The Harry Bells: A Strong Contender For Most Boisterous Band In D.C.
Four members of D.C.’s The Harry Bells — saxophonists Matt Rippetoe and Jonathan Parker, trumpeter Joe Herrera and trombonist Ben…
Michael J. West
Michael J. West is a jazz journalist in Washington, D.C. and a contributor to Washington City Paper, JazzTimes, Down Beat, and the Washington Post. He is a board member of the Jazz Journalists Association.
Articles by Michael J. West
New York Times Critic Ben Ratliff Is Worried About Leaving Music Discovery Up To Robots
This year marks Ben Ratliff’s 20th as a music critic at the New York Times. He is probably best known…
Listen To An Enigmatic Song From Ensemble Volcanic Ash, Playing Tonight At Union Arts
The deep-voiced thrum you hear at the top of this tune isn’t bass, but cello. To be precise, it’s the…
In D.C., The Best Jam Sessions Don’t Involve Jam Bands
A jazz jam session is not what you probably think it is. For rock fans, “jam” generally has two meanings,…
What Defines Scandinavian Jazz? An Interview With Denmark’s Spacelab
The Nordic Jazz Festival, brought to D.C. each summer by the five Scandinavian embassies (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden),…
The Heyday Of Blue Note Records, Captured In Photographs
There’s no missing the Kennedy Center’s “Blue Note at 75” Celebration—the cultural center has devoted a week to programming that…
A Critic’s Guide To Cuneiform Records
A few weeks ago, Silver Spring, Md.-based record label Cuneiform Records announced on Twitter that it had posted its entire…