"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 it. Michael Formanek is a musician/composer first and bassist by choice. Or as he said, "It chose me." He has had the fortu …

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 there are unreleased Columbia recordings throughout the mid 70's and into 1980, he went through quite a few lineups that were created for him to which he'd usually only list …

Steve Swallow may not be a household word, at least in most households, but if you've listened to contemporary jazz over the last thirty years, you've likely heard him on one side of the studio glass or the other. Swallow's not just a great and very unique electric jazz bassist but also a trusted producer of sessions which have included the likes jazz guitar icons Metheny, Scofield, Frisell and Goodrick. Beyond this, he is also an often covered composer in his own right (even pianist Bill Evans …

If you don't know drummer Danny Gottleib or you know him from only the earliest incarnations of the Pat Metheny Group, there's a lot you don't know about this talented, multi-faceted musician. Not complacent to rest on past laurels of any kind, Gottleib currently juggles percussion duties with more groups and ensembles than many work with in a lifetime, seeing it all optimistically, as a welcomed challenge. A rare attitude that pervades his work and beyond and which is carried to all who he come …

Sometimes a new face just seems to come out of the blue. A talent that wasn't there one moment and just then was the next. For Debbie Deane...it was the usual 10+ year 'overnight' success that just appeared to be instantaneous. Judging from those she chose to accompany her on her maiden voyage, she did it right though. When she's not performing with her regular trio in Brooklyn or solo in NY or on the west coast, she writes (adding to the fifty odd originals she performs) and teaches mu …