“There ain’t no need for me to be a wallflower, ‘Cause now I’m living on blues power” Eric Clapton “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” 2 Peter 1:3 “Every good thing…
Category: Interviews
BOBBY WATSON: FROM ART BLAKEY AND NYC, BACK IN KANSAS CITY
I STILL REMEMBER THUMBING THROUGH THE ‘JAZZ’ SECTION AT TOWER RECORDS BACK IN THE 1970S, TRYING TO FIND MY WAY THROUGH THE WIDE OPEN RANGE OF JAZZ ARTISTS IN WHICH TO INITIATE MYSELF. WHERE TO BEGIN? “START WITH KANSAS CITY”…
BILLY HARPER: LAST OF THE TEXAS TENORS
THE TERM “TEXAS TENOR” IS NOT USED MUCH ANYMORE, SIMPLY BECAUSE THERE AREN’T MANY OF THEM LEFT. THE TERM STARTED BACK IN THE 1940S WITH TENOR SAX PLAYERS LIKE ILLINOIS JACQUET, ARNETT COBB, BUDDY TATE, KING CURTIS AND DAVID ‘FATHEAD’…
ALAN PAUL: 50 YEARS OF TRANSFERS
AFTER OVER HALF A CENTURY OF SINGING AND SWINGING, THE MANHATTAN TRANSFER HAS DECIDED TO STOP TOURING, WITH THEIR LATEST ALBUM, FIFTY, IS A SALUTE TO THE TWO AND A HALF SCORE OF MUSICAL SCORES IN THEIR CATALOG. LOVED BY POP FANS…
DAVE MASON: STILL FEELING ALRIGHT AFTER 50 YEARS
IT’S IRONIC THAT DAVE MASON WAS RECENTLY LISTED BY MUSIC BLOGMEISTER RICK BEATO HAS BEING A “ONE HIT WONDER” OF THE 1970S BECAUSE OF HIS 1977 HIT SINGLE “WE JUST DISAGREE”. MASON, AT 76 YEARS OLD, MAY BE A WONDER,…
ALEX ACUNA: SPIRITUAL GIFTS
“But to each of us gifts have been given, as God apportioned it” Ephesians 4:7 In the Bible, the word “grace” literally translates into the word “gift”, as everything we have is part of God’s grace to us; it is…
MONTY ALEXANDER: LOVE NOTES TO AMERICA, GOD AND MILES
ONE OF THE OVERLOOKED STRENGHTS OF AMERICA IS THE RICHNESS OF ITS HERITAGE. SURE, SOME OF US LIKE TEARING DOWN OUR HISTORY. BUT THOSE PEOPLE HAVE NEVER LIVED ANYWHERE ELSE. MUSICIANS AND PEOPLE LIKE PIANIST MONTY ALEXANDER EMBODY ALL THAT…
CYRUS CHESTNUT: A BODY OF SOUL
SINCE HITTING THE JAZZ SCENE IN THE EARLY 1990s, PIANIST CYRUS CHESTNUT HAS BEEN ONE OF THE FEW ARTISTS TO SUCCESSFULLY MELD JAZZ WITH TRADITIONAL CHRISTIAN MUSIC, BOTH MUSICALLY AND PERSONALLY. ALL OF HIS ALBUMS, NO MATTER IF CHESTNUT IS…
TORD GUSTAVSEN: MAXIMIZING THE MINIMALISM
WHENEVER WE THINK OF THE MIX OF JAZZ AND RELIGION, WHAT USUALLY COMES TO MIND ARE BLACK SPIRITUALS OR “HOLINESS” MUSIC OF THE PENTECOSTAL CHURCH. NORWEGIAN PIANIST AND COMPOSER TORD GUSTAVSEN IS ABLE TO MELD THE TWO IDEAS OF MODERN…
TOM GRANT INTERVIEW: THE SECRET LIFE WITH TONY WILLIAMS
WE ALL HAVE SECRET PASTS THAT EVENTUALLY COME OUT WHEN YOU LEAST SUSPECT IT. I REMEMBER TRAVELLING WITH MY FAMILY IN ITALY, RETURNING TO ROME WHERE I ONCE WORKED. WHILE TAKING A TAXI THROUGH TOWN AND CONVERSING WITH THE TAXI…