Some time back a student of music, Chris, wrote to me an email, asking a very interesting question: "Why is it that some jazz musicians preferred to adopt funk instead of jazz-rock when the transition ...

The Delbert Anderson Quartet merges Navajo Music with Jazz and Funk in a free Concert Aug. 13 at the Gorman Museum of Native American Art at UC Davis. The Mondavi Center is offering the concert in ...

Louis Armstrong? Or Parliament-Funkadelic, Earth, Wind & Fire, and proto-rap group The Last Poets? It is perfectly logical to assume New Orleans-bred trumpeter and Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz composer ...

Jazz-funk pioneer Roy Ayers died earlier this week after a long illness. He was 84 years old. NPR's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento has the story. ISABELLA GOMEZ SARMIENTO, BYLINE: Roy Ayers started vibing ...

Ayers’ career spanned nearly six decades, including collaborations with contemporary artists such as Alicia Keys, Thundercat, and Tyler, The Creator. Roy Ayers, the legendary vibraphonist, composer, ...

Roy Ayers, the jazz vibraphonist whose smooth fusion planted the seeds of acid jazz and neo soul, died Wednesday at the age of 84. Ayers’ family confirmed his death on the musician’s Facebook page: ...

The composer was known for his often-sampled 1976 album "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" and a career that spanned six decades.

(ThyBlackMan.com) There’s something magical about George Duke’s music that’s hard to put into words—but you feel it. Whether he’s laying down a slick funk groove or caressing a melody on the piano, ...

“It’s gonna be unapologetic funk. And it’s gonna be energetic. And it’s gonna be a wild ride, lots of high-energy solos and cool ensemble work.” That’s how percussionist Nate Worth describes funk-jazz ...

This is FRESH AIR. In the 1970s, influential musicians such as Ornette Coleman began combining free jazz and electric funk. Three notable vets of free funk bands periodically team up to get ...

Albums like To Pimp a Butterfly and 1999 blend jazz harmonies with sharp lyricism, proving the genre’s deep connection. Hip-hop may keep evolving, but funk and jazz remain its heartbeat, fueling its ...

A two-day weekend music festival is returning to downtown Royal Oak next month for its second year. The Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce began the Royal Oak Live! event last year at the Centennial ...