Articles by Maxwell Chandler
Chico Hamilton: The Master
by Maxwell Chandler
This interview first appeared at All About Jazz in October 2007. An educator, performer, film score composer/actor, drummer and bandleader, National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master (2004) and Kennedy Center Living Jazz Master Chico Hamilton is still going strong. His always compelling music defies genre and manages to reach new audiences through works like the newly restored Original Ellington Suite (Blue Note, 2000) and Hamiltonia. (Joyous Shout!, 2007). Hamilton took some time out of his busy schedule ...
Continue ReadingMika Pohjola: The Ever Search
by Maxwell Chandler
From studying music theory with his father to attending Vantaa Music Institute and the Royal College of Music, Mika Pohjola's life has been entwined with both music and the pursuit of knowledge. His work mirrors his desire to journey ever outward, searching for ways to incorporate the various influences and inspirations which have helped him create an oeuvre which defies easy categorization.Early Classical Life All About Jazz: You initially studied piano and music theory with your father, then ...
Continue ReadingFred Hersch: No Limits
by Maxwell Chandler
From the start of his career as a sideman in the 1970s for such jazz luminaries as Joe Henderson, Art Farmer and Stan Getz to his own ensembles and solo projects, there has always been a great diversity and intensity to Fred Hersch's art. Having won a Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship for composition (2003) and having been the first pianist in The Village Vanguard's 70 year history to do a week's solo residency, Hersch has managed to be both a musician's ...
Continue ReadingSteve Kuhn: Shimmering Beauty
by Maxwell Chandler
This interview was originally published on All About Jazz on March 2, 2009. Whether it is in his trio, collaborating with vocalists or accompanying an orchestra, pianist Steve Kuhn has always managed to effortlessly defy and combine genres. Whether it is an older recording or one of his newer albums, an inherent ability to create melodic-based beauty makes his playing and compositions instantly identifiable. Studies All About Jazz: In your early years you studied under Madame ...
Continue ReadingMarian McPartland: Living Through the History
by Maxwell Chandler
Marian McPartland, whose personal artistic history is deeply entwined with that of jazz, continues writing, touring and educating. Following her muse, she has encountered a who's who of jazz while leaving her own indelible mark on the music. Her radio program, Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz, is the longest running show on National Public Radio, and she continues to tape new episodes. At the age of 91 she's still going strong with Piano Jazz, as well as periodic performances ...
Continue ReadingClifton Anderson: Legacy
by Maxwell Chandler
Clifton Anderson has been on a lifelong journey of artistic evolution. From his start as a child surrounded by a musical family, to formal education mixed with the practical experience of live gigs, Clifton's odyssey is ever-unfolding. Whether playing as a long-standing member of his uncle Sonny Rollins' band, helping to run the Doxy label or leading sessions with his own band, Clifton's life is always happily connected to music. Early Years And Inspirations All About Jazz: With ...
Continue ReadingRoy Nathanson: Auditory Circus
by Maxwell Chandler
Saxophonist Roy Nathanson was in one of the earliest versions of The Lounge Lizards, which he left to found The Jazz Passengers, a group that slowly morphed into his new ensemble, Sotto Voce. In between he also co-led a duo with keyboardist and composer, Anthony Coleman and released, among others, the ground-breaking album I Could've Been a Drum (Tzadik, 1997).As an independent composer he also scored the work of monologue artist, David Cole. He also scored music for ...
Continue ReadingSathima Bea Benjamin: Song Without End
by Maxwell Chandler
Sathima Bea Benjamin's amazing life reads like the plot to movie. She took time out of her busy schedule to recollect her life's journey from her childhood in pre-apartheid South Africa singing during movie house intermissions to self-imposed exile in Europe where she and pianist composer husband Dollar Brand (Abdullah Ibrahim) were discovered by Duke Ellington. Despite witnessing and being part of not just her country's history, but her chosen art's as well, this singer remains, to the casual listener ...
Continue ReadingTerry Plumeri: Singing Strings
by Maxwell Chandler
Bassist Terry Plumeri wears several hats and wears them well. He has scored films, written his own symphonic tone poems, conducted symphonic orchestras all over the world and worked with some of the top names in jazz.Conducting and Tchaikovsky All About Jazz: You have an affiliation of over a decade as a conductor of the Moscow Philharmonic. How did this partnership initially come about?Terry Plumeri: My first trip to Russia came about because of being hired ...
Continue ReadingJames Spaulding: An Emotion Of Notes
by Maxwell Chandler
James Spaulding's pedigree is an impressive one. He has been called upon to add his touch on both alto saxophone and flute for countless classic 1960s Blue Note albums. Now, as a leader and owner of the Speetones label he continues to add to his rich legacy.AAJ contributor Maxwell Chandler spoke with Spaulding about his long and distinguished career, his work on some of the classic Blue Note releases of the 1960s, playing with Max Roach, Sun Ra ...
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