Jazz Artist Interviews (709)
Get up close and personal with your favorite jazz artists!
New Orleans is keeping a secret from jazz fans. If you head down to the Ritz-Carlton’s French Quarter Bar during Thursday through Saturday nights, you’ll get a chance to hear the smooth sounds of trumpeter/vocalist Jeremy Davenport. Named by People Magazine as one of the hottest young bachelor’s, Davenport combines old-school charm with a wealth of talent. He’s also been featured in Cosmo Girl, GQ, Travel and Leisure, New Orleans and others. Although the thirty-three-year-old …
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There’s an intimacy about vocalist LM Pagano that makes people, whether they’re late-night radio listeners or big-time record producers, sit up and take notice. Los Angeles disc jockey Bo Leibowitz can tell you. When he played a song from the singer’s CD on his show, he got four calls from listeners before the number ended. Soon, the recording made its way into the hands of jazz promoter Dick LaPalm and famed producer Al Schmitt, who remixed and released the album, "Azalea," on his label, Bop …
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With the 2002 release of Dance of Love , Tony Adamo is one of the hottest new artists to hit the airwaves. Sensually poetic, Tony Adamo in Dance of Love is a diary of romantic paradise. With words like "He runs with the dark horses, but you love him for the wild ride," this CD is sure to put you in just the right mood. Light a few candles, open up a bottle of red wine and enjoy the moment. Adamo’s writing career actually started during his tour of duty in the Gulf War. The 15-h …
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After two locally distributed CDs, Hawaii-based vocalist Azure McCall has released her first national effort with "The Gift." The CD serves as a strong introduction to McCall for the recording showcases her deep, honey voice and a wide-ranging repertoire. Whether the song is a jazz standard or a pop tune, the music has an air of earthy spirituality much like McCall herself. "My voice is my gift," she said. "I want to reach out and touch people with my music." McCall moved to Hawaii in 1 …
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Dave Koz is once again being considered for a Grammy. The announcement was made on December 4, 2003 that "Honey-Dipped" from the "Saxophonic" album was nominated for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. The October release of the album missed the Grammy deadline and the nomination came as bit of a surprise to the saxist. "I’m excited . . . shocked and excited," said Koz a few hours after hearing the news. When asked if he expected it, he quickly replied, "Not in a million years . . . defini …
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Forty years after he began his music career, Jazz trumpeter Randy Brecker comes to life as he talks about the new directions emerging in the genre. Brecker says that the globalization of Jazz music, "just adds to the spicy mix of Jazz." He points to bassist Richard Bona from Minta Eastern Cameroon as a perfect example of someone who has infused a new element into Jazz. "His brand of Jazz is mixed in with an incredible array of folk influences that you just couldn't get from somebody who …
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Poncho Sanchez’s latest Concord Picante release Out of Sight is one of the year's most fun CDs to listen to. Poncho is almost certainly the hardest working man in Latin Jazz, so it is only appropriate that the new album finds him paying tribute to James Brown, The Hardest Working Man in Show Business--and to classic R&B more generally. Helping him on this date is a number of true soul legends like Ray Charles, Billy Preston, Sam Moore and former James Brown horn men Fred Wesley and Pee We …
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After four years of silence, during which Monk, Jr. fought a bought of pneumonia, TS is back in the spotlight. Already a world famous star, TS makes his comeback on his own terms and on Higher Ground. Multi-talented, articulate, yet warm and a bit humble, TS Monk, Jr., tells where he was, where he is and where he’s headed. T.S. MONK: Hello. JAZZREVIEW: Oh my goodness. Did you just wake up or is your voice always that deep? T.S. MONK: No, it’s alwa …
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Following an eight year hiatus from touring and recording, bassist/composer Miroslav Vitous returns in full force with Universal Syncopations (ECM, 2003), an album that reaffirms his position as a driving force in contemporary improvised music. It joins an already outstanding catalogue of releases for the ECM label that is at once timeless, aware of the tradition that came before it, and yet retains a keen eye for what the future holds. History Vitous, well-known as one of …
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Rick Braun recently released Esperanto, an eclectic album that highlights music as the universal language. This CD is a bit different than previous Braun recordings. Braun stated that he "didn’t stick with smooth jazz formulas. [I] did what I wanted to do. I really enjoyed making it." A cornucopia of vibes, Esperanto moves through an exciting blend of styles. "Daddy-O" jives with a steady soul, while "Sir W" kicks it up a notch. The Latin feel to "The Villa Di Costa" pro …
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The names just keep rolling as if from a waterfall Miles, and Miles’ alumni, John McLaughlin, Don Alias, John Scofield, Mike Stern, Al Foster, Marcus Miller, Robben Ford - also Randy Brecker, Les McCann, Andy Summers of the Police, Willie Nelson, Bruce Hornsby, Trilok Gurtu, Manolo Badrena, Elements, and many others. All these Evans has worked with in his over 25-year career. Regardless of the lineup, the angular blues lines and implied harmony remain all about the groove for Evans. "Big Fun" …
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Major bop pianist, Barry Harris, has devoted his life to the advancement of jazz and has received the Living Jazz Legacy award from the Mid-Atlantic Arts Association, and an American Jazz Masters Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. In addition, he has received other numerous awards including the Manhattan Borough President Award for Excellence in recognition of his devoted public service in the field of music. In 1999, he was also awarded the Mentor a …
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Cheryl Bentyne has been the soprano voice of the world-renown vocal group The Manhattan Transfer since 1979. She has won Grammys (and countless other awards), toured the world and performed with such musical legends as Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughan and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1992, she released her first solo album, the ethereal "Something Cool," and MT fans hoped more solo projects would follow. But it wasn’t until ten years later when Cheryl resumed her solo recording career in Japa …
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His voice is a gift from above to music aficionado’s everywhere- ranging from a ringing tenor to an impossibly high falsetto, cloaked in a vibrato that rises and falls like a dragonfly in the dog days of August. That this voice comes from such an imposing frame makes fans of the voice appreciate it even more. Such is the contradiction of Aaron Neville. You hear that voice, see it come from such a huge man and you turn your head for a bit wondering if that voice is really coming from him. …
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Guitarist Marc Antoine has established himself as a musician who brings out a distinctive sound mixing classical, Latin jazz and flamenco styles. This style has helped him gain momentum in the smooth jazz genre to release CDs that consistently top the charts. However, his latest CD "Modern Times" brings about a different sound to Antoine's repertoire. He says, "Although people primarily know me for my acoustic flamenco guitar sound, for years I've also done sessions on electric for Celine Dion, …
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It isn’t easy being a standard bearer. That adage is especially true when your peers seem to pass on suddenly. Such is the case with the legendary bandleader Eddie Palmieri. In the past few years the world of Latin Jazz and salsa have lost Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, and most recently Cuban diva Celia Cruz. But Palmieri presses on, earning a Latin Grammy nomination for last year’s La Perfecta II and releasing his new album Ritmo Caliente (both on Concord Picante) this summer.
