Michael Ricci - Jazz & Technology   [ CONTACT ]

Lover of jazz and technology, Michael Ricci merged his two passions to create the world's largest jazz music website. He conducts lectures, workshops, and appears on J. Michael Harrison's The Bridge radio program on WRTI 90.1 FM (Phila). He presents "Leveraging the All About Jazz Network to Reach the Online Jazz Marketplace" as part of the Jazz Speakers Bureau.   more...

Jeff Fitzgerald, Genius - Jazz Humorist   [ CONTACT ]

Veteran stand-up comedian and humorist specializing in a unique brand of humor for more intelligent audiences. At 5'10", he is easily portable and perfect for almost any application. Built to run on alternative fuels such as relatively inexpensive beer and chicken wings, you'll find that he is perfect for almost any budget as well.   more...

C. Andrew Hovan - Jazz, Photography, and Drumming   [ CONTACT ]

Writer/photographer/musician C. Andrew Hovan has been active in the field of jazz since his days at the Berklee College of Music in the mid-'80s. A freelance musician and record collector, Hovan has been a contributor to the MusicHound album reference guides and is a regular contributor to All About Jazz, Down Beat, and Cleveland Scene. Hovan also regularly pens liner notes for the Criss Cross, Sharp Nine, and Mighty Quinn record labels. Hovan has photo-documented the jazz scene in Cleveland, nationally, and abroad. His photographs have appeared in Down Beat, The New York Times, and in Mark C. Gridley's jazz textbook Jazz Styles.   more...

Ken Dryden - Liner Notes and Press Bios for Straight-Ahead Instrumentalis   [ CONTACT ]

Ken has been collecting jazz for over 36 years, has been an active jazz journalist since 1998 and also spent 15 years producing a jazz radio program. He has written liner notes for numerous CDs, including releases by Oscar Peterson, Joe Pass, Jaki Byard, Wes Montgomery, Lorraine Feather and others, while he recently completed a series of 19 liner note biographies for an series of jazz compilation CDs. He takes an interest in talking to artists in-depth about their music, uncovering facets of their careers that others may overlook.   more...

C. Michael Bailey - Classical Music, Third Stream, Be Bop, Hard Bop   [ CONTACT ]

Michael is a conservative sort, preferring Classical Music (Ancient, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical: chamber, orchestral, choral, opera, 18th Century clarinet music) and mainstream jazz. He occasionally gets a wild hair and listens to polka, fusion, country & western, blues, whichever way the musical wind blows...   more...

Glenn Astarita - Modern/Free-Jazz and Progressive-Rock   [ CONTACT ]

A music journalist since 1996, Glenn also released a solo CD in 1998, and is the co-founder of jazzartcollection.com. He's contributed to Downbeat, All Music Guide, and New Orleans Gambit and has composed press releases and liner notes for Leo Records, Summit Records and several other labels. Glenn moved from New Orleans to Hermitage, TN after Hurricane Katrina.   more...

Chris M. Slawecki - Soul, Jazz, R&B, Miles, Monk, Stax & Funk   [ CONTACT ]

Chris' music writing has been published since the late 1970s. He has served for more than a decade as AAJ Senior Editor, and as the Jazz Voice for the ConcordMusicGroup since 2007. He previously served as Jazz-Blues editor for CustomDisc.com and as one of two featured contributors to the Stax Records 50th anniversary website, and he contributed biographies of Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, and other jazz and blues legends, to Sharpe's Music in the 20th Century Reference Guide.   more...

Daniel Kassell - Jazz from the traditional and swing periods   [ CONTACT ]

Dan Kassell expands his curiosity by attending concerts, conventions, lectures and movies to take note of the History of Jazz from the Caribe's and Algier's to New Orleans, Chicago and New York. As a member of the Jersey Jazz Society since 1972 he's witnessed musicians who learned from jazz's founders. Reviews have appeared in All About Jazz, Mississippi Rag, Jersey Jazz and Amazon.com.   more...

Dr. Judith Schlesinger - Psychology of music and musicians   [ CONTACT ]

PhD psychologist, educator, musician, and multi-published author reliably delivers clean, concise, sparkling prose for reviews, essays, bios, and liner notes. Dr. J. is known for her unusually in-depth, relaxed, and entertaining interviews that reveal the person behind the music. She is also an internationally-recognized expert on the "mad genius" myth and the alleged link between talent, creativity, the creative process, and so-called "mental illness" (e.g., bipolar disorder); articles published in professional journals, book in progress. Special interests in mainstream and Brazilian jazz, vocalists, and upcoming artists.   more...

