Jazz Artist Interviews (709)
Get up close and personal with your favorite jazz artists!
Lisa Hilton is the candelabrum affixed atop jazz with that everlasting twinkle of class. From the early days to her present spin "My Favorite Things," Ms. Hilton’s gift has that touch and feel of true jazz. Amongst the clutter and nonsense of the industry lie many gems of which she shines brighter than most. The arrangements are fresh, selections thoughtfully designed, and presentation impeccable. Ms Hilton is the next generation of iconic pleasure in the world of jazz! Her career propels war …
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Trumpet virtuoso Ingrid Jensen and I both dissolved into laughter as she responded to my question concerning how much of a role she played in the production of her new CD At Sea. "I paid for it all," she says and then there is this big pause. Jensen continues, "There would have been no product had I not opened up my bank account." Again we both start to laugh. With At Sea Jensen is flying solo. She became her own label, producer and bandleader. She had great help from hubby Jon …
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LZ Love is no stranger to those in the music industry, but she may not be a household name in Texas. That is about to change. Living in Austin Texas by way of San Francisco, she has her Mojo working. LZ's album "My Higher Ground" will be in the stores on Valentine's Day, and there could not be a more fitting release date for this woman with the soulful and passionate vocals. I caught up to her between gigs and we talked about the album, an upcoming movie appearance and a television special.
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"The thing I like about jazz is risk. I love how it can go so much in your favor when you find a place in music that hasn't occurred before. It doesn't matter if you are eighty years old or twenty for a moment in time you can experience that wonderful feeling again, (the reason) why you first learned music," says jazz producer and artist Charlie Peacock from his home in Nashville. When you speak to Peacock, the word that immediately comes to mind is cerebral. In his music and the world …
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Tim Coffman, producer, songwriter and musician, has been around the music scene since the early sixties and like most fine wines, he is getting better with age. His CD Nonstop to Paris has been ripping up the Jazz charts in Europe for the past year. Beach and Guitar (2004) and Music from Beach Boulevard (2005) created an entirely new musical genre when he married a combination of retro and modern surf music to the sound of a Hawaiian steel guitar. While one might be hard …
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John Levy will be awarded the A. B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy for a career of Management at the IAJE Convention at the New York Hilton on January 14, 2006. Natalie Bernard has been referring jazz performers to me for potential interviews, internet exposure and the potential for some additional gigs from her roster of talent for some time now. There are people she represents such as Jane Getz, and Harold Land Jr. who are truly remarkable musicians. I will if I can alway …
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Deanna Witkowski has red hair, grew up in the western half of New York State and Pennsylvania. Nothing unusual there, but then you come to the part where she plays a style of jazz that is heavily influenced with Latin vibes. Whoa, where did that come from? We could make this into a story that says Witkowski had designs on being a famous Latin artist from the time she was a little girl, but the truth is, at least in the beginning, it was more a fluke. She recalls, "I was in gradua …
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JAZZREVIEW: I’ve listened to your album Happening, and I like it very much. You have a very good band, and a nice sound with the Saxophone and strings. However, on the song that you sing with Julie Hardy, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic I can’t tell you two apart. BRENDA EARLE: That’s interesting isn’t it? JAZZREVIEW: Yes it is. It’s just that I thought I would be able to tell you apart, having listened to her album so often and I can’t. BRENDA EARLE …
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My mother had a friend who passed on some time ago and that lady was one of the biggest Lou Rawls' fans in the world. She had a life-sized, cardboard cut out of him in the entryway of her home. I mean she was a ''ride and die'' fan. I wouldn't go as far as to sticking a cardboard cut out of Will Downing in my foyer, but the way my autographed poster of him followed me from apartment to apartment for years, signifies that he is my absolute favorite male singer of all times. I was intro …
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Saxophone players are not unusual to the world of music but when you find one whose influences have stemmed from his love of Hip Hop plus traditional jazz music, you got something pretty special on your hands. To be exact, you have an ''Uncommon Denominator'' that is indivisible by anything that doesn't equate to the love of music. I caught up with Hidden Beach recording artist, Mike Phillips, one Tuesday evening while he was on the road in Cleveland, OH and we ''chopped …
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At a time when so many singers are mining the archives in search of standards to sing, Susan Werner has written her own songbook. Her latest CD, "I Can’t Be New," recalls the classic tunes of Porter, Gershwin and Mercer. Werner’s songs are new, but they carry an old vibe, with their sharp lyrics and sophisticated melodies. Werner describes the songs as "one acts." These vignettes are an insightful, entertaining look at modern-day life and relationships told by a woman who w …
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‘So Strong’ is a combination of things. The whole album is saying where I am and what’s going on in my life. That’s the Message - Jonathan Butler. JazzReview: Your new CD ‘So Strong’ is an amazing compilation of hope, inspiration, joy and romance. Jonathan Butler: Thank you. You said that so well. I love the way it came together. All I wanted to do was to play something that sounded good and which had this flavor be …
