Ashley Kahn
Ashley Kahn is an American music historian, journalist, and producer, as well as a regular commentator on Morning Edition.
Kahn has had different jobs related to music in his career: from deejay to video producer and freelance writer, from road manager to concert producer and TV music editor for VH1. As a road manager, he has toured with jazz musicians including Henry Threadgill, Cassandra Wilson, and Greg Osby; with African artists including Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Hugh Masekela, and Lucky Dube; with rock artists including Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel; and with pop stars including Britney Spears.
His most critically acclaimed books have been on two major jazz albums, Kind of Blue from Miles Davis and A Love Supreme from John Coltrane. Apart from his books, his contributions as a journalist have appeared in the New York Times, Downbeat, Jazz Times and Rolling Stone in the USA; Mojo and New Statesman in the UK; GQ in Japan, and many others.
-
A new book argues that Motown was a step in the evolution of the American popular song, a tradition reaching back to songwriters like Irving Berlin, George Gershwin and Cole Porter. -
It's not easy living on the avant-garde edge of any art, let alone the always-changing world of jazz. But for nearly 50 years, the sound of Ornette Coleman has proven to be one of the most unorthodox — and most influential — in modern jazz.
-
Steven Bernstein mashes the sound of big band era jazz with well-known pop songs. His latest band, the Millennial Territory Orchestra, has just released its first album: 'MTO Volume One.'
-
Today is the 85th birthday of jazz drummer and legendary bandleader Chico Hamilton. He has spent seventy years behind the drum kit, performing in a wide variety of styles and jazz flavors: from big band and R&B, to funky and experimental.
-
The late 1960s were the golden age of Soul music. In studios located in Muscle Shoals, Ala., and Memphis, Tenn., legends like Aretha Franklin, Percy Sledge and Otis Redding were recording songs that proved timeless. And many of them were made with Dan Penn.
-
The CodeTalkers don't look like your everyday jam band. But don't let the dark suits they wear in concert fool you. The Atlanta-based trio doesn't take itself too seriously, despite the formal attire.
-
Music journalist Ashley Kahn shares the sounds of New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. In the final report from this series, Kahn reports on how Hurricane Katrina influenced the lyrics and music of this year's Jazz Fest. -
Long before Louis Armstrong came along, the trumpet and New Orleans were intertwined. For local jazz legend Nicholas Payton, the instrument represents the essence of the Crescent City.
-
On Friday morning, New Orleans kicks off its first jazz festival since Hurricane Katrina. This year, the Jazz & Heritage Festival has adopted the motto "Witness the Healing Power of Music." Nowhere will this be more evident than in the festival's Gospel Tent.
-
Commentator and music journalist Ashley Kahn talks to members of The Flaming Lips about their music and their latest album, At War with the Mystics. For more than 20 years the band has been a cult favorite. Kahn explains how their new effort maintains a spirit of experimentation, while earning them a shot at mainstream popularity.
