|
... brief news ...
Carla Eckels talks to singer Carmen Bradford about meeting her idol Ella Fitzgerald three times in a department store and about learning that Ella had been listening to her, Carmen Bradford's music at the end of her life. Bradford also talks about young singers, as well as about some upcoming events she's planning (KMUW). --- Ethan Iverson looks at pianist Richie Powell's intros to "Joy Spring" and "Delilah" and Harold Land's and Clifford Brown's solos on "Joy Spring" (with transcriptions) (Do the Math).
Getting in the spirit of the season a bit early, Danny Freedman remembers a little-known recording of Louis Armstrong reciting "The Night Before Christmas" (Smithsonian Magazine). --- Dave Cantor talks to drummer Makaya McCraven about his latest album "Deciphering the Message" for which he samples and incorporates tracks from the vast Blue Note label's catalog, also talking to guitarist Jeff Parker who contributed three pieces to the album, and to percussionist Hamid Drake who sees Chicago drummers having "a knack for not categorizing rhythm" (Chicago Reader).
Lawrence Cosentino talks to drummer Carl Allen about lessons he learned from Dizzy Gillespie, about his own idea of teaching, as well as about the need to play with people as "we don't grow in isolation. We grow in community" (Lansing City Pulse). --- Garth Cartwright talks to saxophonist Charles Lloyd about his first performance in the UK when he was 26, about growing up in Memphis, Tennessee, about his early interest in Bartók, about working with Ornette Coleman, Chico Hamilton, Cannonball Adderley before forming his own quartet in 1965, about Miles Davis who hired half of his band (Jack DeJohnette, Keith Jarrett) in 1969, about his bout with drugs, about his friendship and musical cooperation with the Beach Boys, as well as about not being too happy with musical divisions qua genre labels (The Guardian). Nick Hasted talks to Charles Lloyd as well about how he experienced the lockdown, about meditation, about working with bluesman Howlin' Wolf in Memphis, about the influence of Charlie Parker, about how where you were born influences what and how you play, about California and New York in the 1960s, about Booker Ervin, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, about working with the Beach Boys, about recording for ECM and for Blue Note, about how he tries to stay healthy, as well as about losing friends and colleagues (The Arts Desk).
Jim Shahen Jr. talks to trombonist Joe Fiedler about his work as musical director of "Sesame Street" and how he learned from it to give listeners of his live performances recognizable elements that allows him to then "take it pretty far out [and] they're still with you", about his mission to bring a larger sonic palette to the show, as well as about working with celebrity guests such as country star Brad Paisley (Albany Times-Union). --- Florian Bissig talks to Cuban pianist David Virelles about Zürich, where he teaches twice a semester, about his own road to jazz, about the influence of the Cuban music tradition on his own style, as well as about his album "Igbó Alákorin" (Neue Zürcher Zeitung).
Ryo Jozuka talks to pianist Tadataka Unno who had been violently attacked in a New York subway station in September 2020, who is now physically recovered but is still suffering heavy emotional trauma (The Asian Shimbun). --- Jeremy Reynolds remembers pianist Erroll Garner and talks to producer Peter Lockhart and historian Robin Kelley about Garner's magic, his impact on the music, a lawsuit he fought with his label Columbia, as well as the links to his birthplace, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where his archive is housed and a festival is being planned in his honor with local high schools and bands (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).
Ulrich Stock talks to German pianist Pablo Held about being stylistically cornered in interviews or after concerts, about trying to be open for the moment, in music or conversation, about his trio that usually performs without a setlist in order to avoid routines, about how thinking about the past might be the future at the moment, about his video interview series "Pablo Held Investigates" in which he talks to some of his heroes like John Scofield, Bill Frisell, Dave Holland, Marilyn Mazur, Norma Winstone, or younger ones like Kathrin Pechloff, Kris Davis, or with comedian and musician Helge Schneider. Held also talks about his latest album, his first solo release, "Embracing You" (Die Zeit). --- Cormac Larkin reports about a fund set up to aid British pianist Phil Ware who suffered a stroke last year that left him unable to use the right side of his body and severely damaged his speech and comprehension (The Irish Times).
Carolyn Webb remembers the deportation of a band of African-American musicians from Australia in 1928, documented in a new book about the incident (The Age). --- Wolfgang Sandner attends concerts by Anthony Braxton and Vijay Iyer im Luxemburg resp. Mannheim (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung). --- Ethan Iverson list some records he would give to someone as an introduction to modern jazz (Do the Math). --- Ken Münster hears British saxophonist Nubya Garcia in Berlin (Der Tagesspiegel). --- John Morrison recalls the rich history of free jazz in the city of Philadelphia (Daily Bandcamp). --- Gabe Cohn compiles a listing of all nominees for the Grammy Awards 2022 (New York Times). --- Patrick Hinsberger talks to German singer Barbara Barth about practicing in general as well as about a specific resilience training for musicians (What Is Practice). --- Andreas Felber remembers the long career of Austrian bassist Adelhard Roidinger on the occasion of his 80th birthday (ORF). |
