Jazz Artist Interviews (709)
Get up close and personal with your favorite jazz artists!
"Part of my mission is to carry on the legacy of jazz musicians that made great music. Most of them died prematurely and never achieved the kind of success they deserved. Their legacy needs to be remembered," says saxophonist Donald Walden when asked why he recorded Focus The Music of Tadd Dameron. With new members of the Detroit Jazz Orchestra (DJO), a group Walden formed in 1982, he recorded the disc live at Bert’s On Broadway, a tri-level bar in downtown Detroit. Walden selected 10 …
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There are but a handful of well-known improvisers who call the cello their main instrument: Hank Roberts, Vincent Courtois, David Darling, Fred Katz and Erik Friedlander. Erik Friedlander has been steadily building an impressive body of work over the past ten years that has seen him emerge as the cellist on call for the New York downtown scene. Through recordings with artists that include Dave Douglas, Joe Lovano and John Zorn, and now with his own groups, Friedlander is helping to redefi …
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Jessica Molaskey has performed with the " First Family of Cool" - John, Bucky and Martin Pizzarelli, at venues around the world from Feinstein’s at the Regency in New York City to the Montreal Jazz Festival. Jessica has also been featured at Lincoln Center’s American Songbook Series, Carnegie Hall, Joe’s Pub, Rainbow & Stars and with orchestras, and in concert venues across the country. As Pentimento put a jazzy new twist on popular songs of the 1920s and 1930s, now Jessica sashays into the …
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With a lung capacity as mighty as the woolly-mammoth, saxophonist Virginia Mayhew shows that life is unpredictable, but always worth the challenges. Her battle with breast cancer put a halt to her recordings in 2005, although she released Sandan Shuffle in 2006 with her quartet. She tells, "I actually recorded Sandan Shuffle right before I discovered I had breast cancer. I did a short tour, then started the chemo." She is back in 2008 not only with a new solo …
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In her debut solo album, "J-Walkin’," Jennifer Lee creates a mellow melting pot of newly arranged standards with a few surprises of her own. Almost daring not to impress, Lee takes on a unique style that we haven’t heard since the days of Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday. Rather than belting out the songs, Lee approaches them with sensitivity and emotion. The result is a luxurious CD in a classic tradition that is sure to impress even the most finicky jazz enthusiast. The most profound quali …
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Wow. My 1st interview assignment for JazzReview is with current jazz guitar icon Kurt Rosenwinkel. The world is indeed a strange and beautiful place. Presently, Rosenwinkel is one of the most original and thoughtful player/composers in what we refer to as ‘jazz music.’ His new recording, Deep Song comes out in March and is, at turns, beautiful and burning. Kurt and his extremely accommodating Verve ‘rep’ were very gracious in allowing me to do the interview via e-mail instead …
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"Music is comprised of traditions, even when mixed with innovations," Gregory says, "so of course, every musician is building upon sounds that came before. I admire and respect those jazz guitarists and I learned a lot from them. But my influences also include early soul innovators like Curtis Mayfield, many of the guitarists in the various Motown artists’ bands and like Ike Turner. Going further, I have been inspired by rock and rollers from Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley through Hendrix, to Eddie …
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The portrayal of the cowboy exemplifies the American tradition of freedom. Life was simpler in the days of the West. There weren’t any bottom lines or corporate gurus to please. The only rules were to live honestly and with courage. All a cowboy needed was a trusted horse, a good gun and wide-open spaces to roam. Although the barbed wire fence ended this chapter in American history, the spirit of the cowboy remains in the fabric of the American life. Some might say that jazz musicians are a …
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Known as the B-3 Bomber for his incredible skill on the Hammond B-3 organ, playing the B-3 comes naturally for Joey DeFrancesco who as a child, played along with his father, Philly organ legend Papa John DeFrancesco. By age 16, DeFrancesco was the first recipient of the Philadelphia Jazz Society’s McCoy Tyner Scholarship and a finalist in the Thelonius Monk International Jazz Piano Competition Miles Davis was so impressed with DeFrancesco’s talent back in 1988, he asked the (then) 17-year ol …
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For over 30 years, sax man Kirk Whalum has been in the forefront of the modern era of jazz. During that time, he has earned seven Grammy nominations, recorded numerous number one albums and had a number one smooth jazz hit last year with his version of Luther Vandross' "Give Me The Reason" from his The Babyface Songbook release. Whalum continues to bridge urban music styles with his new release Roundtrip. Roundtrip looks at all areas of Whalum's career, yesterday, today a …
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Although Patti Wicks has performed in New York over the years with various jazz notables, it wasn’t until landing in Florida that things really began to happen. With the release of her first CD in 1998, suddenly everybody was buzzing about Wicks’ superb piano textures and smoky emotional vocals. This gained her recognition in various jazz circles leading to her upcoming July 29, 2003 release, "Love Locked Out," an exquisite selection of rare ballads from the Great American Songbook, on the disti …
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Though it’s all story-telling to the six-time Grammy winner who turns seventy on August 25, among the many other dimensions experienced in the music of Wayne Shorter are essentially its mystery, expansion of spirit, angular beauty, abstract truth, ponderous thoughtfulness and an uncannily synchronistic nature. Since joining the modern music world's elite core of improvisers and composers in 1959 via Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and as a leader in the Blue Note stable, Shorter's consistently …
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Kenny Burrell has been an inescapable force in the world of jazz and popular music for the last half-century, having released close to a hundred albums under his own name and played on countless sessions with everyone from Ray Brown to James Brown. Mr. Burrell has also distinguished himself in the realm of academia. For the past twenty-five years he has been affiliated with UCLA, teaching the guitar and a course of his own devising called Ellingtonia, the first university course on Duke Elli …
