Sun Ra

Order your calendar now before December 15th and its only $20! Read More

When living in a place like Chicago, a major city with expansive infrastructure that still only manages a second or third-tier role in some particular cultural contexts, it is wise to be suspicious of geographical or cartographic readings of cultural production. Read More

The jazz myth of Chicago is powerful, dating back to 1922, when King Oliver summoned Louis Armstrong from New Orleans to change the world. Read More

A self-proclaimed messenger from Saturn, Sun Ra graced our planet for 79 years, during which he applied his uniquely otherworldly touch to the full span of jazz music, leaving behind a vast and untrammelled discography wherein he reshaped swing, hard-bop, skronk and vocal jazz in his own peculiar, inimitable and stellar image. Read More

All of the interludes are from various Sun Ra DVDs. I included them really more for educational purposes, I wanted yall to hear his voice, hear his strange philosophies, hear from his band members, and I wanted you to get an idea of the man behind the music. Read More

Not long ago Jae Sinnett , a jazz drummer, composer, educator and radio personality, told NPR that jazz is dying because people are falling out of love with it. Read More

Welcome to the latest edition of Pitchfork's Guest List. Read More

The idea of the "drummer as bandleader" is an oddity in most circles. Read More

Back in 1971, three adventurous young US jazz musicians formed an uncompromising improv group called the Revolutionary Ensemble – a title that had resonances in the civil rights movement, the Vietnam war, and the radical transformation of jazzmaking that had been ignited by Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor and John Coltrane. Read More

You can approach guitarist Tim Sparks' music from several directions. Read More