Fellow Philadelphians Kevin Eubanks and pianist Orrin Evans, duet partners in EEE, the Evans Eubanks Experience (photo by Anne Webber)...

A pal of mine died on April 27. He was 71. He was taken out by esophageal cancer, the same thing my own father died from five years ago....

It was at the Mt. Fuji Jazz Festival, where Steps Ahead had a reunion gig on Aug. 29, 2003, that Michael Brecker complained of intense...