Articles by Jason Crane
The Jazz Session: Oh, The Places You'll Go!
by Jason Crane
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 ...
read moreThe Respect Sextet at Le Poisson Rouge
by Jason Crane
The Respect Sextet Le Poisson Rouge New York City May 24, 2009
After nearly a decade together, the members of The Respect Sextet have created an environment of trust and musical courage that allows them to explore the many facets of improvised music. They displayed this fearlessness--and a playful love of experimentation--to a standing-room-only crowd at Le Poisson Rouge in New York's Greenwich Village on May 24.
The Respect Sextet consists of ...
read moreJo Lawry: Singing Sideman
by Jason Crane
Australian vocalist Jo Lawry is quickly establishing herself among the top tier of current jazz vocalists. And she's doing it--at least some of the time--by being a sideman. Lawry hails from Adelaide, Australia. She's been in the U.S. for several years now pursuing advanced degrees in jazz, but she hasn't spent all her time studying. She's also managed to collect an impressive list of resume credits as a performer, including performing and recording with Kate McGarry, Fred Hersch, ...
read moreDavid Sanborn: Sound and Silence
by Jason Crane
Saxophonist David Sanborn is one of the most recognizable instrumentalists in modern music. From his many television appearances--on his own show, Night Music, and with David Letterman's band--to his popular records and tours, Sanborn is among the few names in jazz that non-jazzheads can recognize.
In 2008, Sanborn released Here & Gone (Decca, 2008), an album that pays tribute to saxophonist Hank Crawford, who was a key part of the Ray Charles band through many of its greatest ...
read moreFly: Complete Collaboration
by Jason Crane
The Fly trio has just released its second CD--and its first for ECM--Sky & Country (2009). Bassist Larry Grenadier, drummer Jeff Ballard and saxophonist Mark Turner redefine the saxophone trio by making it an entirely democratic group, with compositional contributions from all three of its members.
The trio approaches performance with an equally egalitarian philosophy that largely eschews conventional instrumental roles as well. Melody is just as likely to be heard coming from Ballard as it ...
read moreSatoko Fujii: Four And More
by Jason Crane
For pianist Satoko Fujii, 50 is the new 20.
That refers to her age, although you could almost believe it refers to the number of albums she's released in 2008 alone. Fujii appears on four records this year: a trio session called Trace A River (Libra, 2008); a quartet session with her band ma-do called Heat Wave (Not Two, 2008); a session with a completely different trio called Cloudy Then Sunny (Libra, 2008); and an album with the ...
read moreKenny Garrett: Back To The Future
by Jason Crane
Detroit's Kenny Garrett is a restless man. Before he'd even released his 2006 Nonesuch album Beyond The Wall, he'd already moved on to a different band with a completely different repertoire. And it's always been like that for Garrett, who is constantly searching for new territory to mine and new corners of the world--both geographical and musical--to explore. For his album Sketches of MD (Mack Avenue, 2008), Garrett is invoking the spirit of his former boss, trumpeter Miles ...
read moreDonny McCaslin: Trio Toolbox
by Jason Crane
Saxophonist and composer Donny McCaslin won the 2008 Down Beat Rising Star Award, which is both gratifying and hilarious, considering that he's been on the scene for nearly 20 years. In recent years, though, McCaslin has appeared in a number of high-profile settings, including the Maria Schneider Orchestra (for which he received a Grammy nomination) and with trumpeter Dave Douglas' Quintet.
On Recommended Tools (Greenleaf Music, 2008), McCaslin tackles one of the hallmarks of a saxophonist's ...
read more2008 Tanglewood Jazz Festival
by Jason Crane
Tanglewood Jazz Festival Lenox, Massachusetts August 29-31, 2008
Tanglewood, in Lenox, Massachusetts, is the summer home of the Boston Symphony, and it's also home to events like an annual James Taylor concert, an annual recording of A Prairie Home Companion, and the annual Tanglewood Jazz Festival, which ran this year from August 29-31.
Lenox has a proud history where jazz is concerned. From 1957-1960, it was home to the Lenox School of Jazz, a pioneering ...
read moreDonny McCaslin: Trio Toolbox
by Jason Crane
On the new episode of The Jazz Session, Jason Crane interviews saxophonist Donny McCaslin about his new record, Recommended Tools (Greenleaf Music, 2008). The new album is McCaslin's statement in the saxophone trio format, joined by two of New York's finest--bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Johnathan Blake. McCaslin shines on this album of original compositions, plus Billy Strayhorn's “Isfahan."Listen ...
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