(the following is an interview/article I did with Charlie Haden just a few months before his untimely death last year) There is one thing we all learn about life as we get older: we make certain plans in our…
Category: Interviews
JIMMY GREENE: A BEAUTIFUL LIFE
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul. Horatio Spafford What could cause you…
JANE MONHEIT: GRABBING THE GARLAND
VOCALIST JANE MONHEIT FIRST GOT OUR ATTENTION YEARS AGO WHEN SHE CAME ON THE JAZZ SCENE WITH A STUNNING TAKE OF “OVER THE RAINBOW,” FIRST MADE FAMOUS IN THE MOVIE CLASSIC “THE WIZARD OF OZ.” COMING FULL CIRCLE, MS. MONHEIT…
DANCING WITH ARTURO SANDOVAL
One of the most important, yet forgotten aspects of jazz is that it is essentially dance music. One of the reasons for jazz’s demise in popularity in the 50s and 60s was the simple fact that no one could dance…
HILARY KOLE: A SELF-PORTRAIT OF JOB
IF YOU MISSED GOING TO SUNDAY SCHOOL AS A CHILD, YOU MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH THE STORY OF JOB, ONE OF THE WORLD’S OLDEST AND MOST RELEVANT STORIES OF MANKIND. ON TOP OF HIS GAME FOR MOST OF HIS LIFE,…
TIERNEY SUTTON’S SOUL DESIRE
Quick. What’s your first thought when you hear the word “desire?” If you were honest with yourself, it was either food, power, money, lust or, if you were in a reflective mood, you possibly thought of a deeper relationship with…
OLIVER LAKE: A WORLD SAXOPHONE SOLOIST
ONE OF THE MOST REPEATED LESSONS ANY SAGE OF JAZZ WILL TELL YOU IS TO “DEVELOP YOUR OWN VOICE.” MANY ASPIRE, FEW ATTAIN. EVEN MORE DIFFICULT IS TO THEN DEVELOP A UNIQUE STYLE AND APPROACH TO MUSIC, AN HONOR GIVEN…
SOMI’S LAGOS MUSIC SALON
So, what IS the root of America’s classical music, aka “jazz”? We may say it is ultimately from Africa, but so little of today’s jazz actually hints at any reference to the Mother Continent. Vocalist and songwriter Somi, with blood…
MCCOY TYNER AND PHANTASTIC PHILADELPHIA
When you think of cities rich with a jazz heritage, what comes to your mind? New York, Chicago, New Orleans. Maybe Los Angeles. Well, piano legend McCoy Tyner, having just released “Quartet”, the first of three promised discs on his…
THE HOPE OF ESPERANZA SPALDING
TELL US ABOUT YOUR CHILDHOOD I was getting chronic pneumonia, and I had rheumatoid juvenile arthritis that was related to an auto-immune deficiency disorder. The auto immune thing was making me sick a lot with the pneumonia. WHY WERE…