Jazz Artist Interviews (709)
Get up close and personal with your favorite jazz artists!
Stan Getz, McCoy Tyner, Van Morrison, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker showed jazz audiences what jazz is and isn’t. Babtunde Lea’s "Soul Pools" summoned the spirit of these jazz greats and other world music luminaries and created the most innovative, fresh and soulful searching music ever. I had the pleasure of speaking to the inspirational Babatunde Lea recently, a musician who brings out the best in his bands, his music and himself. Jazzreview: I haven’t heard music as dynamic wit …
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What does Pete Brown’s "Piblokto," Brian Auger’s "Oblivion Express," The Average White Band and various legends of the world of jazz and blues have in common? And what does all this have to do with a man who in his time has played a considerable part in helping to produce "outstanding works of progressive rock," gained worldwide success with some home grown jazz funk, and then graduated to writing and playing jazz? On Friday, October 10, 2002, I had the great privilege of enjoying a fine din …
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In many cases, the percussionist is the unsung hero of many groups. While the horn players or singers capture the spotlight, in many cases the entire mood of a concert, and particularly of some tunes, would be entirely different without the assistance of a percussionist. In many cases, even today, it is difficult to study to be a percussionist, and many of the best known and most successful percussionists have taken up the challenge of playing percussion by the love of the instruments and the lo …
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Jazz vocalist, musician, arranger and composer, Karrin Allyson (pronounced Cãr in) is one of those artists who can do it all. She can sing sassy, sensually, belt out a standard or coo a romantic love song. When she is not singing at the front of the stage, Allyson approaches the piano with the confident air, expectation, and professionalism that one has come to associate with other jazz greats, such as Diana Krall and Chick Corea. Allyson, who is fluent in French and sings beautifully in Port …
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As one of the under-recognized jazz artists who has appeared with a multitude of musicians in a multitude of contexts since the 1970’s, Adam Nussbaum continues to add drive and textures to the groups in which he performs. Most recently, he played in Steve Swallow’s quintet, not to mention Nussbaum’s own group with Jerry Bergonzi and Dan Wall. But Nussbaum has performed with a veritable who’s who of jazz musicians, including Gil Evans, Dave Liebman, John Scofield, Bill Evans, Bobby Watson, Ar …
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Forget about beans and cornbread! Growing up on a steady diet of Maceo Parker, Stanley Turrentine, and Junior Walker, nourished the soulfulness of saxophonist Jimmy Roberts. This Suffolk, Virginia native heaped his plate with healthy portions of R&B jazz, and rock, and after more than three decades, Jimmy Roberts still hungers for the taste of good music. Roberts paid his musical dues in the backwoods of Virginia, later moving to Toronto, and eventually Los Angeles. Etta James, Sade, Bonnie …
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On any given Friday night, the packed house in a tucked away bar in Manhattan’s Lower East Side moves to danceable grooves and drum ‘n bass, nods to sophisticated jazz and sways to funk and soul flavored rhythms; but it’s not coming from a DJ or the night’s roster of bands..it’s coming from one trio: QB3. QB3 is Christopher "Root" Heinz (drums), Fred Gerantab (guitar) and Emek Rave (bass), 3 friends and like minds from Queens, New York. The trio’s collective ability to mix solid grooves and m …
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One way to address the question of women's roles in jazz would be to talk about those with the highest profiles, women who have made records. These women are generally vocalist, such as Ella Fitzgerald or Billy Holiday whose contributions to jazz are widely acknowledged. One of these women known for her distinctive style and immediately recognizable musical approach is Flora Purim. Blending Brazilian roots with her impressive jazz and classical skills, Flora Purim's astonishing voice has wove …
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This is a test: Put on any of the Dave Weckl Band's five CDs, wait a minute, and see if you can keep all your muscles from moving, especially the ones at the corners of your mouth. This is music you listen to because you WANT to. Funk with a capital "FUN." Serious chops with a playful attitude. Heavy on texture, light on repetition, the newest Weckl band disc is aptly named Perpetual Motion, a reference to master drummer and teacher Dave Weckl's desire to always keep moving forward. E …
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Some vocalists merely sing the words to a song, but when you hear an extraordinary artist like Kenny Rankin pour out life’s emotions through words and music, the experience is long remembered. Singer, songwriter and accomplished guitarist, Rankin has the ability to keep listeners spellbound while he weaves a certain magic to a variety of songs straight from his heart. Now after three and a half decades of memorable recording history, Rankin enters into an exciting new chapter with his debut …
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Michael Feinstein is a critical link in America’s musical chain. On one side, he’s helping push it forward with his own new recordings. His most recent Concord Records release teams him with the renowned Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Together, they offer lush new treatments of a dozen standards by Gershwin, Hammerstein, Loesser and others. It’s a rare occasion of the orchestra performing popular America music, and Feinstein’s first time recording with a symphony orchestra. On the other side …
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For many musicians, evolving is the difference between sinking or swimming in this musical market. Many great players have defined themselves as ‘new legends’ through the kind of longevity that can only come from continuous experimentation and sticking to your guns. One such musician is Al Di Meola, whose name has become synonymous with fusion, jazz and the guitar. From a teen prodigy with Chick Corea’s Return To Forever group, to countless successful collaborations and solo records, Di Meola ha …
