The Emily Kuhn Quintet

Chicago-based jazz trumpeter Emily Kuhn returns to her hometown with The Emily Kuhn Quintet. As part of a residency with the Charlottesville Jazz Society and WTJU, the group will perform a public concert featuring new original music and selections from Kuhn’s recent release, Ghosts of Us. Pulling on the threads of connection, stillness, grief, and […]

An abstract discourse

By Sarah Sargent Robert Reed’s “San Romano (Hip Strut)” explodes off the wall of the Jefferson School’s gallery. The bright colors and bold shapes are both abstract and representational—in one corner it’s all color and form, and in another corner there’s a chessboard, a gift from Reed’s son. Reed attended the Jefferson School as a […]

PICK: Sweet Honey in the Rock

Solidarity in song: Raising voices and raising awareness since 1973, Sweet Honey in the Rock is an African American a cappella group with a broad range of performance credits, from “Sesame Street” to Carnegie Hall. With mesmerizing harmonies and gifted lyrical flow, the ensemble addresses civil rights, justice, equality, and freedom through gospel, blues, and […]

Sound Choices: New faces, old places, and terra firma

Ruth Good Haunt EP, Citrus City Records Richmond/Brooklyn-based Citrus City Records has served as a platform for marginalized and lesser-heard voices from all corners of the scene since 2014. One of the tape label’s latest offerings comes from Ruth Good, the moniker for brothers Jonathan and Wes Parker. The duo teamed up with older brother […]

Combo players: The Hard Modes mix jazz improv with a love of video games

Greg Weaver has been playing video games since…well, since he can remember. Growing up, his family had an Atari system and his cousin had a classic Nintendo NES. One particularly exciting Christmas, the family got a Super Nintendo system. The Weaver siblings spent hours playing on the consoles, immersed in the worlds contained therein, but […]

ARTS Pick: Charlie Ballantine Trio

Charlottesville Jazz Society kicks off its concert season with guitarist Charlie Ballantine and his trio. Ballantine’s music pays homage to his childhood in the Midwest through a unique melding of folk and jazz. Among his influences are some of the greatest jazz, rock, and pop musicians of the ’60s and ’70s, and his latest release, […]