jazzinterview.com - Jazz Artist Interviews
Sort List By:
Artist's Name
Search:
Artist Interviews
Page
[rew]
[prev]
25
26
27
28
[next]
[ff]
|
Mike Longo
|
A famous trumpeter once said, “The first thing we must keep in mind about a musician is that the music he plays is a reflection of his true self.” His music may not be what you, the listener, think he is, but truly, he can no more escape himself through his playing than we can escape the contingent world...
|
|
Artist Interview by Beatrice Richardson
|
 |
Claire Ritter
|
A single label can’t confine Claire Ritter. She’s a pianist and a composer and a teacher. Her music isn’t strictly jazz, nor is it purely classical. It’s her own 'Ritter'ary style.
While most artists are satisfied with releasing their CDs one at a time, Ritter goes against convention and gives us two. She recently released both “River...
|
|
Artist Interview by Donna Kimura
|
|
George McRae
|
“Give me a steady paycheck and I’ll be the happiest guy in the world.” Those words are in the introduction to and the impetus for Chicago keyboardist George McRae’s record label (Affinity Jazz) and website www.affinityjazz.com. “The only way to truly follow my vision was to do it myself.”
On his second album “Being Here”, McRae utilizes...
|
|
Artist Interview by Charles Sudo
|
|
Peter Martin
|
Peter Martin wears a lot of hats these days. The 30-year old solo artist, composer,
leader, and New Orleans-based pianist for the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, has just released, “Something Unexpected,” his debut CD for the MaxJazz label.
Martin has worked with are Wynton Marsalis (in the Lincoln Center group), Terence Blanchard, Roy Hargrove, Joshua Redman and Nicholas Payton. He...
|
|
Artist Interview by Mike Brannon
|
|
Diane Schuur
|
Diane Schuur stands as one of jazz music’s top vocalists, her competition being no less than divas Carmen McRae, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald. Since being discovered by Stan Getz at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1979, Schuur has built an impressive and inspiring career, including winning two Grammy Awards. Blinded at birth in a hospital accident,...
|
|
Artist Interview by Donna Kimura
|
|
Nnenna Freelon
|
Nnenna Freelon’s profile has been on the rise among jazz listeners, as well as among the general listening public. Part of the reason may lie in the integrity that she projects through her music and her choice of songs. Another part of her growing popularity may lie in her interest in the universal themes all people share, such as...
|
|
Artist Interview by Don Williamson
|
|
Mark Elf
|
New York has many fine guitar players. Mark Elf is one of the finest bop players on the scene today. His resume reads like a who’s who of jazz including work with Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Wynton Marsalis, Jimmy Heath and others. Mark Elf’s string of six consecutive #1 recordings since 1997, have established...
|
|
Artist Interview by Dan Clemons
|
|
David Dyson
|
If you want the "regular" with a side of cookie-cutter smooth jazz…sorry, that’s one thing bassist David Dyson won’t serve you! The main ingredient this young talent pours in all of his work is a large dose of musical integrity. Sure integrity might feel good to the soul, but does it pay the rent? Well, it has...
|
|
Artist Interview by Monica India Johnson
|
|
Mike Formanek
|
"Without some discomfort there is no growth."
Witness an album like "Wide Open Spaces" and you'll know what this means. There's certainly no discomfort in listening to it. It’s an anthem to the restlessness that drives improvisational music…to those unquantifiable, unexpected qualities that make it unique and alive, often surprising even its purveyors as they create...
|
|
Artist Interview by Mike Brannon
|
|
Lesette Wilson
|
Although, the average jazz listener might not recognize her name, pianist, producer and bandleader, Lesette Wilson, is a highly respected artist in the music business. Names like Me’lissa Morgan, Tom Browne and Genobia Jeter have all relied on her songwriting and producing talents. Other artists including Chaka Khan, Billy Ocean, Noel Pointer, Bobbi Humphrey and Stanley Turrentine...
|
|
Artist Interview by Monica India Johnson
|
|
Bill Charlap
|
Bill Charlap has been quietly and conscientiously paying his dues for years, accompanying the likes of Phil Woods, Clark Terry, Carol Sloane, Tony Bennett and Gerry Mulligan. With an unpretentious, swinging style that combines intricate delicacies with personalized interpretation, Charlap has shown respect for the origins of the materials he plays--that of the composers themselves.
That makes sense when you...
|
|
Artist Interview by Don Williamson
|
|
Kitty Margolis
|
On her new CD, singer Kitty Margolis draws listeners into her world.
