Jazz Currents

A blog post recently caught my eye. The interest evolved into an intriguing question. It was Wynton Marsalis' "top 5" must listen albums for a new jazz listener. At least, that was the way it was presented. I immediately clicked on the link, getting ready to debate the choices. Once I got there I found it was actually Wynton's picks from his own discography, to acquaint a new listener to his music. You can check it out yourself here. My first thought was it would be very interesting to hear any of the current jazz legend's view of how a new listener should approach their music. That would have to be fascinating. The challenge would have to be picking releasing that were not necessarily the best, but those that were most reflective of their artistry. Poll a group of die-hard fans of any artist and there is likely to be strong debate over those five album titles. When the list comes from the artist, where's your grounds for debate? The question quickly came...

For almost 15 years, I've had the pleasure and honor to cover the San Francisco Bay Area jazz community for CityFlight. CityFlight is a non-profit, community based media entity that began as CityFlight NewsMagazine based in the Silicon Valley. In that role, I've covered quite a few of the major venues and festivals in the area. My objective has always been to expose our audience to the latest happenings and trends in the world of jazz through interviews, photographs, and reviews of CDs and live performances. If this is starting to sound like a farewell, it is. At least, partially. CityFlight has always been staffed by a small, virtual, dedicated staff of volunteers. Many current and former staff contributors, like me, owe our journalistic start to CityFlight. At its peak, the print circulation topped 40,000 copies. The publication successfully transitioned to an online "eZine" format almost two years ago, as print costs became unsustainable.   After 16 years of se...