Take Five News

Anyone who was passing through Derek Walcott Square, Castries, St Lucia, on an early May lunchtime in 1996, will recall a frenzied crowd of school kids, office workers and visitors driven to delirium by a small steelband ensemble.

The New 5 is a cohesive group based in Austin, TX whose sound is rooted in the post-bop tradition but with a forward-leaning edge.

Jair-Rohm Parker Wells is an improvising musician based in Stockholm, Sweden. Curator of the MEETING series of festivals and developer of Loopadelica, a method of improvising with looping devices.

Ade Ishs is a songwriter and a pianist currently residing in Melbourne, Australia.

Dr. J's writing combines her love of jazz with her fascination with psychology; she enjoys focusing on where they intersect -- in the celebration of the individual spirit.

Known as the "Jedi of Cool," keyboardist Jon O'Bergh refuses to be pigeonholed in one genre of music.

Dave Brubeck has been a jazz legend for decades, receiving worldwide acclaim for hits like 'Take 5' and 'Blue Rondo a La Turk'. This year he will receive a prestigious Kennedy Centre Honour for his achievements in music.

D ave Brubeck is one of the most popular and original artists in jazz history. Ever since he took college campuses by storm in the 1950s, Brubeck has been renowned for compositions that mix jazz with modern Euroclassical influences and deploy advanced harmonies and unique time signatures.

Dan Dorff is a drummer, percussionist and keyboardist who specializes in styles ranging from jazz, blues, gospel and folk to rock, pop, afro-cuban, brazilian and other dance genres.

The Spanish doom metal band Orthodox forgoes the distorted low-end for clustered piano chords.

Meet Catya Mare: Catya Mare is a critically acclaimed, multiple award winning composer, violinist, and music producer from Denmark who is now living in Los Angeles, California.

Dafnis Preito & Si o Si Quartet - Live at Jazz Standard NYC : This is truly extraordinary jazz music.

A free chocolate tasting, a Beverly Hills 90210-inspired dance party, an oyster festival, and actor Ryan Goslinga s band.

Last year, I wrote a Take Five piece dedicated to Thelonious Monk Tribute Albums That Aren't Terrible .

Dave Brubeck may be 88 years old, but he has plenty of music in him. At this summer's Freihofer's Jazz Festival at SPAC, his playing brought numerous standing ovations for songs such as "Take the A Train" and "Take Five," the centerpiece of his groundbreaking album "Time Out," which he recorded 50 years ago.

Today, September 29th, Rhino releases The Very Best of Al Jarreau: An Excellent Adventure .

We have some news to share, and we'd also like to ask all interested Beatles fans to submit a quote to AAJ for possible inclusion in our upcoming "Jazz Honors the Beatles" article.

The first real conversation I ever had with Lars Gotrich was about the Peter Brotzmann and Han Bennink U.S. duo tour of 2007.

The Monterey Jazz Festival is this weekend, and even though it's hundreds of miles north, you can still feel its effects in our town.

Hear music by the photographed musicians at Take Five , NPR's weekly jazz sampler.