Extended pieces make up most of the program presented here by the World Saxophone Quartet in a live Chicago appearance from 1999. In front of an audience, the foursome is loose and natural; what you ...

Political conscience occupies a special place in the quintessence of modern jazz, fueling, in its most heated moments, the stuff of blunt insurrection. It remains to be seen whether Political Blues, ...

Pharoah Sanders’ 1977 release Izipho Zam (My Gifts) on the Strata-East label is a fascinating listen. Widely regarded as a landmark in the evolution of free jazz, it continues to grow on me—and that, ...

On Dec. 17, 1951, Sonny Rollins entered a studio for his first session as bandleader. The tenor saxophonist, then 21 years old, had already recorded with the likes of Miles Davis. Within days, and for ...

Say what you will, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Kenny G. I’m a sucker for the pure, spun-sugar sax appeal of instrumental hits like “Songbird,” “Silhouette” and the aptly named “Sentimental.” ...

Tokyo-born composer Takashi Yoshimatsu can’t claim the international reputation of compatriots Joe Hisaishi (of Studio Ghibli fame) or Toshio Hosokawa, but that may be changing soon. Among his ...

In the 1840s, Adolphe Sax revolutionized music with a new instrument — just not in the way he expected. Somewhere between brass and woodwind, his saxophone was designed for symphonic playing. But when ...