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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.

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Jazz In The Rubber City Rolls On This Weekend

Published 3 September, 2024 By John Chacona

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

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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Blowing In From Chicago: Tim Daisy and Ken Vandermark Friday at Convivium 33

Published 10 January, 2023 By John Chacona

Tim Daisy Ken Vandermark — Tim Daisy, Ken Vandermark

Being a creative musician in Chicago almost demands a willingness to play anything, everywhere with everybody. Percussionist Tim Daisy and saxophonist Ken Vandermark, who will appear at Convivium 33 Friday, Jan. 13, embody that imperative as well as anyone, having collaborated with hundreds of musicians, movement and visual artists on both sides of the Atlantic. Yet despite lengthy resumes that suggest an affinity with musical speed dating, the two are just as committed to long-term relationships, especially their own.

Tommy Lehman’s Perpetual Search Leads To BLU Jazz+ For An Evening Of ‘Uplift.’

Published 15 December, 2022 By John Chacona

When he was a student at the Hartt School of Music, trumpeter Tommy Lehman occasionally joined the legendary late-night jam sessions at Small’s jazz club in Manhattan. One night immersed in a solo with his eyes closed he opened his eyes for a moment and found himself face-to-face with the late trumpet player Roy Hargrove, who was sitting in the second row.

Remembering the solo, Lehman said with a laugh, “It sounded terrible,” adding, “I’ll always try my best though. Even if I’m sounding sad, I’m gonna give it everything I have.”

Back in his native northeast Ohio, Lehman is giving it everything he has these days, seemingly playing with everyone everywhere. His latest venture is a new recording, Uplift, which be available on Dec. 21 on Lehman’s Bandcamp page and which he’ll celebrate with a release show at BLU Jazz+ in Akron.

Tag: Smokeface

The Abundance Mindset Rings Out At UA JazzWeek 25

Jazz In The Rubber City Rolls On This Weekend

Blowing In From Chicago: Tim Daisy and Ken Vandermark Friday at Convivium 33

Tommy Lehman’s Perpetual Search Leads To BLU Jazz+ For An Evening Of ‘Uplift.’