CHOPS HAVE NEVER REALLY IMPRESSED ME. AS MY SAX TEACHER USED TO SAY, ‘MOST MUSICIANS ARE LIKE A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN WHO JUST KEEPS ON CONSTANTLY CHATTERING ABOUT HOW GORGEOUS SHE IS. YOU FEEL LIKE SAYING ‘JUST SHUT UP AND LET…
Category: Interviews
LEW TABACKIN’S SOUNDSCAPES: LAST OF THE BIG-TONED TENORS.
IT SEEMS SO SIMPLE AND BASIC, BUT FEW ARTISTS EVER GRASP THE TRUTH OF IT. EVEN LOUIS ARMSTRONG ONCE SAID THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT ADVICE HE WAS EVER GIVEN WAS ‘DEVELOP A GOOD TONE SO PEOPLE WILL WANT TO LISTEN…
KIRK WHALUM: PASTORING THE FLOCK IN MEMPHIS AND BEYOND.
PLACES LIKE NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES AND NASHVILLE GET THE REPUTATIONS FOR BEING CENTERS OF MUSIC, BUT THE FACT IS THAT MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL CITIES FOR AMERICAN MUSIC, RANKING MAYBE ONLY SECOND TO NYC…
BOOKER T JONES: STAX OF GREAT SONGS
ONE NOTE. CAN YOU TELL WHO IT IS? YOU CAN WITH B3 GIANT BOOKER T JONES, WHO MADE A LIVING PLAYING WITH THE HOTTEST ‘INSTRUMENTAL’ BAND OF THE 60’S, BOOKER T AND THE MGS. TUNES LIKE ‘GREEN ONIONS’ AND ‘TIME…
THE IDENTITY OF SONNY ROLLINS
‘WHO ARE YOU?’ IT SEEMS LIKE SUCH A SIMPLE QUESTION, BUT OUR IDENTITY IS THE ONE THING THAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT EACH ONE OF US. WE ALL IDENTIFY OURSELVES IN DIFFERENT WAYS: SOME BY THEIR WORK, SOME BY THEIR SEX,…
DAVID MURRAY: PERFECTION
BACK IN THE 80S, DAVID MURRAY WAS THE POSTER CHILD FOR THE NEW FORCE OF LEFT OF CENTER ARTISTS THAT WERE CONSIDERED THE FUTURE OF JAZZ. ALONG WITH ARTHUR BLYTHE, CHICO FREEMAN, LESTER BOWIE AND HENRY THREADGILL, MURRAY WAS ON…
LIZZ WRIGHT: SURRENDERING TO FREEDOM AND FELLOWSHIP
IT’S RARE FOR AN ARTIST TO TAKE A SABBATICAL OF ANY KIND IN THE MIDDLE OF A CAREER. SONNY ROLLINS MOST FAMOUSLY TOOK TWO, BUT NEITHER OF THEM WERE AS LONG AS THE 5+ YEARS TIME OUT OF THE STUDIO…
JON ANDERSON: STILL ROUND ABOUT
ONE OF THE FIRST RULES OF ANY ARTIST IS THIS: DEVELOP YOUR OWN UNIQUE VOICE. NEVER HAS THAT BEEN TRUER THAN FOR LEGENDARY VOCALIST JON ANDERSON. ONE NOTE, AND YOU KNOW WHO IT IS. ISN’T THAT EVERYONE’S GOAL? NOT ONLY…
BILL LAURANCE: WITH SNARKY AND AFTERSUN
LIKE “JUMBO SHRIMP” AND “ARMY INTELLIGENCE”, ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR OXYMORONS HAS TO BE “POPULAR JAZZ HIT.” WELL, THE BAND SNARKY PUPPY IS DEFYING THE ODDS BY HITTING THE AIRWAVES WITH MUSIC THAT IS BOTH POPULAR, SWINGING AND IMPROVISED.…
LEROY DOWNS & FRED SMITH: THE CREATIVE JAZZ CREATIVE
ONE OF THE AGE-OLD QUESTIONS FOR JAZZ ARTISTS HAS TO BE ‘HOW DO I GET MORE PEOPLE TO HEAR MY MUSIC?” BACK IN THE SWING ERA, JAZZ ATTRACTED MILLIONS OF DANCERS. LATER, MOVIES FEATURED STARS LIKE HARRY JAMES AND FRANK…