... brief news ...
Saxophonist Jon Raskin sent a questionnaire to all members of Rova Saxophone Quartet. In his response, Steve Adams talks about improvisation, about his approach to sound, about music as language, about the development of improvisation over the years, about the difference between structured improvisation and free jazz, about current challenges for him with the music, about his thoughts regarding community, practice, and inspiration, as well as about his relationship to Rova and what musical ideas he contributed to the group's repertoire (RovaScope). --- Andrew Dansby talks to drummer Stix Hooper about his latest album "Orchestrally Speaking", about his youth in Houston where he met other musicians who later made up the Jazz Crusaders, about his move to the West Coast in the early 1960s and how Los Angeles shaped his musical career, as well as about his other love, fishing (Houston Chronicle).
Jeff Gordinier explains how he "learned to love jazz fusion, the worst music in the world". His readers point out that the music he actually talks about is smooth jazz, though, not jazz fusion, which may be because Gordinier is Esquire's Food & Drinks, not their music editor (Esquire). --- Pianist Aaron Parks recently canceled a European tour and explains how a manic episode as a result of bipolar disorder caused him to make that decision. He remembers how he was diagnosed with the illness 14 years ago, how for a while he tried to act as if he didn't have it, how he dealt with depression and different medications, and how in summer 2021 his mania accelerated to a degree that he had to do something. One of the main triggers with him was a lack of sleep, he explains, and then asks what that means for his own future life and career. He also addresses the stigma mental illness has in society (Medium).
In the second installment of "Every film clip of Charlie Parker" Lewis Porter discusses an appearance of Bird behind tap dancer Teddy Hale in February 1949, as well as a performance with Miles Davis and Max Roach from March 1949 that was recorded for television but does only survive as audio (Playback with Lewis Porter). --- Greg Buium publishes an excerpt from an on-going biography he writes of pianist Paul Bley (Point of Departure).
Ted Gioia learns of a highly problematic door deal policy of a Brooklyn club through pianist and organist Mike LeDonne (The Honest Broker). --- Giovanni Russonello asks musicians and experts for their recommendations re: jazz singers. The results: Billie Holiday (recommended by Luciana Souza); Louis Armstrong (Cécile McLorin Salvant); Betty Carter (Kurt Elling); Ella Fitzgerald (Tammy Kernodle); Maxine Sullivan (Aaron Diehl); Urszula Dusziak (Dee Alexander); Angela Bofill (Melissa Weber); Nat King Cole (Will Friedwald); Nancy Wilson (Catherine Russell); Andy Bey (Giovanni Russonello); Esperanza Spalding (Roxana Amed) (New York Times).
Nate Chinen selects his "favorite music of 2022" (NPR). --- Noah Schaffer talks to trumpeter Mark Morganelli about how being a runner helps him with playing his instrument, about his different experiences as a musician, a club owner, an impresario, about the Jazz Forum, a club that once was in the heart of New York City but then moved to the suburbs because of high rents, about his love for Brazilian music, as well as about the inspiration he gets from listening to other musicians (Arts Fuse).
Lee Mergner talks to trumpeter Chris Botti about his one-month residency at the Blue Note, New York, about changing the approach to a song from performance to performance, about a jazz cruise he is booked on regularly and that he curates this year, as well as about the challenges of his instrument, the trumpet (WBGO). --- Elysa Gardner talks to vocalist Samara Joy about her two Grammy nominations (for best jazz vocal album and best new artist), about being surprised by her fast success, about her own road to jazz via old-school R&B and gospel, about her approach to songwriting, as well as about what she learned studying jazz greats such as Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Betty Carter or Carmen McRae (New York Times). Shaun Brady talks to Samara Joy as well about a current holiday tour with Dianne Reeves and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, as well as about the Christmas song traditions in her own family (WRTI).
Timothy Cox talks to violinist Regina Carter about a distinct message within her current musical program focusing on gentrification, especially in Black neighborhoods of big US cities (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). --- Nate Chinen talks to saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins about touring after the pandemic ("I only know post-COVID touring"), as well as about the energy he gets from the audience (NPR).
Lewis Porter leads us through a Lester Young solo on "After You've Gone", recorded in 1938 by collector Bill Savory from a radio broadcast (Playback with Lewis Porter). While Porter clearly prefers the early Lester Young to the later one, Ted Gioia enjoys listening to a live recording from December 1956 (The Honest Broker). --- Ralf Dorschel hosts a short radio series about gay, lesbian, and trans musicians in jazz, mentioning and playing music of Chris Connor, Ma Rainey, George Hannah, Tiny Davis, Billy Tipton (NDR part 1), Stephane Grappelli, Billy Strayhorn, Ralph Burns, Mark Murphy, Andy Bey (NDR part 2), Fred Hersch, Gary Burton, Patricia Barber, Theo Bleckman, and Terri Lyne Carrington (NDR part 3).
Richard Williams attends a three-club benefit in London for British saxophonist Jason Yarde who had suffered a stroke in October (The Blue Moment). --- We learned about a new jazzclub ... by Lego. Who plays: "Live Music All Night and Magic Show" (Promobricks).
Lewis Porter listens to a radio interview with Miles Davis from 1955 (Playback with Lewis Porter). --- Andrew Gilbert remembers singers Ernie Andrews and Barbara Morrison who died earlier this year (San Francisco Classical Voice).
In her series on "mothers in jazz", Nicky Schrire talks to Canadian pianist Kate Wyatt (London Jazz News) and Portuguese singer Sara Serpa (London Jazz News). --- Ethan Iverson shares an anecdote about spending time with Ornette Coleman (Transitional Technology).
Ken Abrams talks to guitarist John Pizzarelli (What's Up Newp). --- Saxophonist John Lurie turns 70 and Wolfgang Sandner sends his best wishes (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung).
Larry Blumenfeld looks back at a creative year for drummer/composer Tyshawn Sorey (NPR). --- Alexander Schnackenburg talks to Peter Schulze and Elisabeth Champollion about changes in the artistic leadership of Sendesaal Bremen, originally built as a radio studio, now used both as a recording studio and popular concert venue (Buten un Binnen).
Vinnie Sperrazza looks at the musical legacy of drummer Freddie Waits (Chronicles). --- Lewis Porter shares some more information about John Coltrane, Big Nick Nicholas and the tune "Big Nick" (Playback with Lewis Porter).
Larry Blumenfeld talks to poet Moor Mother (Camae Ayewa) (Tidal). --- Lynne MacDonald talks to ethnomusicologist Christi Jay Wells about the Kealiinohomoku Award they received by the Society for Ethnomusicology for their monograph "Between Beats: The Jazz Tradition and Black Vernacular Dance" (Arizona State University News).
Jeremy Reynolds talks to pianist Craig Davis about his fascination with Dodo Marmarosa whose music he features on his latest album (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). --- Julia Lehmann reports about the current state of the House of Jazz, rather the historic Alte Münze building in Berlin, Germany, and critical voices from local politics (Berliner Morgenpost). |