Matt Laferty - John Chacona writes

It’s Three For The Keys At BOP STOP This Week

Published 25 March, 2026 By John Chacona

If you are searching for a glimmer of light in this dark and ominous hour, consider this. We are living in a golden age of jazz piano. There are more interesting pianists playing in a wider spectrum of styles at a high level of artistry and technique than at any time in the music’s eleven-decades of existence.

And it gets better. Three such pianists, Orrin Evans, Simona Premazzi and Philip Golub, can be heard in Cleveland over the next eight days. Though they might not have the name recognition of a Herbie Hancock or Jon Batiste, all are singular stylists who encounter the jazz piano tradition in idiosyncratic and brilliantly original ways.

Garrett Folger and Aidan Plank Share DUO Lingo On A New CD

Published 23 September, 2025 By John Chacona

Today, the 99^th anniversary of John Coltrane’s arrival on Earth, seems like a good time to remind ourselves that music, for all the wondrous sophistication of its scales and structures, is about the people who make it.

That point was reinforced eloquently by DUO, the new independent release by trumpeter Garrett Folger and bassist Aidan Plank, which will be celebrated by a release show Sunday at Negative Space Gallery.

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Cleveland: This Is The Week Of Jazz You’ve Been Waiting For

Published 9 September, 2025 By John Chacona

No burying the lede here: the next eight days might offer the most extraordinary lineup of jazz concerts Cleveland has seen in years.

Starting with the pianists, you can hear Cuban piano great Omar Sosa (Sept. 10), Michael Wolff, Dan Wall (both Sept. 13), Theron Brown and Matt Mitchell (both Sept. 14) this week. Prefer saxophonists? Then how about James Brandon Lewis (Sept. 12), Anna Webber (Sept. 13) and Branford Marsalis (Sept. 16). Add the unpredictable chemistry of The Uninvited (Sept. 11) and, well, you’ve got some choices to make.

Any one of these events would merit the full 700-word feature treatment at let’s call this, but don’t worry. I’m going to keep this short and snackable, though I might publish more nutritious fuller versions later, here or elsewhere, and I’ll let you know about those if and when they happen.

For now, though, let’s shine a light on three mindblowingly exciting shows that will make your muso friends in New York wish they lived in Cleveland.

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Get Ready, Northeast Ohio Jazz Fans. It’s Szn Preview Szn!

Published 19 August, 2025 By John Chacona

Back when I wrote for a daily newspaper (kids, ask your parents what those were), the page-turn from August to September always called for a big roundup of the coming seasons of the performing arts organizations I covered. In those days that meant classical music presenters. Dependent on a subscription model, they typically planned a season well in advance and publicized it relentlessly. That model doesn’t work for the way we live anymore and for jazz, my beat, never worked at all. Still, a few jazz orgs plan a full season. You’ll find three of them below, each in their different way giving us a wish to dream on. Open your calendar app and let’s go.

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Paul Giallorenzo’s Trio Serves A Fusion Menu at BOP STOP

Published 23 April, 2025 By John Chacona

*(from left): Paul Giallorenzo, Mikel Patrick Avery, Jason Roebke*

In the band photo on the tray card of Force Majeure, (Delmark Records, 2014) a CD by Paul Giallorenzo‘s GitGo band, the leader stands front and center wearing a t-shirt bearing the image of the Great Lakes. After 30 years in Chicago, does the Long Island native consider himself a Midwest musician?

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Tag: Matt Laferty

It’s Three For The Keys At BOP STOP This Week

Garrett Folger and Aidan Plank Share DUO Lingo On A New CD

Cleveland: This Is The Week Of Jazz You’ve Been Waiting For

Get Ready, Northeast Ohio Jazz Fans. It’s Szn Preview Szn!

Paul Giallorenzo’s Trio Serves A Fusion Menu at BOP STOP