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Hometown Hero: Tyrone Brown
by Suzanne Cloud | Photo ©sg koezle- info@jazzfoto.net Bassist and composer Tyrone Brown has been an all-around musical maestro in town for a long time. Leafing through the jazz listings of the last four decades in Philadelphia, it’s easy to…
Read MoreHometown Hero: Shirley Scott
by A.D. Amorosi There are certainly unique and flavorful totems of what it means to be Philadelphian: soft pretzels, cheese-steaks and everything Tastykake. You can get them baked and doled out in other towns, but they’re never quite as delicious…
Read MoreHometown Hero: Hasaan Ibn Ali
by Shaun Brady | Photo by Larry Fink For more than half a century, pianist Hasaan Ibn Ali has been the dark matter of Philadelphia jazz —a mysterious force whose presence has been felt more through his influence on others than…
Read MoreHometown Hero: Jonathan Whitney
By Shaun Brady | Photo by Palmer Swanson Jonathan W. Whitney’s earliest memory is of a drum set arriving at his childhood home in Newark, Delaware. “It was a gold Ludwig set,” Whitney says, a trace of wonder in his…
Read MoreHometown Hero: Michelle Lordi
by Shaun Brady | Photo Courtesy of the Artist The best jazz singers have a knack for connecting with audiences. Few musicians of any stripe share Michelle Lordi’s gift for creating them. While Lordi has graced the usual stages with…
Read MoreHometown Hero: Yesseh Furaha-Ali
by Shaun Brady | Photo by Richard Conde When you grow up as the youngest of seven children, you quickly figure out how to set your ego aside. Saxophonist Yesseh Furaha-Ali learned that lesson as a child in Upper Darby,…
Read MoreHometown Hero: Sonia Sanchez
By Bobbi I. Booker | Photo Courtesy of the Temple University Archives Poetry. Motion. Sound. For most of the 85 years Sonia Sanchez has existed, she has known and embraced the power of words and music, eventually merging both aspects into…
Read MoreHometown Hero: Uri Caine
By A.D. Amorosi | Photo by Bill Douthart When Uri Caine speaks in his deep, low voice, each phrase unfurls with rich, diverse, all-inclusive information. In a fashion, it’s as if the Philadelphia-born pianist and composer is looking to get…
Read MoreKeep Going, and It Will Happen
I was fortunate to have musicians in my life who took the time to provide mentorship when I needed it. They were more than bandleaders, they were my guides in navigating a complex artistic and professional landscape. Through Ira Tucker,…
Read MoreHometown Hero: Ernest Stuart
By A.D. Amorosi | Photo by Ben-Houdijk How does trombonist-composer Ernest Stuart best show his Philadelphia-ness? Of course, there is his music. Stuart has a post-bop-jazz-based but often genre-fluid sound that merges influences from Philadelphia soul past and present. Think…
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