Jazz

Jazz pianist Fred Hersch. His new solo album is "Fred Hersch at Maybeck." Hersch recently revealed he is HIV positive and appears on several recordings to fund raise for the disease.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Bill Frisell's album "This Land."

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews the work of soprano saxophonist Lol Coxhill. ("Lohl") (The Dunois Solos, Nato records)

Kevin Whitehead reviews jazz fiddler Claude Williams two volume set: "Live at J's" (Arhoolie)

Drummer Arthur Taylor. He's played with Sonny Rollins, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk and he's put together a new expanded collection of interviews he's done with fellow musicians: "Notes and Tones: Musician-to-Musician Interviews," (Da Capo Press). It's one of the few books about black jazz musicians by a black man, and because of that Taylor's subjects were able to talk freely about the role of black artists in white society.

Sonny Rollins, tenor saxophonist, is one of the jazz world's greatest improvisational artists. At the tender age of 23, he played with Miles Davis and Charlie Parker. After successfully battling a heroin addiction in the early 1950s, he joined the Clifford Brown-Max Roach quintet. He also began a critically-acclaimed solo career. Now in his sixties, he feels obligated to carry on the vision of his own mentors to today's rising stars. His latest album, "Old Flames" (Milestone), focuses on jazz standards and features Sonny backed by a brass section.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews "Morning Song," (Enja) the new release by tenor and soprano saxophonist John Stubblefield.

Clarinetist, jazz musician, and klezmer virtuoso Don Byron. He's an unlikely candidate to play klezmer, a product of Eastern European Yiddish culture: Byron is African American and dreadlocked. Byron has become best known for klezmer, but musically he's all over the map: He plays jazz with his Don Byron Quintet, modern classical music with the Semaphore quintet, and he toured Europe last fall with Music for Six Musicians, an Afro-Cuban ensemble. He's also currently writing a classical piece for the avant-garde Kronos Quartet.

Jazz Vibraphonist Gary Burton. He invented a four-mallet grip for the instrument that is used by many contemporary players. Burton left Stan Getz's quartet in the mid 60's (at the age of 24) to form his own combo; a few years later he hired a young guitarist named Pat Metheny, giving Metheny his first taste of big time jazz. Burton has been teaching percussion and improvisation classes at the Berklee School of Music in Boston; in 1985 he was named Dean of Curriculum there. Burton has over fifty albums to his credit and three Grammy award.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a new CD-box set, just right for the jazz-lover in your circle of family or friends "Ornette Coleman: Beauty is a Rare Thing: The Complete Atlantic Recordings," (on Rhino).

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews trumpeter Eddie Allen's (aka E.J. Allen) new album, "Another's Point of View."

Jazz musician Joshua Redman. A self-taught tenor saxophonist, Redman has a new album, "Wish," which is his second album released this year. Redman won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition in 1991. Son of renowned free-jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman, Joshua Redman had the most influence from his mother who raised him alone. After Redman graduated summa cum laude from Harvard in 1991 he decided to pursue his love of jazz.

Kevin Whitehead reviews saxophonist Evan Parker's new release, "Conic Sections" on the Ah Um label.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Reginald R. Robinson's album "The Stongman."

Novelist Frank Conroy. At 57, he's just published his first novel, "Body & Soul" (Houghton & Mifflin). He is currently the director of the prestigious Iowa Writers Program, and this novel has been long awaited by fans of his 1967 autobiography "Stop Time". Conroy has one other book, a collection of short stories called "Midair"; he's worked as a jazz pianist in Greenwich Village and Nantucket for many years.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews "The John Coltrane Anthology: The Last Giant" (Rhino/Atlantic).

Cuban-born saxophonist and composer, Paquito D'Rivera. D'RIivera defected to the United States in 1980 during a concert tour. Like his mentor, Dizzy Gillespie, D'RIVERA is a tireless performer and purveyor of Latin jazz. His "Reunion" album (Messidor), recorded with trumpeter Arturo Sandoval was called a "high speed tour of the Pan-American musical map." For his newest record D'RIVERA gathered 23 of the top Cuban musicians from around the world: "Paquito D'Rivera Presents 40 Years of Cuban Jam Session"

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a 2-CD reissue of trumpeter Don Cherry's albums recorded for Blue Note in the 1960's.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews "Shanghaied on Tor Road," a new release of German improviser and guitarist Hans Reichel playing an instrument of his own invention, the daxophone -- a stringless, amplified piece of wood.

Lincoln's new record is "Devil's Got Your Tongue." Once married to legendary jazz drummer Max Roach, she's made her mark on jazz for almost 40 years, singing with giants like Benny Carter, Sonny Rollins and Coleman Hawkins. Lincoln has been hailed by one critic as the "Last Great Diva", and says herself that she sings in the tradition of Sarah Vaughan, Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday.