For my money, the greatest four days of the jazz year come every Labor Day weekend, and the People of Detroit roll out the red carpet and put on a blowout jazz festival that rivals any in the world this year will be no exception with a killer lineup to keep you running from stage to stage to stage….
The loss of Cedar Walton at the age of 79 earlier this week makes celebrating Wayne Shorter's 80th birthday today all the more important. We are losing more of the pioneers who made jazz what it is today every day, so we should savor the music and presence of someone of Wayne's stature while we can.