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.
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Music journalist Ashley Kahn talks about Smokin' at the Half Note, a reissued CD that spotlights the music of famed jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery in his prime.
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Neil Innes is a singer and songwriter who also was the guiding musical force behind the comedy team Monty Python. His humorous songs carry that peculiar British blend of absurdity and intelligence. Music journalist Ashley Kahn caught up with Innes on his recent American tour.
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Music journalist Ashley Kahn profiles Alice Coltrane, widow of jazz legend John Coltrane. Alice Coltrane is a musician and bandleader in her own right and has just released her first album in 25 years.
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Music journalist Ashley Kahn reviews a new collection of John Lennon recordings called Acoustic. While listening, you can also learn how to play Lennon's songs. The CD collection comes with a chord chart that shows where to place your fingers on the frets of a guitar. -
When it comes to sex, booze and rock 'n' roll, the group Faces didn't just follow the cliché, they helped invent it. The hard-rocking, hard-drinking band helped propel the career of Rod Stewart. Ashley Kahn reports.
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American music legend Ray Charles died Thursday of complications from liver disease. He was 73. Blind since age 7, the man known as "The Genius" built a career that defied genre, lending his soulful, bluesy stylings to jazz, pop, country and R&B. Ashley Kahn has a remembrance.
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The Harder They Come, the Jamaican movie starring Jimmy Cliff, was a cult hit when it was released 30 years ago. But along with Bob Marley, the film and its soundtrack helped introduce reggae music to America and the rest of the world. On Morning Edition, Ashley Kahn reports on the film's continuing influence.
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Saxophone legend John Coltrane's 1964 recording A Love Supreme is one of the masterworks in the canon of jazz. A new edition includes the only live performance of the complete work. Writer Ashley Kahn, whose new book goes behind the scenes of the landmark album, has an essay on the project.
