"It's like a contest between an orange and a space ship and a potted plant and a spoon," he said of the diverse range of 12 artists on the Mercury shortlist, including the jazz of Polar Bear and Seth Lakeman's Devon folk album.
On her own, Ms. Rowles also played regularly in several all-female jazz groups, including the Jazz Birds and Maiden Voyage, in both of which she played alongside the trumpeter Betty O'Hara, and the European band Witchcraft, with which she had toured since 2002.
Pushing off in 1640, Strausbaugh marshals archives, the Village's artistic output and interviews with members of several key scenes — including the jazz and folk explosions — to tell the story of the area's four centuries as a counterculture mecca.
This year, the organizers of the Midsummer Night Swing concert series at Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center are taking few chances with the program: they have announced a lineup heavy with New York's established big bands, including the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks and Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra.
Baseball has spawned a few talented musicians, including the jazz guitarist Bernie Williams and the rock guitarist Jack McDowell.
The center, in downtown Englewood, was revived after a successful campaign by artists and residents, including the jazz guitarist George Benson.
