Jazz Artist Interviews (709)
Get up close and personal with your favorite jazz artists!
"I am interested in singing songs that move me, in a way that moves people," says Sophie Milman, a twenty-four year old jazz singer from Toronto, Canada, whose current CD Make Someone Happy, soared to the # 4 spot on Billboard’s jazz charts. With emotionally deep, evocative vocals, combined with poise and confidence that suggests a much more seasoned artist, Sophie Milman has tantalized North American audiences, with songs such as producer Steve Mackinnon’s "Something In …
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To Dream Carnegie Hall 1938 Coronation of a king, a tribute to Benny Goodman, starring Bob DeAngelis, John MacLeod, and the Champagne Symphony Orchestra featuring some of Canada’s top musicians. "I think the band I had at Carnegie Hall . . . was the best . . . I ever had." A Benny Goodman statement, that he made in regards to his big band performance January 16, 1938 at Carnegie Hall. The night Benny Goodman claimed the title "The King Of Swing." The dream for Bob DeAngelis and company, "T …
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Bobby McFerrin, master of all music, a man whose career embraces, jazz, pop and classical, has one busy schedule coming up in 2008. This world famous vocal innovator and improviser, who added classical to his repertoire in the nineties, begins the year in Southern California with a concert at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Jan 10-12, with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, conducting Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1 and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, "Italian," and vocally taking part in Vivald …
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Jazz, in all its forms, is an art divinely created by a free spirit! An artist who" feels" from all directions, not just a specific occurrence, thereby evolving that process into an expressive sculpture mounted on sound. Along the way breaking down barriers and rules of which need not apply, for that spirit thrives and creates from within by one’s own manual! This is vocalist and pianist Melani Skybell. Skybell’s delivery and insight offers a unique exploit into her world of jazz inter …
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Some write and compose with the perception of global conquests. Others visualize the shores of exotic islands as they create them with passionate melodies. This is the way we dream. However, for Omar Akram it’s a reality engraved into his memories, which has molded and developed his character, craft and style. As a son of a United Nations diplomat, he grew up focused and educated, not only by the pages of an educational structure, but by life travels themselves culture to cu …
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Lauren White is a name that you should probably commit to memory, because the twenty-one year old jazz singer from Dallas, Texas, possesses an abundance of talent, a great attitude, and is one of the most polite people you will ever talk to, qualities which will serve her well in the music industry. Earlier this year White released her debut CD, At Last, an album that has three original tunes, several standards that were popular, long before she was born, and tunes by more modern …
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Working with the same band for an extended period of time has some obvious advantages. Getting to know someone well means coming to know how they think musically, being able to predict what they are going to play under certain circumstances, how they are going to respond to certain musical cues. "We’re so attuned to each other and listen to each other so hard that that process is a really satisfying process," jazz vocalist Tierney Sutton said of making music with her bandmates, with whom she …
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Filipino native Charmaine Clamor is making an impact wherever she performs, quickly finding her name on numerous marquees across the globe. Wherever this young and sultry jazz siren blankets her voice, heads turn to embrace her signature elegance. Ms Clamor not only vocalizes emotions, she sculpts memories with her hypnotic presence in sync with her sensual injection of jazz melodies. The jazz scribes po …
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More than any instrument, the piano is the constant conductor of musical memoirs. The emotion of any one keystroke ignites the mood by maintaining equilibrium with its ivory expressions. Pianists are plentiful, however, few have the charismatic flair and compositional manifestation as does Alex Clements, to attain such a task. From studio performances to the silver screen, Alex demonstrates the fine art of innovative artistry and feel with his craft. With the 2007 release of "W …
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Keyboardist Jayson Tipp is absolutely elated to be playing with his bandmates from Under The Lake, when last they played was for their sophomore album Up For Air in 1996. Though the band members have changed since Under The Lake was originally formed in the early ‘90s with the release of their debut album Dive In from 1994, the current line-up have a chemistry that works like magic: Tipp on keyboards, Nathan Brown on bass, Quintin Gerard W. on saxophone and flute, D …
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Eberhard Weber has long been acknowledged as a genius in the field of music. He invented the electric bass and added a fifth string to the instrument. His compositions like those of Chick Corea defy being described as entirely jazz, are influenced by classical, but belong to a genre beyond description. Weber speaking to me from his home in southern France, while recuperating from the effects of a stroke, spoke candidly and passionately about jazz music, but in a manner, that easily leaves its …
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Atlanta, Georgia might be known for being the home of the major league baseball team, The Braves, but bravery does not only run in the veins of the city’s sports teams. It is also found in Atlanta's denizen, Dee Lucas, who began playing the saxophone at the ripe age of 28 and bravely took steps to be active in contemporary smooth jazz music. He highlights, "I am considered a self-taught musician. Once I purchased my first sax at the age 28, I began to see …
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A bandleader, versatile keyboardist, judicial negotiator, and devoted family man all describe Ray Chew equally. As the Music Director for NBC’s TV show The Singing Bee, Chew balances these duties with his numerous other projects that include being the Music Director for NBC’s TV series Showtime At the Apollo and managing Chew Entertainment Production alongside with his wife Vivian. "My wife and partner Vivian Scott Chew are veterans of the business with the understa …
