Miles Davis - John Chacona writes

Adam O’Farrill’s ELEPHANT Makes Music You Won’t Forget

Published 4 September, 2026 By John Chacona

Adam O’Farrill is sweating out a deadline for a commissioned piece. “It’s hard, but you have to make it work,” he said about sitting down to write. “You have to do it in the hotel. You have to do it on the road. You don’t always have a piano, which is hard, but you know, you make it work.”

The commission isn’t due until February, but O’Farrill is a busy guy. I spoke with him Wednesday, hours after returning from Japan, and two days before embarking on a tour that will bring him and his band ELEPHANT to BOP STOP on Wednesday, Sept. 9 in what is to these ears one of the most anticipated concerts of the year.

Ancient Traditions Are The Either/Orchestra’s Home Territory

Published 7 April, 2026 By John Chacona

When saxophonist Russ Gershon put his Either/Orchestra together 40 years ago, he had a concept in mind. “I wanted the band to feel like a territory band, or like a working band of the past,” Gershon said on a video call. The 11-piece band fully realized Gershon’s conception though he couldn’t have imagined that the band’s territory would one day include Ethiopia.

Today the Either/Orchestra is recognized globally for its advocacy of Ethiopian music, a project that has led to appearances at two of the nation’s most prestigious music festivals, and this weekend, to Cleveland for a pair of free concerts, Friday at Trinity Cathedral and Saturday at BOP STOP.

Tigran Hamasyan’s Manifeste Destiny

Published 3 March, 2026 By John Chacona

Tigran Hamasyan is a man with a foot in each of two worlds, both geographically and temporally.

“Basically, I love telling stories,” Hamasyan told me to begin our interview. “And throughout my discography, there’s this aspect that each song tells a story through music.” It’s the kind of thing you might expect to hear from any musician, but the fact that Hamasyan said this from his home in Yerevan, Armenia, one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the world, gives his comment the weight of an ancient culture steeped In stories.

It’s been a long, cold, lonely winter . . .

Published 17 February, 2026 By John Chacona

Summer’s sudden arrival in northeast Ohio has everybody emerging from their deep-winter isolation and hitting the streets. Cabin fever is breaking for national and touring jazz artists, too, and they are hitting area stages en masse this week.

With so many worthwhile shows in the next seven days, I’ll offer a kind of consumer’s guide to where to go and who to hear. There’s a wide range of music on offer this week; you really can’t go wrong with any of these shows.

Countdown . . .

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Pittsburgh’s Jazz History Flows From Reggie Watkins’ Horn

Published 17 June, 2025 By John Chacona

When Reggie Watkins came on screen for our video interview last week he wore a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball cap. When I jokingly expressed my sympathy for his devotion to the once-proud team now seemingly committed to mediocrity, Watkins would have none of it. He’s a Pittsburgh ride or die, but intercity rivalries aside, he also loves Cleveland jazz and returns to a familiar stage at BOP STOP for a gig Friday.