Thomas Conrad

Randy Ingram: Sound Within: A Celebration of Bill Evans; Matt Slocum: A Revolving Alliance; Kenny Barron/Ray Drummond/Ben Riley: So Many Lovely Things: Live in Brecon.

I started writing "On the Road Again" pieces for Stereophile in 2022. They are European jazz travelogues. The motivation behind them is to inspire others to make similar treks. No one needs an excuse to go to Europe. But European jazz festivals are a great thing to build a trip around.

Oscar Peterson was born in 1925. In late 2026, a set titled World Tour was released on the Mack Avenue/Two Lions label. It is advertised as "part of the continued celebration of Peterson's centennial." Consider this article a modest attempt to join the celebration.

Jim Snidero: Best of the Trio Recordings; Nils Petter Molvær: Be Quiet; Adam O'Farrill: Elephant; The Oscar Peterson Trio: At Baker's Keyboard Lounge; Joe Syrian Motor City Jazz Octet: A Blue Time;

The jazz world is accustomed to losing its greats too soon. Charlie Parker was gone at 34. John Coltrane at 40. Clifford Brown at 25. Rollins was, wonderfully, not one of them. He lived to 95.

The Penthouse jazz club was on First and Cherry in Seattle. It had a seven-year run from 1962 to 1968 as one of the premier jazz venues on the West Coast. The site is a parking lot now. Yet the Penthouse lives. This is the story of why.

Michel Petrucciani: Kuumbwa; Tyrone Allen: Upward; Marilyn Crispell/Anders Jormin: Memento; Steve White Trio: Soul Drums; Gregory Hutchinson: Kind of Now: The Pulse of Miles Davis.