Akron - John Chacona writes

The Abundance Mindset Rings Out At UA JazzWeek 25

Published 7 April, 2025 By John Chacona

*clockwise from left: Theron Brown, Sean Jones, Joshua Redman, Christopher Coles*

There’s a word you’re going to be hearing a lot more of in the next two weeks. It’s abundance, the title of a buzzy new book by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson that proposes something they call “the abundance mindset“ as a new basis for progressive politics. There’s no evidence that Klein and Thompson visited the campus of The University of Akron School of Music Jazz Studies Department before they wrote the book, but if they had they would have found that mindset in abundance . This week, April 7-11, that mindset will be on public display as UA kicks off JazzWeek 25: Abundance (Jazz Festival), featuring performances by Joshua Redman and Sean Jones in an illustration–and celebration–of music, community and lineage.

Comments closed

Collective Action: A New Player Brings Benny Benack III Back to NEO

Published 18 March, 2025 By John Chacona

How many times have you heard this—or said it yourself—when leaving a great concert by a touring musician: Why can’t we get more shows like this here?

Kyle Knoke, a graphic designer and concert promoter found himself asking that question and decided to answer it by creating the Midwest Jazz Collective, a consortium of 13 clubs and presenting organizations that will bring Emmy-nominated trumpeter and vocalist Benny Benack III to BOP STOP March 25 and BLU Jazz+ the following night.

Comments closed

Troy Roberts, A Saxophone Wizard From Oz, Lands at BOP STOP

Published 11 February, 2025 By John Chacona

I get a lot of records from publicists looking for a review, 788 last year. That’s way more than I can get to, but I try to check in on most of them. Last year I noticed that a lot of them had Troy Roberts on tenor saxophone, and even on records I didn’t care for–maybe especially those–I was drawn to his muscular sound. I missed his appearance last year with Pat Bianchi (a gig I previewed here), but I–and Cleveland—will get a second bite of the apple Sunday, Feb. 16 when the saxophonist returns to BOP STOP.

Comments closed

For Versatile Max Johnson, There’s A Play At Every Bass

Published 5 November, 2024 By John Chacona

For something a little different today, let’s talk politics. Not electoral politics; we’ve all had enough of that. No, let’s talk musical politics, which can be just as divisive and irrational. Just ask Max Johnson. He plays bass in various jazz contexts, including a trio with saxophonist Neta Raanan and drummer Eliza Salem that makes stops at BLU Jazz+ and in Avon Lake this weekend. But he also plays and composes bluegrass and concert music. It could drive a gatekeeper mad.

Comments closed

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop! The Indispensable BOP STOP Celebrates Ten Years

Published 16 October, 2024 By John Chacona

*Alla Boara records at BOP STOP in 2023*, *photocredit*: *Jackson* *Clark*

When you think of all the challenges that have faced independent music venues for the past ten years, industry consolidation, soaring rents and the rise of streaming entertainment—then add the COVID-19 shutdown–it’s a miracle that there are any places left to hear live music. The jazz scene, which has lived on the economic knife’s edge for decades, was hit hard. Yet a few places survived, and that’s something to celebrate.

Welcome to BOP STOP, the little engine that could and the beating heart of Cleveland’s scene. This week the club marks its tenth anniversary in its third incarnation as part of the Music Settlement in Hingetown. There it cultivates a training ground for young musicians, brings the world’s most notable artists to northeast Ohio’s and connects our most notable artists to the world. Hell yeah that’s worth celebrating.

Comments closed

Tag: Akron

The Abundance Mindset Rings Out At UA JazzWeek 25

Collective Action: A New Player Brings Benny Benack III Back to NEO

Troy Roberts, A Saxophone Wizard From Oz, Lands at BOP STOP

For Versatile Max Johnson, There’s A Play At Every Bass

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop! The Indispensable BOP STOP Celebrates Ten Years