... brief news ...
Chris Searle talks to flutist Nicole Mitchell about discovering the flute while searching through the radio for music of interest, about playing jazz in the street as a rebellion from classical music, about a Nigerian musician being her first mentor, as well as about her latest album with Tiger Trio on which she cooperates with bassist Joëlle Léandre and pianist Myra Melford (Morning Star Online). --- Der Jazzkeller in Frankfurt, Germany, is probably the oldest jazz club in Europe still in existence. Wolfgang Sandner looks back at more than 70 years of music activity that was crucial for the young Frankfurt jazz scene of the 1950s and 1960s, that was musical home for trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff, and that attracted and attracts international guests from Louis Armstrong through Dizzy Gillespie and Chet Baker. Sandner can only hint at some of the many stories, but is clearly happy that the tradition goes on (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung).
On their centennial, Lewis Porter listens to King Oliver's famous 1923 recordings with his Creole Jazz Band and fellow cornetist Louis Armstrong (Playback with Lewis Porter). Porter also listens to some early recordings by drummer Gene Krupa with McKenzie and Condon's Chicagoans as well as with bassist Thelma Terry, a rarely mentioned member of the legendary Austin High Gang, a recording which, suggests Porter, very likely has the first vibraphone passage on a dance band recording (Playback with Lewis Porter). --- Rene Zipperlen talks to pianist Uri Caine about his Jewish upbringing, about a mix of classical music and Hebrew songs he grew up with, about not quite feeling at home in the Radical Jewish Culture scene he was part of in the 1980s, as well as about some of his classical projects approaching the music of Gustav Mahler, Richard Wagner and Johann Strauß (Badische Zeitung).
Karl Leitner hears the Dave Douglas Quintet at Birdland in Neuburg/Germany (Donaukurier). --- Spike Wilner has started a fundraiser to help drummer Victor Lewis who is suffering from a neurological issue that has lost him the use of his legs (Go Fund Me). Vinnie Sperrazza appreciates Victor Lewis' influence and listens to his four solo albums (Chronicles).
Mike Shaw talks to bassist Neal Starkey about his many decades on the jazz scene, first in Schenectady, New York, and since 1969 in Atlanta (Atlanta Journal-Constitution). --- In his series on "Every Film Clip of Charlie Parker", Lewis Porter focuses on silent film footage of Bird filmed in 1950 and gives some background on how impresario Norman Granz and photographer Gjon Mili hoped to recreate the success of Mili's earlier short film "Jammin' the Blues" from 1944 (Backstage with Lewis Porter).
Maria Godoy talks to German physicist Theo Geisel about the secrets of swing which he analyzed by focusing on synchronization between musicians when they try to create swing in jazz (NPR). --- Mauretta Heinzelmann talks to pianist Béla Meinberg, vibraphonist Christopher Dell, saxophonist Gebhard Ullmann, trombonist Lisa Stick and composer Maria Schneider and about decision-making processes in jazz during improvisation (NDR).
Ane Hebeisen talks to Swiss promoter Fabio Baechtold (BeJazz festival in Berne) about the openness of jazz, about the jazz scene in Switzerland today, its venues and current trends, about jazz as a method of social distinction or jazz as the new punk, about gender equality and whether women sound different from men (no!), as well as about this year's program of the festival BeJazz (Thuner Tagblatt). --- Alexis Amitirigala celebrates Swiss drummer Jojo Mayer on the occasion of his 60th birthday (SRF).
On the occasion of his 80th birthday, Richard Scheinin talks to saxophonist Billy Harper about thinking to become a singer when he was a child, about his mission still being "to make a mark in the creative music world", about growing up in Houston, Texas, about struggling after he moved to New York in 1966, about playing with Art Blakey and Lee Morgan, and Scheinin also talks to some of Harper's collaborators such as drummer Billy Hart, saxophonist T.K. Blue, and pianist Francesca Tanksley (New York Times). --- Alison Harford talks to saxophonist Alison Shearer about her start in jazz, as well as about her debut album "View from Above" released last year (Moab Sun News).
Horst Peter Koll talks to German pianist Joachim Kühn about the challenge of playing duo concerts, about the recent death of his brother, clarinetist Rolf Kühn, about living in Ibiza, as well as about planning to quit performing after his current tour (Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger). Stefan Michalzik hears German pianists Joachim Kühn and Michael Wollny in a duo concert at the Alte Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung). And reading all of this we enjoyed a 1978 TV documentary on Joachim Kühn by Manfred Eichel (NDR). --- John McWhorter remembers "Shuffle Along", the 1921 Broadway musical by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle as one of the first Black Broadway shows and suggests that its success must have inspired composers like George Gershwin or Vincent Youmans to add a jazz sensitivity to their music (New York Times).
"Jugend jazzt" is the name of an influential competition encouraging young musicians both on a regional and a national level in Germany. On 20 January the President of the Federal Republic invited musicians from several federal states as well as representatives of the jazz scene and the Jugend jazzt initiative for a concert at Schloss Bellevue (the president's residence) in Berlin (Budespräsidialamt). --- Teddy Jamieson listens to a radio show on which Diana Melly talks about her open marriage with British singer George Melly in the 1960s and 1970s (The Herald).
Lewis Porter continues his series on the "avant-garde" harmonies of pianist Art Tatum (Playback with Lewis Porter). Lewis Porter also comments on an unknown first audio interview by trumpeter Chet Baker from 1954 (Playback with Lewis Porter). And Lewis Porter shares a funny story about a Thelonious Monk interview Dutch journalist Bert Vuijsje attempted in 1964 for a Time story that landed the pianist on the magazine's cover (Playback with Lewis Porter). --- Sam Walton attends a concert exploring the connection between Chicago jazz label International Anthem and London's Total Refreshment Centre (DJ Mag).
Götz Steeger celebrates vibraphonist Gary Burton on the occasion of his 80th birthday (Deutschlandfunk Kultur). --- Chad Davis talks to saxophonist Kendrick Smith about his initiative to support the St. Louis region's jazz scene (St. Louis Public Radio). --- George Varga reports about Stanford University acquiring the Bram Dijkstra Black Music Collection just 11 months after a signed agreement with San Diego State University imploded (The San Diego Union-Tribune).
Deidra Funcheon talks to saxophonist Marcus Strickland (Axios). --- Canadian singer Kellylee Evans is happy about her new mobility scooter (CBC). --- Michael J. West talks to trumpeter Thad Wilson about the 25th anniversary of his Thad Wilson Jazz Orchestra (Washington City Paper).
Peter Tonguette talks to trumpeter Wynton Marsalis about jazz and democracy (The Columbus Dispatch). --- Mark Judge writes about jazz and democracy as well, in memory of journalist and jazz enthusiast Stanley Crouch (Washington Examiner)
Ash Lohmann talks to guitarist Josh Moore (Arizona Daily Sun). --- Aaron Klein learns that the St. Ingbert Jazz Festival (Germany) will be discontinued (Saarländischer Rundfunk). --- Ken Lester reports about a lawsuit concerning the legendary Oakland jazz club and restaurant Yoshi's (Oakland Side). |