NEA Jazz Master and spiritual beacon, saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, who joined the ancestors last September 24, was an honored Winter Jazzfest presence. He headlined a 2017 WJF bill opened by one of his acolytes, Afro-Brit quest-agent Shabaka Hutchings and one of his several assemblages, The Ancestors….

As a broadcaster, DJ and record collector, Sun Ra’s LPs have always been enticing, rare, pre-discogs–limited edition works of art. I can definitely recall the buzz we experienced when Ra, complete with wolfskin fur hat, arrived at Jazz FM in the early 90s to be interviewed by Jez Nelson. We were young and Ra was out there—mysterious, like no one else we’d ever met.

“Marshall Allen is a giant. There is no alto saxophonist I know today, or generally, hipper than Marshall. That this is not common knowledge is depressing.” Proclaimed in the early 90s by Amiri Baraka, these words still ring true in 2023, and Marshall deserves all the recognition he can get, especially during his lifetime. 

During jazz’s century, the music has seen so much peril as to be perceived as perpetually on life support. That perception is most frequently associated with aesthetic and commercial threats: the imagined harm wrought by shocking innovation, the dilution that comes with popularity, the struggle that comes without it. 

For Angel Bat Dawid, fearlessness comes naturally. She survived a brain tumor diagnosis while in college. Last year, she was hospitalized for several weeks battling COVID-19. And just hours after her own COVID diagnosis, Dawid’s younger sister, who suffered from chronic asthma, died from complications due to COVID-19. What keeps her going? Her faith and a promise she made to her sister to keep going.

The spirit of the late Ralph Peterson — drummer, composer, bandleader, educator, all-around bad motherfucker and steadfast friend of Winter Jazzfest — might best be exemplified by his last words to a colleague. “If the Grim Reaper is coming for me,” he said, “he better bring a friend.”

What’s it like to be a woman in jazz?

This age-old question is often asked of musicians who happen to be female. But is it the right question? What about other questions that point to non-dominant groups of musicians experiencing unequal representation and opportunity in this industry? What about others who are marginalized as a result of race, class, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and/or age? 

Get 15% off NYC Winter Jazzfest marathon passes from 11/23 at 12:00 AM to 11/27 at 12:57 PM. Offer applies to single-day, two-day. general admission and VIP marathon passes. Use code THANKS4JAZZ