Welcome to Polyrhythms

This is my internet soapbox to pontificate about all things jazz, and a little bit beyond. Who am I? If you found your way here, I’m going to make the leap assumption that I’m just like you, a lifetime fan of the music. I also happen to be a jazz photojournalist, covering the scene in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am a staff writer for CityFlight, a Bay Area eZine, and provide reviews of CDs, DVDs, and concerts here in the area.

In those capacities, there are necessary and understandable filters in place. There are also space constraints, so a lot of what I’d like to put out there, I can’t. Here, I get to rant or rave about whatever I think might be interesting. A sounding board, so to speak, and a forum that I hope will bring things to light you are likely to otherwise miss.

Whether you know it or not, whether you choose to accept it or not, we in this country are losing this music we call jazz. I personally am not willing to say that jazz is dying. There are many places in the world that are starving for more jazz, and not the watered-down “smooth” jazz that is neither smooth nor jazz. If you don’t believe it, then you’re ignoring all the signs. Fifteen years ago you could find a 24-hour all-jazz station in every major city in America. Today, if you don’t count satellite, there is only one, and it’s on life support. Take a look at the lineups for jazz festivals that are over ten years old. You are likely to find more non-jazz artists than jazz artists. Here on the west coast, there remain only three jazz clubs that play host to the music’s top tier talent on a regular basis. Shockingly, not one of them is located in Los Angeles. Do you have a large local record store (sorry, CD store just doesn’t sound right) with a well stocked jazz section? If so, have you noticed it’s shrinking, fast?

Polyrhythms is my own personal effort to help keep this music alive. It means a lot to me. A whole lot. Jazz is playing in my house 24/7 and will be until I leave this world. If I sound emotional, it’s because this music is emotional. To quote Jon Hendricks “This is intelligent music. There are no dummies listening to this.”

Please come back from time to time. I promise to keep it interesting.

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66th Monterey Jazz Festival - Part 2, New Discoveries

Festivals offer the opportunity to see a variety of artists, within a short period of time, and frequently at the same venue. The Monterey Jazz Festival is one of that presents a well crafted mix ranging from established legends of the music to local fan favorites. Each year I especially look forward to hearing emerging artists that have either been part of groups or recordings from headliners and legends, composing and producing for other artists, part of a collective of artists involved with a variety of collaborations, or, stepping out on their own as a leader. The artist list for the 66th Monterey Jazz Festival is filled with artists I'm very familiar with and plan to hear their latest work. It also contains quite a few I've either heard on other artist's recordings, read about a number of times, heard their current recordings, or are just plain curious about. I know the pattern well. These artists that are less familiar to the festival audience at large frequently find...

66th Monterey Jazz Festival - The Tradition Continues - Part 1

Closing Out The Summer, and Festival Season Opening Friday, September 22nd, the Monterey Jazz Festival continues its run Herbie Hancock as the longest continuously-running jazz festival in the world. After two years of adjustments coming out of the pandemic, the three-day festival has hit its stride without having to make many major adjustments. The richness of the performance schedule and variety of artist is unchanged, and unparalleled. The tradition of presenting the established and recognized legends, the up and coming rising stars, and the stars to be, remains a key focus. As to be expected, over the lifespan of a legacy as great as Monterey, evolution is inevitable and necessary to remain viable. Festival organizers world wide have had to make adjustments in this post-pandemic era. The Monterey Jazz Festival organizers are no exception. Safety concerns for the attendees following the reopening of live venues made it necessary to close down the Night Club and Dizzy’s ...

Jazz 500 - An Overdue Personal Project

Hello again. First, I must apologize for being away for so long. I wish I had more of an excuse to give you, but the fact is, sometimes life just gets in the way. In any case, I’m back just in time for the heart of the festival season. Next up for me is the Monterey Jazz Festival in September. We have our tickets in hand, and can’t wait for this, the 61st edition, of the longest continuously running jazz festival in the world. In the meantime, if you’ve followed my Instagram feed in the past, you may have noticed quite a bit more activity than normal. I usually post images live from the festival, and hope to be doing that again this year. In addition, I’ve started a series I’m referring to as Jazz 500 (#jazz500). My Jazz Photojournalism adventure began in 1995. A year later, I covered my first Monterey Jazz Festival. Since then, I’ve covered it every year except 1997 and 1998. As you can imagine, after 20 years of photographing some of the greatest legends of the musi...

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