Blog - Jazz Spectrum

This Week on Jazz Spectrum - 7/29

By Fritz Byers This week on Jazz Spectrum, an homage to Tony Bennett.  I posted earlier this week a brief reflection on Tony’s music, which was elevated by his taste and his commitment to the meanings of the lyrics, married to the melodies and harmonies of the best songs in the canon.

On the show this week, we’ll hear Tony in various settings. Read More

Tony Bennett (1926-2023)

By Fritz ByersTony Bennett, who died last Friday at 96, sang for us for more than 70 years. We didn’t always listen as closely as we should have. As happens when the crowd is surfing the zeitgeist, the culture took its eyes and ears from Tony for a while –he endured a long dry period as folk, rock ‘n’ roll, and their variants pushed him and his favored music to one side. Read More

This Week on Jazz Spectrum - 7/22

By Fritz ByersThis week on Jazz Spectrum, selections from a cascade of new releases reflecting the vitality of current jazz.  Among them:

*   The Venezuelan-born pianist Edward Simon, abetted by his stalwart bandmates, the drummer Adam Cruz and the bassist Reuben Rogers, programs his new release, Femininas, as an homage to female Latin American  songwriters. Read More