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When you think about long lived, constantly adapting and evolving jazz bands, how often does The Yellowjackets come to mind? I must confess that I had largely forgotten The Yellowjackets when the Jazz Fusion movement ebbed. Well, that was my mistake because Russell Ferrante (piano and electronic keyboards), Jimmy Haslip (electric bass), Bob Mintzer (tenor and soprano saxophones, clarinets, flute, electric wind instrument) and Marcus Baylor (drums, percussion) have roared back with an impressive …
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A group named after the city that was bombed by a nuclear warhead in World War II is helping to bridge the world by music. Hiroshima has been performing since 1974 to help bring alive a philosophy that was first mentioned by Duke Ellington when he recorded The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse back in 1971. At that time, Ellington felt that Asian people were coming into the music scene and that all people would be able to perform together. When June Kuramoto first came to the U.S. at the age of s …
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I recently had the opportunity to catch up with Dave Ellis to discuss his new album State of Mind and his philosophy on creating jazz music. The product of two academic sociologists, it is no surprise that Ellis is keenly aware of the diverse and significant forces that shape his music. Parents, teachers, musicians, and now the great producer Orrin Keepnews have helped him discover and rediscover the joy in producing music. Though Ellis’ current album, State of Mind, reflects a …
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One of the best known, and best loved voices in American popular music, through her thirty year tenure in the Manhattan Transfer, Janis Siegel's roots stretch back to the girl group era, and her resume includes a solo recording career that produced seven albums since 1982. Her latest, Friday Night Special, provides ten songs with a classic organ-tenor group, anchored by organist Joey DeFrancesco and tenor saxophonist Houston Person. The lineup also includes drummer Buddy Williams and …
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Counterclockwise, Bobby Previte and his working unit Bump's latest release on Palmetto Jazz, is said to be a "follow-up" to his 2001 Just Add Water. But in addition to a key personnel change, the new disc has a very different feel. Recorded more or less live at an unlikely studio on Bainbridge Island in Washington State, its energy is raw and less produced than Just Add Water. Previte rocks out on his kit, sometimes shouting out key changes and other instructions, like a …
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Sitting down for an interview with a musical icon can be a daunting task. But when that icon is McCoy Tyner, all nervousness melts once he answers the phone and introduces himself. Mr. Tyner’s graciousness and accommodation is even more impressive considering that when this writer phoned him, he had just completed inquiring about some lost luggage from a tour of Italy. I had the chance to talk to Mr. Tyner about his upcoming Telarc release Land of Giants, which sees his working trio ( …
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There is no trumpeter on the jazz scene today that brings it home like Roy Hargrove. After winning his first Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Performance for Habana in 1997 with his Afro-Cuban band Crisol, and his second Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Album in 2002, Directions in Music with Herbie Hancock and Michael Brecker, Hargrove expanded his musical directions to include other genres as with his RH Factor band, applying elements of hip-hop, soul and gospel in a jazzy mix. …
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Steve Cole: Chicago's Sound In smooth jazz, there has always been primarily two types of smooth jazz, West Coast style and East Coast style. However, there has been a growing voice out of Chicago that is giving smooth jazz listeners a third style that has a flavor all its own. Starting with pianist Ramsey Lewis, many artists who have worked with musicians on both coasts are starting to come together to bring the Chicago sound to a growing audience. One of the leading Chicago-based artists is …
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On her new album, Moon at the Window (Tone Center), pianist Rachel Z (aka Nicolazzo) plays homage to the music of Joni Mitchell, including such songs as "Big Yellow Taxi" and "Free Man In Paris." Rounding out the trio is drummer Bobbie Rae and bassist Patricia Des Lauriers (replaced on tour by Nikki Parrott). Rachel raps on how exposure to Joni Mitchell in kindergarten led to her new album, how a jazz pianist ends up playing with Peter Gabriel and wonders if not playing team sports hu …
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Doc Powell is a guitarist who started as a session musician and worked on projects ranging from radio and TV commercials, to movie soundtracks and live studio recording. During that time, he performed with such other session musicians like bassist/producer Marcus Miller, drummer Yogi Horton and pianist Kenny Kirkland. Powell was in demand at the time and says his upbringing has been the reason why he was very versatile. "Being a studio musician, there is no way you could make it without being ab …
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Legendary sax man David Sanborn has had a steady influence in music for a long time. He has worked with some of the biggest names in rock and pop music, including Eric Clapton, the Eagles, the Rolling Stones, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Bruce Springsteen, and Stevie Wonder. He has also worked with jazz greats Miles Davis and the Brecker Brothers. He has also embraced hip-hop, working with Guru, and alternative music with the group Ween. Even though he has been an outstanding side man for ma …
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Freddy Cole has been called the Prince of Song. He has an exhilarating voice with a richness that truly opens the mystery of love. In The Name of Love, Cole’s exciting new album of contemporary music on the Telarc label, is filled with just such mystery. Cole gets romantic with the unique interpretations of eleven celebrated love songs, including Boz Scaggs' Harbor Lights, Smokey Robinson's "Just to See Her and Van Morrison's Have I Told You Lately. Supported by …
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