R.J. DeLuke - Jazz history, Miles, Monk, Sonny, mainstrem, bebop   [ CONTACT ]

An experienced with a degree in journalism and years of experience on staffs of newspapers and magazines, R.J. took that into his love for jazz. For over a decade he has been interviewing jazz and blues artists and biographic articles on them, as well as editing similar content. He's interviewed dozens of all-time greats and rising stars for AAJ and other publications (Downbeat, Strings, Albany (NY) Times Union).   more...

Mark F. Turner - Modern Jazz, Electronica, Urban, World, Ethnomusicology   [ CONTACT ]

Basically I'm a sponge, soaking up an appreciation of many forms... As an accomplished writer, researcher, and music journalist, I've created an impressive body of work (reviews, articles, liner notes, biographies, press releases) for artists, labels, print and online media (Jazziz, Jazz Improv, The Lamp, etc...) as well as my ongoing duties as senior contributor/editor at AAJ.   more...

Doug Collette - True Improvisational Rock   [ CONTACT ]

With a writing history spanning forty years, I have a unique perspective on how new artists as well as veterans, have incorporated the jazz ethic into rock and roll and, to a lesser degree, pop music. To follow the evolution of the musicians and the music has been and continues to be a tremendous pleasure as well as an ongoing lesson in the workings of the creative process both short and long term,in the studio and on the stage.   more...

John Kelman - Scandinavian/European Jazz   [ CONTACT ]

Contributor to the book Horizons Touched: The Music of ECM (Granta, 2007), AAJ Managing Editor John Kelman is an expert on the the esteemed German label as well as the European jazz scene in general and the Scandinavian scene in particular. He is in the process of researching a monthly AAJ column tracing Norwegian jazz from the late 1960s forward. He also has particular expertise in fusion and progressive rock dating back to the late 1960s.   more...

Chris May - Jazz and African Music   [ CONTACT ]

A senior editor with All About Jazz, Chris May was editor of the UK's highly regarded Black Music & Jazz Review 1979-84, and went on to work for the Celluloid and Island labels. Seven of his books have been published, including African All-Stars: The Pop Music of a Continent (Quartet hardback, Paladin paperback), the first, and still the most comprehensive, overview of modern African music. He edited the Last Poets' anthology Vibes From The Scribes (Pluto). He regularly writes biographies and liner notes for jazz and world music labels in the UK and US, and in 2009 is acting as consultant on a film about jazz in Africa.   more...

Alain Londes - Jazz Appreciation   [ CONTACT ]

As a review writer for AAJ and the Toronto Jazz Newsletter, I strive to describe what I see during shows and what I hear on CDs for a wider audience. I write daily updates as well as overall articles annually on the Toronto Jazz Festival. As an educator, amateur tenor saxophonist and public speaker, I have created workshops for general audience focusing on such topics as "jazz and improvisation." Being a native french speaker allows me to keep taps on European artists.   more...

Woodrow Wilkins - Heads Up, 70s pop, rock and soul   [ CONTACT ]

Woody covers the Heads Up lineup and has followed the progress of such acts as Spyro Gyra, Yellowjackets and Steely Dan. Very knowledgeable about Maynard Ferguson, Mississippi Delta blues, 1970s pop, rock and soul. Twenty years' experience as a journalist (one in television).   more...

Marcia Hillman - Jazz Storyteller and Historian   [ CONTACT ]

I have been in the music industry a long while and have met and broken bread with many of the jazz giants in the course of my career. Have a unique historical perspective on the genre and a knowledge of songs.   more...

Lyn Horton - How Jazz and Mixed Media Art Correspond   [ CONTACT ]

Visual artist Lyn Horton has written about music for nearly fifteen years. Her perception of music correlates with processes involved in making her mixed media artwork. Therefore, her insights into jazz music, especially spontaneous improvisation, allow her to translate it into words instinctually. Of her writing, Howard Mandel has said: "Lyn is an insightful music critic, with special sensitivity to nuances of writing on music. She has an original voice and a devotion to genuine artistry."   more...

