One car ride with tenor saxophonist Don Braden is like a trip around the world. Within an hour of dropping off his instruments for repairs and locating our destination for a chat, we talked about finding spirituality in The Big Apple, the presence of God in the music industry, his four-year old Lexus, our disappointment in the present political administration, the insane traffic jam in mid-town we were caught in, and the Braden family fish. What he exemplifies is the attitude of some of today’s …

Comedian Bill Cosby said, "Ours is a youth culture, and like a golf tournament, we honor only low scores." There seems to be a young prodigy born every minute and a record label circling in search of its next savior to record. Barely a release or two are issued and their careers are deflated due to insufficient sales and the loss of appeal. But, there are those young artists that open up and blossom in their own time with a vigor to experience jazz and the power of its many elements. Alto sax …

I spoke with trumpeter Christian Scott from his place in New York City on May 2006. He was preparing for gigs in Boston and St. Louis. He just got the news that he’d been booked at this year’s JVC Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island, August 11-13. His new release on Concord Records is entitled Rewind That. JazzReview: What brought you to Berklee [School of Music in Boston]? Christian Scott: The main reason I attended Berklee was because I wanted to go to …

It was a full night around town guitarist John Abercrombie at Birdland, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane at the Blue Note, guitarist Pat Metheny with pianist Brad Mehldau at Carnegie Hall, guitarist Bill Frisell at the Village Vanguard and jazz performances were of the pickin’. Waiting at the front doors of the Iridium Jazz Club was a couple who hadn’t seen pianist Misha Piatigorsky for a few years. "He used to give my husband piano lessons," said the woman of the couple. Gregory Piatigorsky, Misha’s f

Like a picture pulled from a photo album, guitarist Pat Metheny looked the same as he did in 1977 the last time he appeared at the Bardavon 1869 Opera House in downtown Poughkeepsie. He still wears his hair long and he still dresses in casual attire faded jeans, knit top and sneakers. Pianist Brad Mehldau had a more scholarly look, sporting a corduroy jacket, as both artists walked onto the Bardavon stage before a sold-out Tuesday night audience. They’ve been touring for almost a month, presenti