Nathan-Paul Davis - John Chacona writes

At Rubber City Jazz & Blues Fest, A Big Night Of Big Bands

Published 8 September, 2026 By John Chacona

*The Sam Blakeslee Large Group at BLU Jazz+*

The 2026 Rubber City Jazz & Blues Festival, which begins Thursday, is big: three days, five venues and 18 events. It has a big-name headliner, too in contemporary jazz master Gerald Albright who will top a double bill with Althea René at Lock 3 on Saturday, Sept. 12. But the biggest noise of the festival presented by Open Tone Music might be the one that a pair of big—or biggish—bands will make in the normally hushed confines of Akron’s Main Library.

The bands are under the leadership of trombonist and composer Sam Blakeslee, who will present music from his Large Group’s recording, New Blood, which will be released Sept. 25 on BJU Records, and Chris Coles, who has convened an 11-piece orchestra to play “The Way of The Sly Man,” a multi-part work composed by the late bassist and educator Dave Morgan.

Nathan-Paul’s Age of Aquarius Dawns At Edwin’s

Published 27 January, 2026 By John Chacona

Nathan-Paul Davis at RCB&J — Nathan-Paul Davis at Rubber City Jazz and Blues Festival

Nathan-Paul Davis makes this statement at the top of his Linktree page:

"I play energy, not notes!" Nathan-Paul calls his music SOUND MEDICINE.

Anyone who has heard Davis play will recognize that he is simply stating facts. No cap. No flex. The energy in a typical Nathan-Paul performance could power a dozen AI server farms for a month.

Thursday night finds the saxophonist in an unusual setting: playing a birthday gig, in this case, his own. The setting, Edwin’s Leadership & Restaurant Institute, is at once familiar, but different.

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Friendly Fire: Two Saxophones Lift A Battle Cry Of Respect

Published 3 June, 2025 By John Chacona

The billing of Sax Battle Cry, the pair of concerts that Nathan-Paul Davis and Johnny Cochran, Jr. will present this week, evokes the classic two-saxophone tussles of the past: Dexter Gordon and Wardell Grey, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis and Johnny Griffin, the various cage matches that were a trademark of the Jazz At The Philharmonic road show. But don’t believe the hype. The meeting of Davis and Cochran is more friendly competition than mano á mano combat.

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Jazz In The Rubber City Rolls On This Weekend

Published 3 September, 2024 By John Chacona

With Labor Day in the rearview mirror, northeast Ohio returns to the comfortable (clambakes, sweaters) and maybe less comfortable (fretting about the Browns) routines of early autumn. Hey, traditions are traditions, and they don’t change much–unless you’re a NEO jazz fan in which case you’ll want to add the Rubber City Jazz & Blues Festival to your list.

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“Local, Organic” Hingetown Jazz Festival Returns Saturday

Published 29 August, 2024 By John Chacona

*Trumpeter Garrett Folger leads a quintet at the 2023 Hingetown Jazz Festival. photocredit: Amber Rogers, Local 4 Music Fund*

Labor Day is a circle-the-date weekend for jazz in the Midwest with free festivals in Detroit and Chicago. The organizers of the Hingetown Jazz Festival would like to add their event to the list, and judging by the success of the inaugural all-day, all-free festival last year, they just might have a chance.

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Tag: Nathan-Paul Davis

At Rubber City Jazz & Blues Fest, A Big Night Of Big Bands

Nathan-Paul’s Age of Aquarius Dawns At Edwin’s

Friendly Fire: Two Saxophones Lift A Battle Cry Of Respect

Jazz In The Rubber City Rolls On This Weekend

“Local, Organic” Hingetown Jazz Festival Returns Saturday