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Since the early 1990s, woodwind multi-instrumentalist Tim Garland has been one of England’s best-kept secrets. Emerging on the international scene three years ago as a member of Chick Corea’s band Origin, Garland’s career has since kicked into high gear and is a secret no longer. With projects that reflect his diversity and far-reaching instrumental and compositional capabilities, Garland is taking his rightful place amongst other British luminaries, including Kenny Wheeler and John Taylor. …
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Jazz music is not just about hipness and swing, but it’s also about intellect. Among the younger generation of players, there are few more intellectual practioners than pianist Brad Mehldau. Liner note readers were given an erudite treat with his 1999 Warner Bros. release, Elegiac Cycles, in which Mehldau lays his aesthetic credo in considerable detail. In the December 2003 edition of Jazz Times, he used a somewhat absurd debate about whether Sonny Rollins or Sonny Stitt is the …
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Suzy Bogguss is best known for a steady string of country hits, but she’s never been limited to a single style. On "Swing" (Compadre), the singer demonstrates her flair for classic jazz and Western swing numbers. Here, Duke Ellington meets Bob Wills. The result is a CD that radiates with charm. One reviewer recently called it the "most elegant pop-jazz record of the year." Bogguss, whose hits include "Aces," "Outbound Plane" and "Drive South," isn’t new to some of the jazz material found o …
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British jazz writer Digby Fairweather calls guitarist Howard Alden's Duets, with seven-string innovator George Van Eps "flawless". Alden's latest, another duet recording with another seven-string master, Bucky Pizzarelli, also deserves the description. The aptly named In A Mellow Tone (Concord Jazz, CCD-2207-2) has abiding warmth and intimacy, without sacrificing swing and inventiveness. At first glance, the two guitarists appear to come from separate worlds. Alden is 44 and grew u …
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Just over a decade ago, Curtis Stigers was living the pop star dream that serves as the highest goal for many performers; a platinum album, hit singles, international tours with Elton John and Eric Clapton, featured spots on big studio soundtracks. All would seem to be the stuff of dreams, but while he’s been very successfully marketed, Stigers was much more than a pop marketing phenomenon. He was, first and foremost, a musician, a veteran performer who had moved from Boise, Idaho bar bands (whe …
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In a world where longevity is a rare quality among today’s musicians new and established, Pat Metheny continues to prove that his well of ideas runs deep to the Earth’s core. In no need of introduction, Metheny has been heard in just about every configuration imaginable, but up until now his solo guitar works have been only a rare novelty at PMG tours in recent years. His latest CD, "One Quiet Night," exhibits Metheny in rare form: just a man and his guitar sans studio gear, a band and any distr …
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A frequent lament about the contemporary jazz scene is that the working jazz group seems to be something of an endangered species, that a group that one might hear on a particular date is just as likely to consist of an ad-hoc collection of talented musicians as it is a practicing ensemble. The L.A-based Shapes, however, is very much a group, their debut album The Last Farewell the product of nearly two years of the same musicians collaborating. Consisting of original music written by the …
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The great blind tenor man Sonny Bird-Hutcherson sits languidly in his hotel room armchair smoking a cigarette. His weather beaten face and ruffled grey hair are marks of experience in a business where only the strong seem to survive. He has clearly been in this game a long time. During a break from his hectic touring schedule I had the honour of being able to interview the great man, an encounter that proved to be somewhat intriguing..... PP: Sonny it's good to finally get to …
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Jackie Ryan is an international jazz star. She frequently plays both coasts and overseas, where her gig at Ronnie Scott’s in London garnered the critical praise: "One of the finest singers to perform at Ronnie's since Shirley Horn." --The London Evening Standard. Ryan has shared the stage and recording studio with many greats including Clark Terry, Red Holloway and Buddy DeFranco. Her recordings and performances generate a genuine heat, which rises above the "flavor of the month" excit …
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