Matt Cibula - World Tunes, Hot Funk, Hip-Hop, Weird Stuff   [ CONTACT ]

Matt would like to trumpet his great musical experience, but he washed out of high school jazz band after another guy in the trombone section stole his girlfriend. But he's got big ears and loves a lot of different music. Matt has interviewed everyone from Josh Roseman to Grandmaster Flash and once snuck into a Jeff Lorber Fusion concert back when Kenny G had a whole last name.   more...

Hrayr Attarian - Women instrumentalists from the beginnings of jazz till 1970   [ CONTACT ]

For a while I have had an interest in hearing and reading about women who eschewed the traditional role of singers (and rarely piano playing) and excelled on instruments like trumpet, trombone, saxophones, bass, guitar, organ etc. I have a collection of CDs by such artists, most of them relatively obscure or at least under recorded because of their gender. I also have read everything I could find on a particular few including Thelma Terry (bass), Melba Liston (trombone), Vi Redd (alto sax), Valaida Snow, Barbara Donald and Clora Bryant (trumpet), Rhoda Scott, Shirley Scott and Gloria Coleman (organ), Mary Osborne (guitar), Dorothy Ashby (harp) and Lovie Austin, Jutta Hipp and Beryl Booker (piano).   more...

Greg Thomas - Jazz educator, consultant, and broadcast and print journalis   [ CONTACT ]

In addition to writing for All About Jazz, I host the Internet's only interactive online series, Jazz it Up!, now in season two. I also produce and host a radio show on WBAI-NY, and co-produce the Harlem Speaks interview series for the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. Whether it's in print, on radio or the Internet, I can give exposure to jazz artists, labels, and venues. How many other jazz journalists reach as many media platforms?   more...

Greg Camphire - Writing About Jazz from a Musician's Perspective   [ CONTACT ]

Greg Camphire has been studying and performing music for more than 25 years, and writing for almost as long. While acknowledging Frank Zappa's quote that "writing about music is like dancing about architecture," Greg bridges the gap between these two artistic disciplines with fresh descriptions of music’s inner details. His love of sounds and words spans the history of jazz, as well as rock n’ roll, hip-hop, electronica, reggae, various Afican and Latin styles, and much more.   more...

Frederick Bernas - Contemporary, British and Russian Jazz   [ CONTACT ]

Currently based in Moscow, Frederick’s expertise includes the new British jazz scene, Russian jazz and contemporary saxophonists. His interviews have consistently appeared in AAJ year-end top lists and he covered the 2008 North Sea and London jazz festivals for the site. Other publications include The Guardian, Jazzwise, Jazz.com and Fly Global Music. Full portfolio online at frederickbernas.blogspot.com.   more...

Warren Allen - Modern Jazz, Jewish, Avant-Garde, and World Music   [ CONTACT ]

From the fiery Klezmer trills of David Tarras to the plangent calls of Albert Ayler, Warren has played, studied, and written about music for the past 10 years. Exploring fresh sounds, the evolution of styles, and the link between spirituality and improvisation--all of it keeps him adding CDs to an already overloaded bookcase. He's written for AAJ.com, the Boston Herald, the Worcester Telegram-Gazette, and Performer Magazine.   more...

Wade Luquet - The Spirit of New Orleans   [ CONTACT ]

Dr. Wade Luquet, a native of New Orleans, founded The Institute for New Orleans History and Culture in the Lourdes Library at Gwynedd-Mercy College just outside of Philadelphia. The institute was established as a collection where the heritage of New Orleans can be preserved and studied. In addition to writing extensively about the Crescent City and its culture, Wade also organizes and oversees annual outings to the city where his students immerse themselves in local New Orleans culture and donate their time to specific civic activities.   more...

Robert J. Robbins - Big Bands   [ CONTACT ]

I have been USA Secretary of Big Bands International for the past thirty years, and I feel that I possess a vast amount of expertise in this area.   more...

David McLean - Experimental music, Electronica, Avant-Garde Jazz, Contempor   [ CONTACT ]

I have a background disimilar to alot of the other contributors on the website as Jazz is just one facet of my musical obsessions. I also write for experimusic.com, a diverse site dealing with a range of music that mirrors my overiding interest into contemporary music experimenting and pushing boundaries, whether that be minimal electronics from Berlin, intense and atmospheric metal from Norway, free improvisation from Japan on the angular guitar music from Chigago and New York. My experience of all this music is revealed in my desert island disk selections. If you or your artists shares a fascination with anything listed in either lists, do contact me.   more...

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