Down Beat Critics Poll -- and that'...