IF YOU GREW UP IN THE 1980s OR 90s, YOU EITHER HAD, OR KNEW SOMEONE WHO HAD, AN ALBUM BY PIANIST GEORGE WINSTON. AT A TIME WHEN ARTISTS WERE RACING TO SEE WHO HAD THE FASTEST CHOPS, WINSTON JUMPED OFF…
Category: Interviews
MIKE CLARK – BEAT, BOP AND FUNK TIME
ONE OF THE GREATEST OF THE LIVING BEBOP DRUMMERS, MIKE CLARK, WAS ACTUALLY AT THE FIRST SESSION FOR THE FIRST ELECTRONIC FUNK ALBUM BY HERBIE HANCOCK. SINCE THAT TIME, HE GOT A REPUTATION AS ONE OF THE BEST DRUMMERS OF…
SERGIO MENDES: BOSSA, BEBOP AND BRASIL ’66
IT HAS BEEN MY CONTENTION THAT IF IT WEREN’T FOR THE SENSUOUS SOUNDS OF SAMBA, JAZZ IN THE LATE 50S AND EARLY 60S WOULD HAVE DEVOLVED INTO MINDLESS NAVEL GAZING CACOPHONIES OF FREE JAZZ AND THE AVANT GARDE. THE SEDUCTIVE…
EDDIE LEVERT’S LOVE TRAIN
ONE OF THE MAJOR INFLUENCES IN POP CULTURE HAS BEEN THE SOULFUL SOUNDS OF THE 1970s, SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS THE “PHILADELPHIA SOUND”. THE O’JAYS WERE ONE OF IT’S MAJOR PROPONENTS, FILLING THE AIRWAVES WITH A MIX OF URBAN STREET…
CYRILLE AIMEE-FROM GYPSY TO SONDHEIM
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THE YOUNGER SINGERS, CYRILLE AIMEE, IS CHANGING DIRECTIONS. HER FIRST ALBUMS AS A VOCALIST HAD HER CAPTURE THE GYPSY SPIRIT OF DJANGO REINHARDT, COMPLETE WITH A HOT JAZZ GUITAR COMBO IN SUPPORT. THIS PAST…
JAMES CARTER-CHASING AND CATCHING THE GYPSY
FOR THE SECOND TIME IN HIS CAREER, JAMES CARTER HAS TAKEN UP THE MUSIC OF FAMED GUITARIST DJANGO REINHARDT. THIS TIME AROUND, HOWEVER, CARTER SET ASIDE THE GYPSY SWING FEEL AND REPLACED IT WITH A MORE DOWN HOME FUNK FEEL,…
JACK DEJOHNETTE: DRUMMING THE FULL CIRCLE
AT 77 YEARS OF AGE, DRUMMER JACK DEJOHNETTE HAS COME FULL CIRCLE. ONE OF THE MOST CREATIVE AND GROUND-BREAKING DRUMMERS IN JAZZ HISTORY, MR. DEJOHNETTE HAS GRACED SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT RECORDINGS OF MODERN TIMES, INCLUDING MILES DAVIS’ BITCHES…
DAVE WECKL: FUSION WITHOUT CONFUSION
SINCE FIRST GAINING PROMINENCE AS THE DRUMMER FOR CHICK COREA’S ELECTRIC BAND FROM 1985-91, DAVE WECKL, HAS CARVED A CAREER NOT ONLY AS A LEADER OF HIS OWN FORMIDABLE GROUP, BUT HE’S ANCHORED THE SHIP FOR ARTISTS SUCH AS MIKE…
JEFF LORBER: FUSION WITH CHICK COREA, MIKE STERN AND KENNY G?!?!?
SO, WHAT EXACTLY COMES TO YOUR MIND WHEN YOU HEAR “FUSION”? SHADES OF WEATHER REPORT? CHICK COREA? ELECTRIC GUITARS AND BIG MASSIVE KEYBOARDS? WELL, YOU MAY BE SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT THE FIRST TIME “FUSION” WAS USED IN A MUSICAL…
HIROMI’S SPECTRUM OF THE PIANO
Since being brought to the light by jazz giant Ahmad Jamal, pianist Hiromi Uehara has carved out an impressive and wide-ranging career. While she is best known for her trio work with Anthony Jackson and Simon Philips, Hiromi has looked…