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Jazz is American art form and an international phenomenon! Jazz is not the result of choosing a tune, but an idea that is created first in the mind, inspired by one’s passion and willed next in playing music! Jazz music is not found in websites or books, or even written down on sheet music; it is in the act of creating the form itself that we truly find jazz music. Women in jazz have been marginalized, exoticized or ignored as significant contributors to the history of the music. As a step t …
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Gato Barbieri has recorded over 50 albums, composed the score for one of the most controversial movies of the 20th century, Last Tango in Paris, recorded a smooth jazz classic, Europa and has performed with many of jazz's elite during his five decade career. Even though he has gone through so much in his personal life, saxophonist Gato Barbieri feels stronger today than ever before. After a very productive decade in the 70's with the movie soundtrack and releases on both the Im …
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Telarc Jazz recording artist, Tierney Sutton, is a jazz vocalist quite unlike any performing today; she has a genuine and unique approach to jazz resulting in a sound that is hers and hers alone. Tierney would say that the sound is not hers alone, she is a member of the band, and the sound is theirs alone. I believe both she and I would be right. The Tierney Sutton Band is a philosophical anomaly in the music world. The band has no diva, no boss, no black sheep. What they have is a team that …
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Marian McPartland is a true jazz legend. Since emigrating from England in 1946 with her American husband, the late cornetist Jimmy McPartland, Marian has accomplished more than we have space to even touch on. The nimble 82 year old pianist is not one to rest on past achievements, however, and has just released Live at Shanghai Jazz, on Concord Records, as well as four CDs taken from her popular National Public Radio series, Piano Jazz. Live at Shanghai Jazz is a trio date recor …
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Singer Al Jarreau has been known as a pop singer, a soul singer and a blues singer. However, for the longest time, he has always wanted to show that he is a jazz singer as well. His newest dynamite release Accentuate the Positive brings Jarreau into the jazz idiom with a style all his own. He says that recording the new CD was a joy for him. "Just like in other forms of music, you have to be yourself and show what you’re made of," says Jarreau. "This new release has been a labor of love f …
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In the liner notes to his newest release on Telarc Records, My America, Jamaican-born pianist Monty Alexander expresses his love of his adopted country, "a land where dreams can come true." In the post-September 11th landscape it would be easy to assume the role of a cynic and accuse Alexander of capitalizing on the "don’t-tread-on-me" jingoism that has swept the country in the wake of the attacks. But that’s not Alexander’s intention with My America. "Last January", Alexander explained in a …
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It would be hard to overstate the importance of Roscoe Mitchell’s contributions to jazz and improvised music over the last forty years. One of the first and most potent voices to emerge on saxophone in the wake of the free jazz innovations of Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler and the rest of the movement, Mitchell helped found Chicago’s legendary Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians in 1964. Best known as a charter member of the well-loved Art Ensemble of Chicago, Roscoe’s mo …
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Vocalist Patrice Williamson recently released her second CD, "Free to Dream," the follow-up to her acclaimed 1998 debut, "My Shining Hour." With the sophomore release, Williamson continues to build a solid body of work and expand her growing reputation. More confident than ever, she sings and scats with authority. Williamson stretches herself with material ranging from Bud Powell’s "Celia" to Stevie Wonder’s "Another Star." She even sings a spirited, nine-minute medley of songs from "The Soun …
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Listening to Kerry Politzer’s new CD, Watercolor, is like spending a peaceful afternoon with a friend looking at beautiful paintings in a museum. Each song brings forth different moods and shades of emotion. Kerry’s music speaks to the inner child in all of us who wants to explore the world and find out what’s out there to enjoy.From her earliest years, Kerry has been involved in creating and performing music. After comprehensive classical study, she discovered jazz in college. Like Ge …
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"I’m gonna tell you one thing; life is beautiful, and we’re hanging out listening to Miles Davis. Hey! how about the Sugar Time Lounge, mama?" I peer to my left out the car window and see a windowless bar on a curved street. It's the middle of the day, East side. I look at him, then look at the clock on the car radio. 2pm. We settle on the Moose lounge instead. It's red in the Moose Lounge and rednecks and cowboys line the bar. A picture of John Wayne hangs above the door. On the jukebox a Ra …
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Claire Daly may be a "new" name in jazz, but she’s hardly new to the music scene she’s been at it for nearly 30 years now. Daly’s accumulated a stunning array of compliments from the press. Like most professional musicians, she’s had to play her share of "pay the rent" gigs, but she’s never lost her heart for jazz. Daly’s discography as a leader began with the release of Swing Low on Koch Jazz in 1999, followed by her most recent release, Movin’ On (also on Koch, 2001). Indeed, Cla …
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For jazz guitarist Steve Herberman, playing music isn’t about copying the masters, but learning from them and developing one’s own style of creative expression. Throughout his teaching career, he has encouraged students to familiarize themselves with the roots of jazz, to respect its masters, and to learn from its large repertoire based in American, Brazilian and World cultures. Jazz is a form of music that has evolved from the multitude of cultures out there, and to know them is to know its …
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The release party for the Erica Mather Trio’s new CD, The Millennium Song Cycle, did not come off exactly as planned, but good music, especially good jazz, seldom does. It was scheduled to begin at 9:00. I arrived five minutes early only to find the Corral Room, a deep but narrow softly lit space in the basement under the Tornado Room on S. Hamilton, nearly empty. Already there were two doormen and a bored but finely dressed bartender. I walked in and sat at a table along one wall, opposi …
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