Kevin Whitehead
Kevin Whitehead is the jazz critic for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Currently he reviews for The Audio Beat and Point of Departure.
Whitehead's articles on jazz and improvised music have appeared in such publications as Point of Departure, the Chicago Sun-Times, Village Voice, Down Beat, and the Dutch daily de Volkskrant.
He is the author of Play the Way You Feel: The Essential Guide to Jazz Stories on Film (2020), Why Jazz: A Concise Guide (2010), New Dutch Swing (1998), and (with photographer Ton Mijs) Instant Composers Pool Orchestra: You Have to See It (2011).
His essays have appeared in numerous anthologies including Da Capo Best Music Writing 2006, Discover Jazz and Traveling the Spaceways: Sun Ra, the Astro-Black and Other Solar Myths.
Whitehead has taught at Towson University, the University of Kansas and Goucher College. He lives near Baltimore.
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Goldberg's mini box set includes 24 new poems by Dean Young — as well as a dozen pieces inspired by Young's poetry. The playfulness on both sides of the equation makes this mixed-media project work.
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Hersch often works in small settings, either as a piano soloist, or in a duo or trio. But he amplifies his message on his latest album by teaming up with Germany's WDR Big Band.
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The latest album from the 84-year-old South African composer and pianist showcases his work as a master composer of melodic mood pieces.
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Mark Stryker covered jazz and its people for the Detroit Free Press for decades. He uses his reporter's eye and critic's ear to chronicle the musicians from the city who made their mark on the world.
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Cables, who's experienced severe health problems recently, makes a comeback on a new album with his trio. The pianist's solos on I'm All Smiles reveal a deep sense of groove — and a mind at work.
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There's nothing dated about a new 2-disc album that revisits Getz's 1961 nightclub recording at New York's Village Gate. Listening to it now, it's hard to overstate what a terrific tenor he was.
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The songs on Williams' new album have easy-to-follow contours, forward motion, set-ups and payoffs — features soloists can work with. The end result is the sound of a plan coming together.
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Saxophonist Marsalis has been leading a quartet for the last 20 years, with only one personnel change; their new album, The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul, shows they're still going strong.
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Dan Pritzker's new film tells the story of Charles "Buddy" Bolden, a mythic jazz hero who burned so bright he burned himself out. Though striking and stylish, Boldenloses its grip in the final act.
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The New Orleans drummer produces jazz with its own distinct character on his new album. Critic Kevin Whitehead says Perpetual Optimismis marked by Riley's upbeat nature and attention to detail.