Before I get into the first weekend of summer’s bustling outdoor jazz schedule, there is news of an exciting venue opening. Saturday, June 22nd, marks the first day for Streetlight Guild, “the brick and mortar house for Columbus culture,” located at 1367 East Main Street on the Near East Side.Continue Reading
Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day! With local schools closing for the summer, our weekly Outdoor Jazz Guide is picking up steam with four great options taking place on Saturday, June 1st. Fore!Fest is bringing a variety of great live music to Bridge Park in Dublin in honor ofContinue Reading
Happy Holidays jazz fans! Hope you’re having plenty of fun with friends and family. With this last column of the year, I want to look back at an eventful 2018. There was a selection of great albums released by Columbus artists this year. My favorites (in roughly chronological order) included:Continue Reading
Up first this week is news of an annual opportunity for a fun Jazz Road Trip next weekend. On Friday, March 16th, the Maplerock Jazz Festival will be held on the campus of Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio. This year’s evening concert features internationally recognized vocalist Jane Monheit and fellowContinue Reading
Richard Sanford and I had a fantastic Jazz Night Out on Thursday, February 22nd, when we saw the opening concert in Streetlight Guild’s “Ogun Meji Duo +1” series at Art of Republic. This slate of collaborations between the time-tested pair of saxophonist Eddie Bayard and drummer Dr. Mark Lomax, IIContinue Reading
The Ogún Meji Duo is starting a monthly residency series at Short North art space Art of Republic next week under the auspices of Scott Woods’ Streetlight Guild. As the Guild noted, “The Ogún Meji Duo +1 events are musical performances accompanied by a visual artist creating work on siteContinue Reading
As Fall returns this weekend to Central Ohio, it’s a good time to reflect on the changing seasons of the Columbus Jazz Calendar. While the outdoor music season is about over (but not quite), new and established indoor live jazz options are returning to the schedule. Local universities are backContinue Reading
January’s often a time of redressing missteps. High on this writer’s list was not publishing a review of two of the finest jazz records to come out of Columbus in my memory: Blues People by The Mark Lomax Trio and The Art of Sound by The Ogún Meji Duo (available in a bundle here).Continue Reading