Usher in the summer in style tonight at the Blanton for yet another B scene art party. This month's event marks the final big celebration of the museum's impressive multi-disciplinary Birth of the Cool exhibit. The show covers visual art, architecture, interior design, music, and film from Midcentury Modern masters such as Charles and Ray Eames and Miles Davis. In fact, Austin's own jazz trumpeter Jeff Lofton and his quartet will be performing a Miles Davis Tribute set to get everyone in the mood to be cool. more ›

When Thelonious Monk passed away in 1982, his status as an innovator and one of the leading figures in modern jazz music was well established. A pianist who cut his first recording in 1944, Monk went on to work with fantastic musicians over his remarkable career including Sonny Rollins (tenor sax), Art Blakey (drums), Miles Davis (trumpet), John Coltrane (tenor sax) and many others. An unusual and versatile performer, Monk’s personal behavior was often just as spontaneous, and his relationships with others, including his wife and child, were as challenging as some of his best music. more ›

Boubacar Joseph Ndiaye & Youssou N’Dour at the Maison des Esclaves AFS Presents Return to GoréeTuesday, November 6thAlamo Drafthouse South Lamar (1120 S. Lamar)$4 / Free for AFS members, 7pm[info]The place where my fathers died, return to the land of Gorée, the place where my mothers cried, return to the land of Gorée. – Harmony Harmoneers We'll admit it: our jazz knowledge consists of a couple of Miles Davis and John Coltrane albums mixed with... more ›

Close listeners coming into musical consciousness in the 1980s were faced with a paradox: while past recordings that had slipped into obscurity had become available once again, the sonic quality and production values that had marked the great age of vinyl had been swept aside by record companies in order to reissue as many albums as possible. From 1997, with the long-awaited remasterings of jazz masterpieces by Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock, many notable record companies have invested significant resources into the preservation and restoration of classic albums. Listeners have turned to indie labels, such as Sundazed (classic pop), Ace (vintage R&B and country), and Blood & Fire (reggae, dub, and dancehall) to procure the priceless master tapes and hire the top-notch engineers. Rhino Records has since 1978 led the remastering pack in attention to detail and care to all presentation aspects of favorite classics and forgotten obscurities, and with their new reissue of the Talking Heads record catalog, the label's Rhinophonic reissue team has once again raised the bar. more ›