ONE OF THE FRESHEST SAX SOUNDS COMES FROM THE CHILEAN MELISSA ALDANA. DISCOVERED BY DANILO PEREZ, ALDANA HAS SINCE MOSTLY ESCHEWED THE ROLE OF SIDEMAN AND SHE HIT THE GROUND RUNNING AS A LEADER. HER FIRST ALBUMS SHOWED MUCH PROMISE,…
Category: Interviews
MATT WILSON’S BIG HUGS
MOST MUSICIANS MAKE ALBUMS ABOUT MUSIC. DRUMMER MATT WILSON MAKES ALBUMS ABOUT LIFE. EVEN A CURSORY PERUSAL OF WILSON’S CATALOGUE AS A LEADER GIVES EVIDENCE THAT HE LET’S HIS ALBUMS REFLECT A STAGE OF HIS LIFE, WHICH FOR A NUMBER…
CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA…BLACK(MAN): MAGIC WOMAN!
ONE OF THE TRUTHS ABOUT LIFE IS THE RULE OF “STASIS”-YOU DO WHAT YOU KEEP DOING. IF YOU’RE INACTIVE, YOU’RE PROBABLY GOING TO STAY THAT WAY. IF YOU JOG, YOU’LL KEEP JOGGING. MUSICALLY, IF YOU’RE A POST BOPPER, YOU STAY…
RON MILES’ SIGN
PARTULARLY IN JAZZ, IT SEEMS THAT MOST MUSICIAN’S PLAY AS IF THEY WERE BEING PAID BY THE NOTE. MOST ARTISTS FALL INTO THE TRAP OF THINKING “MORE IS BETTER” WHEN IT COMES TO MAKING A MUSICAL STATEMENT. IN CONTRAST, TRUMPETER…
JOHN LAKE’S SEVEN ANGELS
SAY THAT YOU WANT TO BECOME A JAZZ MUSICIAN… DO YOU WANT TO BLAZE A NEW TRAIL OR CARRY ON “THE TRADITION”? OR MAYBE DO A COMBINATION OF THE TWO. AND HOW DO YOU FORM YOUR OWN SOUND AND STYLE?…
JEREMY PELT: A JAZZ COLLECTIVE OF THE INTIMATE
WHILE THE WORLD MAY BE IN ‘LOCKDOWN’ MODE, JEREMY PELT’S CAREER HAS BEEN FREE AND ACTIVE. THIS YEAR HE’S RELEASED TWO ALBUMS THAT DISPLAY DIVERGENT COLORS OF HIS PALATE. HE’S MOST RECENTLY RELEASED THE THIRD ALBUM (ASCENSION) FROM HIS HARD…
CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE: PORTRAITS OF MUSICAL AND SOCIAL ICONS
THE STONE DOESN’T GATHER MUCH MOSS WHEN THE ROCK IS BASSIST CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE. OWNER OF THE MOST DISTINCT SOUND ON THE BASS, MCBRIDE HAS BEEN ON A CREATIVE ROLL THE PAST YEAR, RELEASING HIS FUNKY NEW JAWN ALBUM BEFORE PUTTING…
DAVE SANCIOUS : LIFE WITH THE BOSS, FUSION, WITH EYES WIDE OPEN
AS FUSION TOOK HOLD IN THE 1970s, MUSICIANS CROSSED MUSICAL BOUNDARIES LIKE MEMBERS OF THE EEC. SUDDENLY, NO ONE WAS SIMPLY A “JAZZ” OR “ROCK” MUSICIAN, AS ALL MEMBERS OF MODERN MUSIC WERE CLIMBING UP THE SAME SONIC MOUNTAIN TO…
GERALD CLAYTON IS HAPPENING
DURING THIS TIME OF A NATION-WIDE LOCKDOWN, AND NOT BEING ABLE TO GO TO A VENUE AND SEE JAZZ PERFORMED “LIVE”, PIANIST GERALD CLAYTON GIVES US THE NEXT BEST THING-A RECORDING OF HIS BAND PERFORMING AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD, COLLECTED…
DENNY ZEITLIN: THE DOCTOR IS “LIVE”
There has been unintended consequences to the lockdown that Dr. Denny Zeitlin can address. As a psychologist, he is able to talk to people who are suffering from the adverse affects of not being in community with people, as isolation…