For most jazz lovers, Stanley Clarke is a household...

When I caught up with Downing last week, he was in high spirits, laughing and talking and...

Keyboardist Jayson Tipp is absolutely elated to be playing with his bandmates from Under The Lake, when last they played was for their sophomore album Up For Air in 1996.  Though the band members have changed since Under The Lake was originally formed in the early ‘90s with the release of their debut album Dive In from 1994, the...

Eberhard Weber has long been acknowledged as a genius in the field of music. He invented the electric bass and added a fifth string to the instrument. His compositions like those of Chick Corea defy being described as entirely jazz, are influenced by classical, but belong to a genre beyond description. Weber speaking to me from his home in...

Atlanta, Georgia might be known for being the home of the major league baseball team, The Braves, but bravery does not only run in the veins of the city’s sports teams.  It is also found in Atlanta's denizen, Dee Lucas, who began playing the saxophone at the ripe age of 28 and bravely took steps to be active in contemporary smooth jazz music. ...

JazzReview: How did your interest...

Still touring and recording, he takes time out of his schedule to talk to me about his artistic...

“My...

Woodwind instrumentalist, Mark Hollingsworth has one of the most outrageous and thrilling journeys that you may ever read about as narrated by him.  Hollingsworth goes into depth about how he came into his own musicality after being a studio musician for a litany of recording artists from rock ‘n’ roll’s Alice Cooper and U2 to smooth crooners like Tom...

He has been relying on his swiftness to change with the climate since he was born in England. Weimar has been...

Contemporary jazz producer and saxophonist Darren Rahn has a reason to smile not only because he is married to the most beautiful woman in the world in his eyes, but also because his second solo album Once In A Lifetime on NuGroove Records is a nominee for Best Album of the Year at the 2008 Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards....

“Actually most of my recordings are live recordings,” he remarks, “and I think I'm more open in a...

The six-man and one-woman contemporary jazz/world music ensemble Airborne, who call the heart of New Haven, Connecticut their home, are setting course for a tour in support of their latest release Turbulence from Tilt Records. Formed in 1988, Airborne is comprised of seven musicians who respect each others individuality and musical diversity which ranges from Latin, African, and Caribbean...

Jazz vocalist, musician, arranger and composer, Karrin Allyson (pronounced Căr in) is one of those artists who can do it all. She can sing sassy, sensually, belt out a standard or coo a romantic love song. When she is not singing at the front of the stage, Allyson approaches the piano with the confident air, expectation, and professionalism that...

Keyboardist/composer/arranger Bob Baldwin has a wealth of experiences to draw from beginning in 1987 when he was a young lion in the jazz-pop world. Fast forward to 2007 and 10 solo albums later and Baldwin has released a DVD entitled Memoirs From The Hudson featuring his live show at the Croton Point Park Music Festival in 2005. The grassroots...

To say that guitarist Blake Aaron is a funky guy would be a gross understatement, and to try to apply just one label to his special brand of music would not be accurate either, as his new CD Desire clearly demonstrates. The album has received rave reviews, including in this publication, and has been charting spectacularly since it was...

“I guess I am like an actor in a role, if I can relate to a song, then I put myself in the writer’s shoes. I try to deliver it as though I am the writer (of the song) and I try to get the story told. During the couple of years that I was with Les Miserables (she...

Mention Chieli Minucci and Special EFX in jazz circles, and you’ll incite big round smiles from ear to ear on the faces of your audience. The poly-versed guitarist who formed the world fusion group Special EFX with the late drummer George Jinda in the early ‘80s has been keeping busy with composing scores for numerous side projects and touring...

Imagine being just twenty-two years old and having your debut CD rocket to the # 1 position on Bluesville, a channel on the XM Satellite radio network. Well that is just what happened to the incredibly talented Gina Sicilia, a Philadelphian who has been causing ears to perk up and radio DJs to spin her CD Allow Me To...

Swedish diva Jeanette Lindstrom is the kind of person you like more every time you talk to her, watch her perform, or as in my case, correspond with her during the course of writing this article. Her fans’ love for Lindstrom was obvious when a couple of months ago. I had the opportunity to attend one of her concerts...

One listen to Justin Young’s swirling maze of saxophone designs on his debut album On The Way mixed by Paul Brown and you are hooked. He has the fluent skills of Kenny G. and bold diversity that is indicative of Andrew Neu. Every track on the album has its own calling card and chord expressions while maintaining a smooth...

Imagine being just twenty-two years old and having your debut CD rocket to the # 1 position on Bluesville, a channel on the XM Satellite radio network. Well that is just what happened to the incredibly talented Gina Sicilia, a Philadelphian who has been causing ears to perk up and radio DJs to spin her CD Allow Me To...

Who is this man that has made such an impression on Erykah Badu you might be asking...

Since Tony Bianco’s father put a set of drumsticks in his hands, he has adored them with the enamor a boy has for his Tonka toys, or a girl for her Barbie dolls. Banging on the drums was a way for tike-sized Tony to form a bond with his Dad and feel just as tall and strong. “My father,...

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