As concerts and recording sessions around the globe came to an abrupt halt, DownBeat interviewed eight artists to discuss their strategies for coping during the coronavirus pandemic. Read More

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by Matthieu Jouan – Citizen Jazz Ms. Davis is a calm and wise person who, despite her double award for Best Composer / Pianist in the annual North American Jazz Journalist’s Award, keeps her feet firmly on the ground. Teacher…

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This year’s Awards for instrumentalists advance a multi-year trend by the JJA’s voting members to recognize accomplished women among the multiple nominated finalists. Drummer and educator Terri Lyne Carrington (Musician of the Year), pianist-composer Kris Davis (Composer and Pianist of the Year), saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin (Up…

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Kris Davis Diatom Ribbons (Pyroclastic) At a glance, an odd candidate for consensus: Kris Davis, an improviser-composer with the instinct of an alchemist, made Diatom Ribbons by drawing inspiration from oceanic microbiology, tectonic movement and piano precursors ranging from Messiaen…

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KRIS DAVIS, ‘DIATOM RIBBONS’ Kris Davis, 39, has spent years as her generation’s powerhouse pianist in waiting. No longer. On “Diatom Ribbons,” her skills as a composer, band assembler, system builder and improviser — a musical auteur, basically — come…

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