By Devon Wendell 2014 was a strange year for music. I recall thinking to myself halfway through The Playboy Jazz Festival in June; “Okay, so everyone is going funk now. Wynton Marsalis’ head would explode!” To many jazz purists, funk is considered to be sellout music. Critics and fans freaked out when Miles Davis, Freddie… Read More 2014 Remembered: A Year Of Funk
By Devon Wendell It becomes more apparent each year that the annual Playboy Jazz Festival has less to do with pure jazz programming and more to do with people of all ages and races coming together for a good time. This was certainly the case this year during the Festival’s second day show on Sunday,… Read More Live Jazz: The Playboy Jazz Festival (Sunday) at the Hollywood Bowl
by Dave Gebroe In the early morning hours of August 16, 1969, Sly Stone held hundreds of thousands of love children in the palm of his hand. Watch the “Woodstock” documentary, and see for yourself. More than any of the other performers, Sly nailed it. He owned that audience. He then promptly hunkered down,… Read More On Second Thought: Sly Stone — “High on You” (1975)
The International Review of Music 