Lionel Hampton, the irrepressible bandleader who played with an infectious joy that captivated fans around the world and, in the process, gave the vibraphone a lasting place on the jazz bandstand, ...

This article was first published at All About Jazz in January 2002. Jazz piano and world music rhythm make an enchanting pair. With the popularization of world beat music, jazz musicians nurtured on ...

Vibraphone has often been a rare specialty on the local jazz scene, but two vibes-based bands have recently appeared: Onda, an up-and-coming Brazilian quartet, did three sets at Brasa, while Juan ...

The African Jazz Ensemble may be the best kept musical secret in Memphis. Founded over two decades ago by Ekpe Abioto, they’ve forged a hybrid blend of influences with an impressive roster of players, ...

For Dave Samuels, the love of his first two instruments — the drums and then the piano — naturally led him to the vibraphone. Samuels' gift for evocative melody and his rhythmic versatility make him ...

Bobby Hutcherson, a vibraphonist whose improvising and composition helped to define modernity for jazz as a whole, has died. He had long struggled with emphysema. He was 75. As a mallet percussionist, ...

Imaginative re-workings of standards and plucky originals are what makes vibes master Ted Piltzecker's latest album a real gem. The veteran American vibraphonist is best known for having performed ...

There’s something about the vibraphone that leads its practitioners to prioritize melody. Not that Joel Ross and his quintet didn’t fill Blues Alley with harmonic and rhythmic creations on Tuesday ...

When asked to define jazz, Count Basie, said, "Tap your feet!" Rhythm brings people together, and is part of what makes jazz America's musical bridge to the world. "Jazz ambassadorship," a concept ...

Jazz music is very much alive in the heart and soul of local teenagers looking to continue the genre's legacy as musicians. "Jazz is a really great form of music that allows someone like me to put ...