Greg Carmichael of contemporary smooth jazz band Acoustic Alchemy once said, “For a lot of people, instrumental jazz music is just sound that plays in the background.” July 10, 2022 News ...

Another uncommon jazz instrument is the ukulele or the uke. This four-string lute descendant of Portuguese and Hawaiian origin has only a few proponents in jazz and none as innovative as Lyle Ritz.

Jazz is strange enough for some listeners. Dig a little deeper and it gets ever so bizarre. Some musicians take instruments from other traditions and make it their own. Some go for the big and bold.

Chinery, now deceased, sponsored the Blue Guitar project, in which he hand-picked 50 guitar builders across the country – including Hollenbeck – to create a blue guitar.