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With half a century of music making under his belt, Bud Shank is a survivor and a legend. To merely label him as a player of the West Coast/Cool school is to deny oneself the full measure of a multi-faceted artist. Still touring and recording, he takes time out of his schedule to talk to me about his artistic legacy. Jazz Review: Your family was not musical, what were the circumstances of your initially being bitten by the jazz bug? Were they su …
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Woodwind instrumentalist, Mark Hollingsworth has one of the most outrageous and thrilling journeys that you may ever read about as narrated by him. Hollingsworth goes into depth about how he came into his own musicality after being a studio musician for a litany of recording artists from rock ‘n’ roll’s Alice Cooper and U2 to smooth crooners like Tom Jones and Luther Vandross. Hollingsworth latest solo album Chasing The Sun is the follow up to his debut album On Th …
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The name "Shilts" is synonymous in jazz circles with saxophonist Paul Weimar, whose work as a member of the British jazz-funk ensemble, Down To The Bone is still associated with him today. And maybe that is for a good reason since on some of the Spirit Cruises in 2008, Shilts reunited with his band mates from Down To The Bone to play a handful of shows. One of those shows gave Shilts the opportunity to indulge the audience in one of his own compositions which he titled, "Back on the Hudson." The …
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One would think that saxophonist Darren Rahn would need a rolodex just to keep account of all of the hats that he has worn playing the roles of solo artist, composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist, music programmer, and his latest addition, a member of Nu Groove Records smooth R&B/soul group, De’Nate’, fronted by keyboardist/programmer Nate Harasim and the beautiful siren Deborah Connors on lead vocals. Rahn stepped forward as a solo artist in 2007 with the release of his debut record, …
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The old saying, "Three times a charm," may be true for some things. But, for Les Sabler, his fourth album is a masterpiece. Braving deep waters with classic hits like Aretha Franklin’s "Daydreaming" and Peabo Bryson’s "Can You Stop The Rain,’ then adding a marvelous collection of originals, offering plenty of textures and moods, Sabler definitely will be on the map with his latest release, Sweet Drive. Adding a group of all-star musicians and singers to this already exciting album, alo …
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Free jazz saxophonist Frank Gratkowski portrays himself as an improvisational musician whose best material comes out when he is most vulnerable, performing live and being on the spot searching inside himself and feeling his way around the chords on his saxophone. "Actually most of my recordings are live recordings," he remarks, "and I think I'm more open in a live situation than in the studio. Solo music, for example, I can’t do in the studio at all. I need an audience to focus and tr …
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The six-man and one-woman contemporary jazz/world music ensemble Airborne, who call the heart of New Haven, Connecticut their home, are setting course for a tour in support of their latest release Turbulence from Tilt Records. Formed in 1988, Airborne is comprised of seven musicians who respect each others individuality and musical diversity which ranges from Latin, African, and Caribbean influences to R&B, soul, Gospel, and smooth jazz palates. Core members Thomas Borino o …
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A year to the day since the untimely death of Michael Jackson, contemporary jazz writer, producer and keyboard player Bob Baldwin mounted his own tribute to the great man. Out on the Trippin' N Rhythm label, his CD ‘Never Can Say Goodbye’ is the first jazz record to pay homage to Jackson. It speaks directly to the sentiment felt by millions of fans worldwide and when recently I spoke to Bob from his home in Westchester County, NY I first asked him what had motivated him to …
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To say that guitarist Blake Aaron is a funky guy would be a gross understatement, and to try to apply just one label to his special brand of music would not be accurate either, as his new CD Desire clearly demonstrates. The album has received rave reviews, including in this publication, and has been charting spectacularly since it was released earlier this year. Currently Desire sits in the number one spot on the Indie Charts, a position that it has occupied for five straight we …
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"I guess I am like an actor in a role, if I can relate to a song, then I put myself in the writer’s shoes. I try to deliver it as though I am the writer (of the song) and I try to get the story told. During the couple of years that I was with Les Miserables (she performed on stages throughout Canada and the United States), the director kept telling us, ‘This is a story, and people are paying to come to hear this story. If you don’t believe what you are singing, then the audience will feel tha …
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Mention Chieli Minucci and Special EFX in jazz circles, and you’ll incite big round smiles from ear to ear on the faces of your audience. The poly-versed guitarist who formed the world fusion group Special EFX with the late drummer George Jinda in the early ‘80s has been keeping busy with composing scores for numerous side projects and touring with his band Special EFX which presently consists of drummer Lionel Cordew, bassist Jerry Brooks, keyboardist Jay Rowe, backup vocalist/percussionist …
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Imagine being just twenty-two years old and having your debut CD rocket to the # 1 position on Bluesville, a channel on the XM Satellite radio network. Well that is just what happened to the incredibly talented Gina Sicilia, a Philadelphian who has been causing ears to perk up and radio DJs to spin her CD Allow Me To Confess. Sicilia has already received international critical acclaim from those in the music industry and drawn high marks from legendary bluesman Bob Margol …
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