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When Mark Murphy hit the jazz scene back in 1956, it was immediately obvious that he had what no one else had going for them: a very hip and remarkable way of interpreting a song, and a range and timing he optimized with every note, mesmerizing his listeners. Although Murphy confesses it took time to find his niche, many will disagree. Once you became turned on to Murphy’s remarkable style, you bought every single recording you could lay your hands on. Those who didn’t, now find t …
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Labyrinth is the third album by jazz pianist Kerry Politzer. Of her music Kerry Politzer says "improvisation over a melody and changes, it definitely is that." To me it is some strikingly good straight ahead jazz with Brazilian and classical influences. On her third CD "Labyrinth" Kerry plays piano and has composed all ten of the works. She is accompanied by a first rate group of musicians: Andrew Rathbun, soprano and tenor sax; Chris Higgins, bass; George Colligan, drums. …
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Ann Braithwaite of Braithwaite and Katz Communications sent me an email asking if I would like to receive a copy of Gregg August's first album as leader entitled Late August. I replied, "Yes send it to me." It arrived and I put it into the CD player and then had to stop everything I was doing and just listen. Late August is contemporary jazz in the straight-ahead style with a Latin flavor. After listening to the CD a few times, I called Ann and asked if I could int …
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This This past summer I had the great experience of speaking with Luther Hughes, who plays a hot acoustic bass and has put together the remarkable Cannonball-Coltrane Project. I saw this exciting band at Founder’s Hall at the Orange County Performing Arts center and bought their self-titled album. The Project’s members on Luther Hughes and the Cannonball-Coltrane Project are Luther on Bass; Glenn Cashman on Tenor sax; Bruce Babad on alto sax; Ed Czach on piano; Paul K …
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Back in the quaint town of North Hampton, Massachusetts is where I first experienced the sparkle of Jane Monheit, and her lyrical tone and expressions on stage. Almost angelic in nature, this initial encounter captured my total awareness. An eclectic feel in sound and method that redefines the jazz vocalist stereotype and perception. Opinions aside, Ms. Monheit’s energy and talent is foremost in the jazz industry. Ms. Monheit’s fifth studio album, The Season (Epic Records cat. 97221 …
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Donning a blue wig and performing a whacky improvisation of a very senior citizen awaiting her boyfriend’s arrival, the absolutely comedic woman on the youtube video is obviously blessed with talent. Miss MacKenzie’s performance was repeated, in part, last Valentine’s Day as she delighted the patrons of New York City’s Cornelius Street Café. This time, she had an accomplice in a jazz artist by the name of Dave Devoe. Miss MacKenzie’s is the alter ego of the very talented and equally beautif …
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Origins originate from a phenomenon other than birth. Honing in on the phenomenon is more conceptual than descriptive. For mere mortals, the journey necessitates a ceaseless repetition of approaching how to understand the ultimate beginning of everything up to and including the self. And for Matthew Shipp, the means to approach this universal understanding is through the piano in the way in which he matchlessly creates sound. To talk with Matt is to talk to a person boldly adherent to …
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Jazz legend Ramsey Lewis celebrates his career and personal milestones in 2005: 50 Years in the Entertainment Industry 71st Recording Album First-Ever Gospel Album, With One Voice 70th Birthday "This was not Ramsey’s first time performing religious music publicly. His unique style and versatility exemplify a fresh awakening in the sound of gospel music. The excitement generated by Ramsey is stimulating to observe and it is awesome …
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R&B singer Will Downing is the perfect axiom that you cannot keep a good man down. Albeit being diagnosed with polymyositis, a disease that incapacitates one’s muscles, I’m happy to report to Will’s fans that their favorite singer is doing just fine. When I caught up with Downing last week, he was in high spirits, laughing and talking and reporting that he was getting better every day. Will had just gotten back in the house from getting his driver’s license renewed from the local DMV offi …
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JAZZREVIEW: What’s happening, man? DANILO PEREZ: Beautiful, man! I’m here with my daughter. You know, we just had another baby on Saturday another girl, Carlina Esmiralda Perez. I’m really happy and I’m excited about living life and everything. JAZZREVIEW: Congratulations on another new Danilo creation, my friend. Is that Carlina? DANILO PEREZ: That’s Daniella--15 months, man. JAZZREVIEW: You pres …
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David Benoit is a very busy guy these days. He recently released his first all-orchestral CD, produced a tribute to the first Charlie Brown TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas and is getting ready for a Christmas tour with saxophonist Dave Koz. With everything the composer/conductor/instrumentalist has done, he is most proud of his classical-based CD called Orchestral Stories. Benoit's orchestral CD was a labor of love for him, but there were two things that he had problems wit …
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Friday Evening October 7, 2005 at Founders Hall in the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Costa Mesa, California, Dee Dee Bridgewater opened a two-night, four-set stand as part of the tenth season of the Jazz Club Series. Dee Dee has just released J’ai Deux Amours, a remarkable album from its retro packaging and glamour photography to the eleven very memorable songs sung for the most part in French. The CD includes liner notes of the highest caliber …
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Inspiration, a incident on which ideas are chiseled. Diversity enters when maturity mixes with confidence, however, innovation only evolves when all the other variables of the talented source are allowed to nurture into a spirit. Creativity is not bought, sold, or birthed with the vocalizing of a note. It just comes from within, requiring no explanation for its existence. Such is the growth of vocalist Lisa Bell and her journey thus far. Ms. Bell is a jazz artist who never turn …
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