Looking for proof that jazz is alive and well? You’ll find the most recent publications and other work reported by the extremely active members of the Jazz Journalists Association after the jump. 

Chuck Stewart, one of the most prolific and admired photographers in jazz — an intimate chronicler of many of its icons and milestones, including the historic recording session for John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme — died on Jan. 20 in Teaneck, N.J. He was 89.

“Pardon me for propping up an old grievance, but the perpetual shortage of influential female jazz critics has been really bothering me of late. It should bother you too. Not simply for reasons of gender parity; not because of the dictates and quotas of political correctness. You should care because our discourse lacks an illuminating perspective. Without prominent women working visibly and steadily in jazz criticism, the field has long been intractably imbalanced. If you believe as I do that robust criticism is crucial to the life of any art form, this is a deficiency with implications for all of jazz.”

“An extensive list of hundreds of international esteemed jazz, blues and “creative music” instrumentalists, vocalists and adherents of those arts who died in 2016. Compiled for the Jazz Journalists Association from sources including local newspapers, Deadrockstars.com, the Jazzinstitut Darmstadt newsletter, AllAboutJazz.com, Wikipedia, the New York Times, Legacy.com, Rolling Stone, Variety, JazzTimes.com, blogs, listserves, Facebook pages and European publications. Links to their fuller biographers or obituaries are provided where possible.”

W. Royal Stokes, author, critic, historian and JJA member weighs in on the best jazz books published in the recent years. 

Chuck Stewart, one of the most prolific and admired photographers in jazz — an intimate chronicler of many of its icons and milestones, including the historic recording session for John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme — died on Jan. 20 in Teaneck, N.J. He was 89.

With its listenership in steep decline, jazz legend Wynton Marsalis is looking to rebrand the genre and engineer its comeback, with the help of Professor Rohit Deshpande.

“The Nieman Foundation at Harvard University iscelebrating the centennial of the Pulitzer Prize this year with a two-day gathering (September 10 and 11) at Cambridge’s Sanders Theatre. The impressive event will include talks and performances from a selection of past winners, including Wynton Marsalis, Stan Grossfeld, and Sacha Pfeiffer. Panels on the second day will explore the theme “Power: Accountability and Abuse” “through the prize-winning work of the participants – journalists, poets, authors, playwrights, historians, musicians and other speakers.” The event is free, and no doubt will be inspiring and informative.”