Long Form are in-depth articles on fundamental themes and artists in jazz.
Written by our best contributors and accompanied by exclusive photos, they represent the heart of jazz music history.
After years of requests from university students and enthusiasts, they are now available and updated on this page.
Long Form
Dossier on Anthony Braxton’s Quartets
June 4, 2025: Anthony Braxton turns 80 – an almost mocking age for someone who has been the true enfant terrible of the American jazz scene since the late 1960s. For us, this is an opportunity to revisit his work from a particular angle. In his case, we focus on the quartet, in its many guises, through a selection of emblematic albums. With a creative voracity that seems inexhaustible (“Anthony is our Beethoven,” Roscoe Mitchell told us some time ago), Braxton has ranged from solo to orchestra, traversing multiple universes with decisive, authoritative purpose. The quartet – precisely because of the breadth of his repertoire – struck us as the ideal entry point to such a complex, abundant, sometimes dispersive figure who nonetheless maintains a clear, unmistakable identity and style. After all, Braxton has led several quartets, a couple of which stand as canonical litmus tests for distinct eras and […]
This is premium content!
Subscribe! If you have already subscribed, log in with your username and password!
Alphonso Johnson: A Great Talent
The history of jazz is filled with musicians who died prematurely, disappeared, or stepped away from the scene for various reasons. Into this last...
Andy Bey: a tribute to the great singer who recently passed away
The early 1990s marked the return of great singers. Many who had lived in near anonymity during the 1970s suddenly came back into view....
Ran Blake: a poet in black and white
Let’s start with a song: “Laura.” David Raksin composed the music for the film of the same name (released in Italy as Vertigine), and...
- Advertisement -
Roy Ayers: “Everybody Loves the Sunshine”
Ayers died on March 4 in New York. The warm sound of his instrument has fallen silent, leaving an empty void. He was eighty-four...
The Indestructible Eddie Condon
They called him The Indestructible, and that’s how we’ll remember him: with that trademark sneering smile, croaky voice, his ever-present guitar slung over his shoulder, a bottle of gin never far from reach, and Gershwin’s “Liza” floating in the background.
Remembering Martial Solal
The great pianist recently died at the ripe old age of 97, but he wasn't retired for long: when he said "enough" to live performances, he was 92, and he continued to write music until the end. We remember him with an extensive examination of his formative years
Sergio Mendes: Pretty World
The recent death of the Brazilian pianist truly marks the end of an enchanted world: a true la-la land built in the perfect image and likeness of its ingenious creator
- Advertisement -
Steve Lacy: Phase One
Ninety years after the birth and twenty years after the death of the great soprano, we look at the first, perhaps the least known, phase of his career, between the ages of twenty and thirty
In praise of impure jazz
A long essay offering many topics for reflection and discussion, accompanied by a selection of Robeto Polillo's magnificent photographs