Kris Johnson’s album Jim Crow’s Tears is masterpiece of jazz verismo

The closing scene of Bamboozled, Spike Lee’s 2000 provocative film, is a montage of historical images that critic Ashley Clark says encompasses “blacked-up Hollywood stars like Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney; black stars in demeaning ‘coon’ and ‘mammy’ roles; racist cartoons; and disturbing scenes from films like The Birth of a Nation and Gone with … Read more

JazzSLC opens new season September 9

Courtesy of dianeereeves.com

The 2016-2017 JazzSLC concert season launches on September 9 at Capitol Theatre. Some of the best in the business are on the docket this season. JazzSLC is a non-profit concert series that is produced and funded by the GAM Foundation. Gordon Hanks and Michael MacKay founded the GAM Foundation in 1994 in an effort to … Read more

In Sea, Utah composer Henry Wolking’s latest album, features Salt Lake City Jazz Orchestra

One of Utah’s most prolific, diverse composers with the wisest sense of musical egalitarianism returns on his latest recording release featuring 12 masterly executed tracks of cosmopolitan music performed by the Salt Lake City Jazz Orchestra (SLCJO). Henry Wolking also conducts the dozen works on In Sea, his debut album on Big Round Records, which … Read more