Editor's Choice
The Jazz Session: Oh, The Places You'll Go!
Jason Crane
Jason Crane is based in Albany, NY, where he hosts The Jazz Session, a jazz interview podcast.It's been quite a year for The Jazz Session, my online jazz interview show: passing 300,000 downloads (and a few thousand away from 400,000 as I write this); forming a partnership with All About Jazz; adding more episodes per week; launching Facebook and Twitter pages; and just generally taking things up a level or two. I can't write a "best episodes of the year" roundup of my own show, at least not without feeling sketchy about it, so I thought instead I'd tell you about several of the places I ended up in this year in the course of recording interviews.
I traveled a lot more this year for The Jazz Session than was ever the case before, primarily because I now live much closer to New York City than I did when I started the show back in February 2007. Many jazz musicians live either in the city or between me and it, and that's made face-to-face interviews much easier. As a result, I've ended up in some cool places during the past year—or at least in some interesting places with cool people. Here, in no particular order, are some of the highlights:
Place: Steve Kuhn's kitchen
Let's put the fine point right on it: I conducted an interview at the kitchen table of a guy who played with John Coltrane. And who is no slouch himself. And he turned out to be one of the most gracious people I've met. Pianist Steve Kuhn welcomed me into his home earlier this year and we hit it off right away. Not to get corny, but there's just something cool about having someone as respected as Steve pour you a glass of water from the pitcher in his fridge. In fact, that's the single moment I remember most from the interview. A small, human gesture that made me feel right at home.
After the interview, I mentioned to Steve that my parents were coming up on the train from New York to meet me for dinner in the Hudson Valley town where Steve lives. He recommended a restaurant, then stopped by himself and chatted with my folks for a while. How cool is that? (Answer: pretty damned cool.)
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW WITH STEVE KUHN
Place: My parents' dining room (Carl Allen)
Speaking of my parents, they moved to Manhattan earlier this year, which was very nice of them, as their new location makes it quite convenient for me to travel to New York and stay for free. Shortly after they arrived I spent a weekend there conducting interviews, one of which was with drummer Carl Allen. He wasn't free until midnight, but I'm a night owl so we decided to do the interview anyway. Finding a quiet spot at midnight was the challenge, so I suggested he come over to my parents' apartment and do the interview there. My folks live within sight of Juilliard, where Carl works, so he agreed. (As it turned out, he was in Brooklyn at the time, a fact I didn't discover until later, and for which I was even more grateful to him.) We did the interview at my folks' dining room table while everyone else in the apartment slept.
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW WITH CARL ALLEN
Place: Tanglewood Jazz Fest
I was born in Lenox, Massachusetts, a fact I will never tire of telling you. I'm completely in love with my hometown, at least partly because I've now moved more than two dozen times and have a strong desire to feel rooted somewhere. Luckily for me, my hometown is a picturesque little New England village in the Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts, and it's home to Tanglewood, one of the great summer destinations for music. For the past two summers, I've spent Labor Day weekend at Tanglewood conducting interviews and MC'ing shows at the Tanglewood Jazz Festival.
For me, this gig is the ultimate combination of my favorite place on the planet (Lenox) and my favorite activity on the planet (working in the jazz biz). Plus, I get to wander unfettered around the grounds and through the backstage areas of Tanglewood, something I'd only dreamed of doing until two years ago.
The other great thing about this festival is that I meet wonderful people there each year. Two years ago it was Jo Lawry and James Shipp. I heard Jo and her band rehearsing for their press-party gig and was floored by her voice. (Jo defines intonation and taste). She and her partner (and percussionist) James and I have become friends, which makes me quite happy.
This year, I met two other fabulous musicians: vocalist Kat Edmonson and pianist Kevin Lovejoy. Once again, it was one of those instant connections that makes you glad to be where you are, doing what you're doing.
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW WITH JO LAWRY
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW WITH KAT EDMONSON
Place: A minivan parked outside the An Beal Bocht Cafe, 445 West 238th Street, Bronx, NY (James Shipp)
