John Murph

How Beyoncé, Lizzo, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Mary J., Aaliyah and other great women artists pioneered a creative space between diva and MC.

At the 42nd annual Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, Moor Mother gave one of her most soul rattling performances. As part of drummer and composer Terri Lyne Carrington’s Invitation Series, Moor Mother reimagined Frederick…

Fostering bridges is Orrin Evans’ modus operandi as he fulfills his duties as artist-in-residence at the D.C. Jazz Fest. In this year-long position, which runs through early 2023, the pianist and composer is creating channels that allow…

Adrian Younge describes Jazz Is Dead as a “romance,” its macabre-sounding trademark notwithstanding. He’s a co-founder of the Los Angeles-based record label, a buzzworthy outfit that has been turning heads with eye-catching album…

Attending Terri Lyne Carrington’s three-day invitation series at the 42nd annual Festival International de Jazz de Montréal (July 4–6) was to marvel a master unwilling to sit on her laurels. It’s inadequate to say that she was at…

“The revenge against the pandemic” is how Maurin Auxéméry, director of booking, programming cultural events for the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal (FIJM), describes this year’s lineup as FIJM returns to full capacity…

As a singer, flutist, beat-maker, remixer and conceptualist, Melanie Charles saturates Ya’ll Don’t (Really) Care About Black Women (Verve), her first major-label album, with immense Black Girl Magic. And, in turn, the album transmutes…

Queen City (Savant), JD Allen’s latest album and his first solo-saxophone release, is an ambitious endeavor that he hadn’t planned on making until later in his career. “This was supposed to be a much later project — recorded maybe…

As a singer, flutist, beat-maker, remixer and conceptualist, Melanie Charles saturates Ya’ll Don’t (Really) Care About Black Women (Verve) — her first major-label album — with immense Black Girl Magic. And, in turn, the album…

Revisit our deep dive into Philly soul in honor of Thom Bell (1943-2022).

Every time Andrew Hill takes a seat behind a piano, the jazz world takes note. “Time Lines” speaks to his brilliance at teetering between the worlds of the blues and the abstract. And it’s one of the funkiest compositions in Hill’s massive repertoire.