Some time back a student of music, Chris, wrote to me an email, asking a very interesting question: "Why is it that some jazz musicians preferred to adopt funk instead of jazz-rock when the transition ...

Louis Armstrong? Or Parliament-Funkadelic, Earth, Wind & Fire, and proto-rap group The Last Poets? It is perfectly logical to assume New Orleans-bred trumpeter and Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz composer ...

Ayers’ career spanned nearly six decades, including collaborations with contemporary artists such as Alicia Keys, Thundercat, and Tyler, The Creator. Roy Ayers, the legendary vibraphonist, composer, ...

Jazz-funk pioneer Roy Ayers died earlier this week after a long illness. He was 84 years old. NPR's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento has the story. ISABELLA GOMEZ SARMIENTO, BYLINE: Roy Ayers started vibing ...

The Delbert Anderson Quartet merges Navajo Music with Jazz and Funk in a free Concert Aug. 13 at the Gorman Museum of Native American Art at UC Davis. The Mondavi Center is offering the concert in ...

(ThyBlackMan.com) There’s something magical about George Duke’s music that’s hard to put into words—but you feel it. Whether he’s laying down a slick funk groove or caressing a melody on the piano, ...

CHELSEA TABLE + STAGE will present the return of Vladimir Cetkar and his Jazz Soul Funk Ensemble on Friday, December 15 at 9:30 PM. The composer, guitarist, vocalist, arranger, orchestrator and ...

“It’s gonna be unapologetic funk. And it’s gonna be energetic. And it’s gonna be a wild ride, lots of high-energy solos and cool ensemble work.” That’s how percussionist Nate Worth describes funk-jazz ...

Vibraphonist Roy Ayers, an influential band leader and pioneering composer and producer of jazz, funk, soul and R&B, has died. Ayers, who is known for the celebrated song “Everybody Loves the Sunshine ...

This is FRESH AIR. In the 1970s, influential musicians such as Ornette Coleman began combining free jazz and electric funk. Three notable vets of free funk bands periodically team up to get ...

Cooperstown Concerts announced “jam band supergroup” LaMP will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 6, at The Otesaga Resort ...

Albums like To Pimp a Butterfly and 1999 blend jazz harmonies with sharp lyricism, proving the genre’s deep connection. Hip-hop may keep evolving, but funk and jazz remain its heartbeat, fueling its ...