“Left Coast Life” (Mad-Kat Records) is Margolis’ fourth recording and her most personal to date. Using a mix of original songs, pop standards and unconventional covers, the San Francisco-based vocalist illuminates and celebrates the attitudes and characters found out West. “Jaded poseur modern cool,” she writes...
|
|
Artist Interview by Donna Kimura
|
|
Mark Levine
|
Mark Levine is a wonderful jazz pianist who’s played with greats like Cal Tjader, Mongo Santamaria, Willie Bobo, Blue Mitchell, Harold Land, Joe Henderson and Woody Shaw. Since then, he has several fine recordings as a leader, including his last two with his group, The Latin Tinge. He’s also a respected jazz educator and author of “The Jazz Piano...
|
|
Artist Interview by Dan Clemons
|
|
Bill Evans
|
When Miles decided to come off a nearly seven year hiatus two decades ago to put together his "final" super band, a then unknown Bill Evans was chosen for the tenor/soprano chair as a foil to Davis' often-somber trumpet. As always, Miles was picky. It wasn't just anyone he'd allow to share his stage night after night. Though...
|
|
Artist Interview by Mike Brannon
|
|
Diana Krall
|
Plaintive, wistful, romantic, sentimental, sad, gentle, calm/peaceful, joyous, refined/mannered, poignant, sensual, laid-back/mellow, intimate, stylish, elegant, earnest, soothing…these are words that have been used to fittingly describe Diana Krall’s music.
Diana Krall popped on the scene in 1993 with her first CD “Steppin’ Out,” (Justin Time), followed by a string of Grammy award nominations and platinum sales with her following...
|
|
Artist Interview by Suzi Price
|
|
Boney James
|
Boney James is a tenured artist on the smooth jazz circuit who has just released his eighth recording “Ride” to a mix of retro-soul and current bass-tinged postproduction. Excited about the possibilities of reaching a wider audience, James has a collaborative effort focused on the R&B and Hip Hop crowd, with great vocals and instrumental colors. Although changing his...
|
|
Artist Interview by Ron Miller
|
|
Nancy Wilson
|
For many, Nancy Wilson will always be thought of as a jazz singer, breaking onto the scene after sitting in on a gig of Cannonball Adderley’s in the late fifties in Columbus, Ohio. John Levy, Nancy’s career-long manager, was also Adderley’s manager, thus leading the way to Nancy securing a recording contract with Capitol at age 22 and...
|
|
Artist Interview by Unknown User
|
|
Stacey Kent
|
Stacey Kent’s ability to get into the heart of a song—and into the hearts of
her listeners is slowly becoming evident, not only among jazz enthusiasts, but
also among the general listening public. Defying the sometimes stultifying
need to categorize music, Kent instead places the emphasis of her music upon
its ultimate objective: touching a place of inexpressible meaning...
|
|
Artist Interview by Don Williamson
|
|
Chris Botti
|
Chris Botti lives the best of both worlds; he is a highly in-demand trumpet virtuoso who shares the spotlight with the likes of Sting, Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell, as well as a gifted composer and instrumentalist with the ability to combine jazz sensibility and virtuosity with sophisticated adult-oriented pop. Most of all, Botti possesses an uncanny vocal quality...
|
|
Artist Interview by Fred 'Starr' Gerantab
|
|
Tony Monaco
|
Tony Monaco’s life is an amazingly inspired story…a courageous tale about overcoming physically limitations in bringing his genuine, musical gift to jazz lovers everywhere. Tony, a Columbus, Ohio native, is at the vanguard of a new crop of Hammond B3 jazz organists, having received rave reviews and an enhanced profile for his Summit Record’s release “Burnin’ Grooves.” ...
|
|
Artist Interview by Charles Sudo
|
|
Joyce Cooling
|
Americans went through a period of grief after the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, DC and Pennsylvania on September 11th. On that same day, GRP/Verve released guitarist Joyce Cooling's first release on their label, Third Wish. Joyce said that during the time following the attacks, she "didn't care about how the CD was doing and was...
|
|
Artist Interview by Norm Breest
|
|
Russell Malone
|
Russell Malone has been turning the heads of jazz lovers for over a
decade with his versatile guitar playing. Frequently named in lists
and polls of players deserving wider recognition, he may finally get
his due with his new Verve release Heartstrings, his sixth as a
bandleader. The recording notably features the guitarist performing in
front of both gorgeous string sections and...
|
|
Artist Interview by Edward Kane
|
|
Tatsu Aoki
|
If one were to ask a jazz musician or serious jazz listener in Chicago about Tatsu Aoki, chances are that they're aware of the Tokyo-born bassist, who moved to Chicago in 1978 from a brief stay in New York. “It was either (Chicago) or New Orleans,” Aoki said. “In New York, I couldn’t get a good read on...
|
|
Artist Interview by Charles Sudo
|
|
Allan Harris
|
“So Leon Dorsey, an old friend of mine, took me to a jazz club and I got up to sing. There I was on stage with my platform shoes, big fro, tight huggie pants, black jacket and my Gonzo amp. They said, ‘Lets kick it off and do some Parker’…and I said HUH? Roger Humphrey turned...
|
|
Artist Interview by Unknown User
|
|
Paula West
|
Ask a music fan in San Francisco where to go and you’ll be spending the night at the elegant Plush Room, where rising star Paula West regularly performs.
With the recent release of her third CD, West is poised to capture a nationwide audience of jazz fans. The new CD, “Come What May,” is earning strong reviews, and she’s about...
|
|
Artist Interview by Donna Kimura
|
|
JazzReview.com
