Catching Up With

Reed multi-instrumentalist Alisha Pattillo has a ubiquitous presence in Houston Texas, appearing with her own groups, which take on a variety of formats: Alisha's Quartet, Alisha's Quartet + 1 and Alisha's Quartet - 1. She is also the reed player for the Ezra Charles Band and Steve Krase & The in Crowd.

Pattillo has recently released ...

Ferenc Nemeth's versatility has positioned him in the front line of jazz drummers today. This Hungarian percussionist has developed a recognizable sound which has, over the years, resulted in his sharing the stage with renowned international jazzmen like saxophonists Wayne Shorter, Mark Turner and Chris Cheek, bassist Christian McBride, bassist John Patitucci, vibraphonist Dave Samuels and ...

Pianist/composer Geri Allen is gearing up for her role as artistic director for an especially ambitious production of the 2013 Harlem Jazz Shrines Festival at the Apollo Theater. Presented as “Geri Allen & Friends Celebrate the Great Jazz Women of the Apollo," the program will offer two shows on May 11, 2013 that explore the legacy ...

Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Saturday 30th April 2011. The young British pianist and composer Kit Downes has travelled to this west of England town to première his latest composition, Animation Migration, at the Playhouse Theatre. It was an unusual event for a jazz festival. Downes' band played music inspired by the story of evolution and DNA alongside ...

During its 12-year reign, Led Zeppelin grew into a world-dominating force, packing stadiums around the globe and selling hundreds of millions of records. Its musical canon has transcended the era in which it was written, and is as popular today as in its heyday. Second only to The Beatles in sales for many years, Led Zeppelin ...

Melissa Aldana may still be in her early twenties, but the tenor saxophonist already knows what it is like to play with big jazz names like saxophonists George Coleman, Benny Golson and George Garzone. In a short time, Aldana has found her own place in the difficult New York jazz scene because she has developed a ...

Guitarist Greg Diamond has found his niche at the New York jazz scene. This cosmopolitan man knows how to pour both of his roots, New Yorker and Colombian, into his music. He has set his own style that lets his music be recognized. His playing has led him to perform with accomplished jazz musicians like saxophonist ...

From a country hot in climate and culture, Jorge Luis Pacheco has emerged. The young, passionate Cuban pianist plays with versatility, agility and dynamism; though a mere 25 years old, he has already been invited by trumpeter Wynton Marsalis to guest with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in Havana. Pacheco has also shared the stage ...

Jerry Bergonzi is regarded as one of the most important saxophonists in the world. Equally, he continues to make significant contributions in the world of jazz education. He is the author of Inside Improvisations Series (Jazzwise Publications), a manual developed in seven volumes--his eighth book is due to come out soon--that has become essential for jazz ...

Percussionist Trilok Gurtu belongs to that elevated group of musicians who, along their careers, have not only acquired a uniqueness of sound, but have also contributed to the widening of the notion of contemporary music. By crossing genre boundaries, and by mingling styles and ethnic influences, Gurtu has created and performed within the generous sound space ...

Multi-instrumentalist Gilad Atzmon-he plays sax, flute and clarinet- was born in Israel. One night he was listening to the radio and he heard something that impressed him: it was Charlie Parker. The day after, he went to the shop to find the alto saxophonist's records. He was already seventeen years old but, with around fourteen hours ...

Jazz vocalist Tianna Hall calls Houston, TX home. At first blush, one might consider Houston a hub for the oil industry, barbecue, and country music, but not one for jazz. However, Houston has a long history with the music dating to the age of the territory bands and the “Chitlin' Circuit" existing between the late '20s ...

Jonathan Kreisberg has filled a gap in the international jazz scene. This New York-based guitarist started with both rock and classical music, but from the beginning he paid attention to his father's great jazz music collection. For Kreisberg, jazz is a pure music based on feelings. He says that he first experienced the creative part of ...

Lee Konitz is legendary as one of the great individualists in jazz, an art form that has always placed an extraordinary high value on individualism and unique forms of expression. “I've pretty much dedicated myself to trying to figure out what true improvising is," he says, “as opposed to playing what you know and getting loose ...