The Lush Life Blog
Sonny Rollins, 1930-2026: the saxophone colossus
Sonny Rollins, the tenor saxophonist universally hailed as one of the greatest improvisers in jazz and the last surviving giant of the Parker, Monk and Coltrane generation, has died at his home in Woodstock, New York. A full retrospective on his life, his music, and the records every serious listener should own.
Sonny Rollins, 1930-2026: the saxophone colossus
Sonny Rollins, the tenor saxophonist universally hailed as one of the greatest improvisers in jazz and the last surviving giant of the Parker, Monk and Coltrane generation, has died at his home in Woodstock, New York. A full retrospective on his life, his music, and the records every serious listener should own.
The Optimist: Remembering Ryan Porter and the West Coast Get Down
Trombonist Ryan "Papa" Porter, co-founder of the West Coast Get Down and longtime Kamasi Washington collaborator, died on 16 May at 46. A look back at his four solo records, his playing and the South LA jazz collective he helped build.
The Optimist: Remembering Ryan Porter and the West Coast Get Down
Trombonist Ryan "Papa" Porter, co-founder of the West Coast Get Down and longtime Kamasi Washington collaborator, died on 16 May at 46. A look back at his four solo records, his playing and the South LA jazz collective he helped build.
20 Best Miles Davis Albums Ranked
Miles Davis would have turned 100 on 26 May 2026. To mark the centenary, here are the twenty albums that make the case for him as the most fully realised musical life of the twentieth century. Cool jazz, hard bop, modal jazz, electric fusion and more, ranked and argued.
20 Best Miles Davis Albums Ranked
Miles Davis would have turned 100 on 26 May 2026. To mark the centenary, here are the twenty albums that make the case for him as the most fully realised musical life of the twentieth century. Cool jazz, hard bop, modal jazz, electric fusion and more, ranked and argued.
Top 10 Rare and Obscure Jazz Albums on Vinyl: The Collector's Guide
Ten albums consistently celebrated by collectors as some of the most elusive, intriguing, and valuable jazz LPs ever pressed.
Top 10 Rare and Obscure Jazz Albums on Vinyl: The Collector's Guide
Ten albums consistently celebrated by collectors as some of the most elusive, intriguing, and valuable jazz LPs ever pressed.
Jeff Parker, the ETA IVtet and the Long Road to Happy Today
Jeff Parker's ETA IVtet release their third album, Happy Today, on 15 May 2026. The first record they have made outside the small Highland Park bar where their sound coalesced is also the moment a long, quiet career argument finally reaches a wider audience.
Jeff Parker, the ETA IVtet and the Long Road to Happy Today
Jeff Parker's ETA IVtet release their third album, Happy Today, on 15 May 2026. The first record they have made outside the small Highland Park bar where their sound coalesced is also the moment a long, quiet career argument finally reaches a wider audience.
Jazz in Brazil: From Bossa Nova to the New Afro-Brazilian Vanguard
Brazil did not borrow jazz. It took the harmonic language and improvisatory instinct of American jazz and filtered it through samba, choro, Afro-Brazilian rhythm and Northeastern folk music to produce something with no real equivalent. From Chega de Saudade to Amaro Freitas's Y'Y, here is the full story.
Jazz in Brazil: From Bossa Nova to the New Afro-Brazilian Vanguard
Brazil did not borrow jazz. It took the harmonic language and improvisatory instinct of American jazz and filtered it through samba, choro, Afro-Brazilian rhythm and Northeastern folk music to produce something with no real equivalent. From Chega de Saudade to Amaro Freitas's Y'Y, here is the full story.