A Jazzman’s Tale about trumpet player Charles Freeman Lee is a heady mélange of a book that starts off with the unique perspective of a screenplay. Part one delves deeply into the gritty life of a jazz musician whose gigging takes him from the Midwest to New York and New Jersey. It segues into a... Continue Reading →
This past August, Huck Magazine did a piece about the connection between skateboarding and creativity. It turns out that not only is there a sense of resilience in common (“they fall off, they get back on”), there is also the idea of improv, self-reliance, honing a craft. Add to this that the skater culture is... Continue Reading →
This story accompanies an earlier one about Sonny Rollins. With assertive purples, blues, pinks, reds and oranges, illustrator Gaurab Thakali interprets cultural figures and societal issues. Some of his illustrations catch the collective attention of social media. One has exploded into iconic status. A modest, shy artist, the UK’s Gaurab Thakali has re-imagined Sonny Rollins... Continue Reading →
Film documentarian Robert Mugge has always been captivated by the stories of music, particularly those of Al Green, Ruben Blades, the legendary 2010 rhythm and blues cruise, and the post-Katrina musicians of New Orleans. In 1986, he produced a now iconic film about Sonny Rollins titled “Saxophone Colossus.” At the date of this writing, after... Continue Reading →
"The New Yorker" by Gaurab Thakali with permission Jeff Caltabiano is a jazz devotee who continually immerses himself in its world, learning about the history, people and music of it. He’s the founder of an initiative to name the Williamsburg Bridge after one of the most accomplished and respected of tenor sax masters, Sonny Rollins,... Continue Reading →
