Michael Toland

Parker Jazz and Elephant Room team’s new bar has become a “gateway drug” to the genre

Raised on church music, trained in jazz, and blooded by the psychedelic soul of the Black Pumas, of which he’s been a member since they started touring, keyboardist JaRon Marshall has a deep creative well from which to drink. While earth sounds, his 2023 debut with his band the Collective, leaned most heavily on both […]

Free improvisation lives in infamy as often as it basks in glory. Many people think it can be done by anyone, no skill or creativity needed. But, much like Jackson Pollock’s paintings, spontaneous composition requires not only technical dexterity but also the ability to listen to and complement the other participants’ work as you express […]

A regular member of Hard Proof, the Azmaris, and the Alex Coke/Carl Michel Sextet, vibraphonist and percussionist Carolyn Trowbridge has amassed credits with Adrian Quesada’s Boleros Psicodélicos, Black Pumas, Graham Reynolds, Conspirare, and the bizarre steel pans cover band Pan Rocks. Finally leading her own band, the omnivorous Trowbridge uses her debut album Found Memories […]

In Austin, jazz trumpeter Kenny Dorham (1924-1972) is a superstar – a pioneer who helped bridge bebop and hard bop, forged ties to jazz greats, and boasted deep local roots from L.C. Anderson High School, where he first picked up his horn. Outside of Austin, Dorham is well-respected by his peers as author of the […]

Guitarist Don Cento has been a subtle mover and shaker in the Austin scene for years, producing or performing with everyone from Jerry DeCicca and

Elias Haslanger Charts the Musical Legacy of Jazz Greats

Arlo Parks, Gibby Haynes, Bikini Kill, and More Reviews From Thursday and Friday of Levitation

Angine de Poitrine, Peter Hook & the Light, Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, and More Reviews From Saturday and Sunday of Levitation

It's always been strange that jazz fusion never really caught fire in this music-loving town.