Why do we do what we do for a living? To put a roof over our heads? To please our parents or friends? To just occupy time? Some people see their life’s work as a goal. For 30 year old…
Category: Interviews
CHRISTIAN SCOTT’S ANTHEM
Trumpeter Christian Scott is on a mission. Coming onto the scene in 06 with “Rewind That”, Scott refused to be pigeonholed as another in the line of young lions “in the tradition”. Instead, he wanted to make music that spoke…
TOM HARRELL’S ROMAN NIGHTS
Quick. Think of the most popular trumpeters out there. Probably Marsalis and Botti are the first ones to pop into your mind. This is the way the world of music has always operated; while some artists are getting accolades, others,…
CD VS DOWNLOAD VS VINYL VS PAPER VS PLASTIC VS SPY VS SPY…
Back when I was a kid, the way you listened to music was very simple; you popped a 45 (or 78) rpm “single” onto a record changer, and played it over and over until you simply wore the thing out.…
CLAUDIO RODITI’S SYMPATHETIC SOUND
Sound or chops? Art Farmer or Woody Shaw? Ben Webster or John Coltrane? Artie Shaw or Buddy DeFranco? This is the question every musician must ask himself. As evidenced on the his last two releases on Resonance Records (“Brazilliance x4”…
EDDIE HENDERSON: FOR ALL WE KNOW
When you see a musician play on stage, don’t you wonder to yourself, “he makes it look so easy!” How does an artist get to that level? Inherent talent? There are volumes of talented musicians who never cut the mustard.…
CHARLES LLOYD: A MUSICAL ODYSSEY
So few jazz artists are able to have a successful career at their chosen profession. Charles Lloyd, elder statesman of the tenor sax, has been blessed twice with being able to be regarded both commercially and critically among his peers…
SUE MINGUS: CHANGES ONE AND TWO
It’s hard sometimes to get a perspective of where you are in life until you compare yourself with a certain standard. Think you’re on a high moral ground? Try reading The Sermon on the Mount. Think we’re going through difficult…
JOHN BEASLEY: MILES, MENDES AND MORE BLUES
I know that New York gets all of the accolades, but joyful fact is that LA can boast as excellent a jazz lineup as anywhere on the Least Coast. Keyboardist John Beasley, for example, is a local guy who is…
ANDREW RATHBUN: WHERE IS HE NOW?
We all come to a point in our lives where we just have to ask ourselves what our major purpose in life is. Is it material gain? Sensual pleasures? Power? Even musicians must reflect on why they chose their vocation;…