James Wright

James Wright writes our long-form features, historical deep dives, and educational guides from Chicago. A former music educator, he brings a teacher's instinct to the page: break the idea down, show the working, then put it back together so the reader walks away having actually learned something. His coverage centers on jazz history from the New Orleans roots through the bebop revolution, hard bop, modal jazz, and the free jazz that followed. On the education side he writes practical explainers on chord changes, modes, harmonic substitution, and the specific devices that define individual players' approaches. He is interested in why Wayne Shorter's compositions feel the way they do, what Bill Evans actually does with voice leading, and how Coltrane's sheets-of-sound technique is built. James works best on pieces that require a longer runway: biographical features, influence-mapping essays, and theory pieces that connect a musical idea to the recording where you can hear it in action. His work sits across our Features, Jazz History, Jazz Education, and Artist Profiles sections. If a piece needs to trace where an idea came from and where it went, it is usually under his byline.