Home » Jazz Articles » Take Five With... » Take Five With Skip Heller

297

Take Five With Skip Heller

By

Sign in to view read count
Meet Skip: Born and bred in Philly, played bar mitzvahs, weddings, top 40, country and whatever else. Came up in the wake of giants like Uri Caine, Bootsie Barnes, Shirley Scott, and others. Very traditional on some levels, but a full-on cultural expeditionary on any number of levels.

Instrument: electric guitar.

Teachers and/or influences? Grant Green, Heath Allen, Satchmo, Johnny Hodges, Cannonball, Marc Ribot, Link Wray, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Dave Alvin, Eddie Lang.

I knew I wanted to be a musician when... I saw John Hartford on the Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour.

Your sound and approach to music. Try and take everything you hear, know, and love, then let it all meet and mingle.

Your dream band: To be the guitarist in the Blasters or The Band. To play with Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, or Ani DiFranco. To write big band arrangements for James Moody.

Favorite venue: DBA in New Orleans—the room has a great feel, great sight-lines, attentive but lively crowd, and good sound. Satori in Mobile. Same reasons.

Your favorite recording in your discography and why? Mean Things Happening in This Land, because it reflects my tastes most directly. The next one coming out, Fast, Cheap and Out of Control because it most blurs the different categories I work in.

What do you think is the most important thing you are contributing musically? I don't think I'm all that important.

Did you know... I'm knowledgeable about steamboats.

How you use the internet to help your career: Myspace, mailing lists, keeping new music, blog, and video on my website and generally making sure people always have something to tune in and catch up on.

CDs you are listening to now: XTC, Apple Venus (Idea); Sol Hoopi, Hawaiin Guitar Master Volume 1 (Yazoo); Various artists, The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of (Yazoo); Linnzi Zaorski & Delta Royale (no label); Bob Dylan, Modern Times (Columbia).

Desert Island picks: Bill Evans, Explorations (Riverside); Cannonball Adderley, Them Dirty Blues (Capitol); Louis Armstrong, Plays WC Handy (Columbia); Rev Gary Davis, Pure Religion (Prestige); John Hartford, Aereo-Plain (Warner Bros.).

How would you describe the state of jazz today? In flux, but it always is.

What are some of the essential requirements to keep jazz alive and growing? Good new tunes, players who aren't afraid to sound like themselves.

What is in the near future? Tour, tour, tour.

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Jazz article: Take Five with Saxophonist Nick Stefanacci
Jazz article: Meet Tubist Jim Shearer
Take Five With...
Meet Tubist Jim Shearer
Jazz article: Take Five With Pianist Olivia Perez-Collellmir
Jazz article: Take Five With Bassist / Composer Jakob Dreyer

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.