WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT ALL OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PIANISTS THAT ARE STILL LIVING ON GOD’S GREEN EARTH, RAMSEY LEWIS TENDS TO BE ONE OF THE FORGOTTEN MASTERS. AT ONE TIME, HE WAS THE MOST POPULAR JAZZ ARTISTS AROUND, HAVING…
Category: Interviews
BOB JAMES IN SILVER AND GOLD
IN EVERY SPORT, THERE ARE PLAYERS THAT, WHILE YOU MAY NOT EVER REALLY NOTICE THEM, THEY ALWAYS SEEM TO BE ON THE WINNING AND CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM. YOGI BERRA WAS ONE OF THOSE GUYS, MAGIC JOHNSON ANOTHER. THEY ONLY KNOW HOW…
JOHNNY MATHIS: THE JAZZER!
I’M SURE WHEN YOU HEAR THE NAME ‘JOHNNY MATHIS’ ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT COMES TO YOU MIND IS THE PHRASE ‘LOOK AT ME’ OR ‘THEY SAY…CHANCES ARE…’ IN THE 60S, THE COOL, LUSH VOICE OF JOHNNY MATHIS DEFINED…
JEAN-LUC PONTY: STILL UPON THE WINGS OF MUSIC
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT VOICES IN THE HEYDAY OF JAZZ FUSION WAS VIOLINIST JEAN-LUC PONTY. NOT ONLY WAS HE ON SEMINAL ALBUMS BY FRANK ZAPPA AND THE MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA, BUT HIS SOLO ALBUMS LIKE AURORA AND HIS DUETS WITH…
ROGER KELLAWAY: ALL IN THE FAMILY
HIS MUSIC IS SOME OF THE MOST FAMILIAR TO THE EARS OF BABY BOOMERS, AND WE DON’T EVEN REALIZE IT. ROGER KELLAWAY, ONE OF THE UNHERALDED GIANTS OF JAZZ PIANO, REFLECTS HIS MUSICAL FLEXIBILITY BY MEANS OF HIS LATEST THREE…
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN’S BLACK LIGHT STILL SHINING
ONE OF THE WONDERFUL THINGS ABOUT JAZZ IS THAT WE ARE ABLE TO SEE ARTISTS PERFORMS THAT ACTUALLY CREATED A CERTAIN GENRE OF MUSIC. WITH BACH OR BEETHOVEN, WE ONLY HAVE SOMEONE ELSE’S INTERPRETATION OF WHAT THEY ACTUALLY SOUNDED LIKE.…
MARIA SCHNEIDER: A WALK IN THE FIELDS
THE OLD SAYING GOES, “YOU CAN TAKE THE GIRL OUT OF THE FARM, BUT YOU CAN NEVER TAKE THE FARM OUT OF THE GIRL.” WHILE MAKING A NAME FOR HERSELF, AND WINNING A FEW GRAMMY’S AND OTHER AWARDS ALONG THE…
TERRY GIBBS: THE BEBOP VIBE
WHEN I FIRST GOT INTO JAZZ IN THE 1970S, I QUICKLY REALIZED THAT THE DAYS OF SEEING A MUSICIAN WHO PLAYED BEFORE AND DURING THE SWING ERA WERE NUMBERED. THEREFORE, I MADE EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THE LIKES OF EARL…
BEN WILLIAMS COMES OF AGE
BEST KNOWN FOR HIS WORK WITH PAT METHENY’S BAND, BASSIST BEN WILLIAMS HAS RECENTLY RELEASED HIS SECOND IMPRESSIVE ALBUM, COMING OF AGE. WE RECENTLY CAUGHT UP WITH MR. WILLIAMS AFTER HIS SUCCESSFUL GIG AT THE BLUE WHALE. HIS RISE TO…
SOUNDS OF ALFREDO RODRIGUEZ
Some guys just seem to have the Midas touch. John Hammond, the guy who gave us Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen had it. So does Quincy Jones, who’s had his finger on…