Interview

From emerging talents to today's brightest stars, we interview musicians from around the globe.

Francesco Diodati: Making Room for the Unknown

by Angelo Leonardi
November 1, 2026

A central figure in Enrico Rava's groups for the past decade, Francesco Diodati is one of the most creative European guitarists of his generation. An eclectic artist, always open to new explorations, he has led two pivotal ensembles in contemporary Italian jazz, Neko and Yellow Squeeds. He has also been involved in countless projects, including those led by Bobby Previte, Matteo Bortone, Julien Pontvianne, Paolo Fresu, Marcello Allulli, Francesco Ponticelli. In this interview, Diodati discusses his eclectic collaborations, and in ...

Nicolas King: No bad Chords

by Sherry Rubel
October 30, 2026

Nicolas King was 17 when pianist and arranger Mike Renzi, whom Ella Fitzgerald called “the greatest accompanist in the world," told him over pizza in Rhode Island, “If you ever need someone to play for you, I'll play for you!" King called his bluff a month later, and for the next 14 years Renzi never left his side. Now 35, King pays tribute to his longtime partner with No Bad Chords (401 Records, 2026), recorded live at 54 Below on ...

Enrico Rava: The Secret Corners of a Master

by Marco Iacoboni
October 29, 2026

Meeting Enrico Rava means stepping into a world of stories, musicians and memories spanning decades of jazz history. We met on the occasion of the release of Corners, the ECM album he recorded with his band, Fearless Five, and a very special guest, Joe Lovano. With so many anecdotes, encounters and digressions to draw on, the challenge was not finding topics to discuss, but deciding where to begin and what to leave out. We settled onto a sofa. ...

Fred Lipsius: The Blood, Sweat & Tears Sax Voice Still Resounds

by R.J. DeLuke
October 28, 2026

There's an alto saxophone sound that a huge percentage of the Baby Boom generation heard and enjoyed in the 1960s and into the 1970s, even though many may not have been jazz fans. And younger folks who appreciate great music and understand the value of sounds generated in that era have also heard the clean, quicksilver saxophone approach on hit records that emanated from one man. The resounding horn is that of Fred Lipsius and the band was ...

David Six: Making Music Out Of This World

by Daniel Mège
October 27, 2026

In 2026, Austrian pianist and composer David Six released the last volume of his trilogy Dance With The Ghosts III (Sessionwork Records, 2026), a good opportunity to discover this musician who defies classification. From jazz to classical, contemporary, Indian and Middle Eastern music; from improvisation to composition and from music to dance and light; from the geometry of Platonic solids to the lives of soils, trees and volcanoes, from his family to refugee camps, from human rights to the duties ...

Scott Kinsey: Thought Distortions and the Art of the Left Turn

by Mike Jacobs
October 22, 2026

Keyboardist Scott Kinsey's multi-decade musical odyssey reads a bit like a novella in spots: The Berklee student who landed the keyboard chair in fusion stalwarts Tribal Tech before graduating, cementing the band's definitive lineup while exerting a major influence on its musical direction. The ardent admirer of Weather Report founder Joe Zawinul who went from fan to friend and mentee, and eventually became one of the most dedicated interpreters of Zawinul's musical legacy. The ...

Bill Bruford And Pete Roth: A One-Of-A-Kind Juxtaposition

by Mike Jacobs
October 19, 2026

When a drumming legend in the rock or jazz community retires, it's fairly big news. Such was the case in 2009 when Bill Bruford announced he was hanging up his sticks. Much celebrated for his integral and stylized drum contributions to progressive rock bands such as Yes, King Crimson, U.K., and Genesis, as well as for leading his own jazz/rock and jazz ensembles, Bruford and Earthworks, Bruford seemed to have brought an impressive 41-year career to something of ...

Miles Okazaki's Monkathon: The Complete Thelonious Monk–Live

by Keith Flint
October 10, 2026

Guitarist Miles Okazaki, originally from Port Townsend, Washington, has become an integral figure in New York's creative music scene. Over the course of his career, he has toured and recorded with such artists as Kenny Barron, John Zorn, Steve Coleman, Miguel Zenón, Henry Threadgill, Patricia Brennan, Dan Weiss, Matt Mitchell, Mary Halvorson, and Darcy James Argue. His current projects include the trio Trickster and a large-scale ensemble, which released Boomtown (Pi Recordings) in June.On October 10, 2026, filmmaker ...

Boney James: A Simple Man And A Lifetime Study

by Sherry Rubel
October 2, 2026

Thirty-five years and twenty albums into his career, saxophonist Boney James is still thinking about melody, sound and how to get better at his instrument. On A Simple Man (Concord Jazz, 2026), he draws on the R&B and soul music that shaped him while continuing to explore the jazz vocabulary that has long been part of his musical life. In this conversation, James discusses the labels that have followed him throughout his career, the singers and saxophonists who ...

A Language of His Own: Bill Frisell on Dave Holland

by Ludovico Granvassu
October 1, 2026

As part of our Celebration of Dave Holland, we invited Bill Frisell to share a few thoughts about a musician who has been an important part of his musical world for decades. Bill had rather a lot to say, and it seemed a shame to stop at a few thoughts. So, rather than squeezing Bill's reflections into the format of the other contributions to this tribute, we decided to let the conversation unfold. All About Jazz: ...