Catching Up With
Less formal than our standard interviews with a focus on an artist's recent recording project or tour.
Kit Downes: The Art Of Sonic Curiosity
by Marco Iacoboni
Some use the piano to tell stories, and some use the pipe organ to create entire universes. Then there's Kit Downes, who does both, with a sensitivity and talent that have made him one of the most interesting and sought-after names on the European scene. Winner of the prestigious BBC Jazz Award, nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, and acclaimed for his revolutionary trilogy of solo organ albums on (ECM Records), Downes has redefined the role of the pipe organ ...
Continue ReadingEsperanza Spalding’s Prismid Sanctuary
by Sage Bava
Esperanza Spalding, has long been known for creating music with purpose, work that not only pushes the boundaries of jazz but also responds to deeper cultural and ecological needs. That same spirit now infuses her work with Prismid Sanctuary, the arts and ecology hub she co-directs in Portland, Oregon. Prismid is being rebuilt as a community-driven space where artists, culture-bearers and ecological practitioners can come together in a sustainable, reciprocal relationship with the land. True to her love ...
Continue ReadingChuck Mangione: Friend For Lovers
by Chris M. Slawecki
This article first appeared on All About Jazz in September 2000. Chuck Mangione is best known as the trumpet player and composer of that ubiquitous tune, which taught millions worldwide that music “Feels So Good." But Chuck Mangione boasts serious Jazz chops: Before flying solo, he cut his teeth in the Woody Herman and Maynard Ferguson big bands and in Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, where he assumed the trumpet chair previously occupied by Clifford ...
Continue ReadingChuck Mangione: Back On Track
by Michael Ricci
This article first appeared on All About Jazz in June 1999... without embedded videos. For three decades, Chuck Mangione's infectious energy, unbridled enthusiasm, and pure joy have defined his deep passion for music. Born and raised in Rochester, New York, he first garnered attention playing with the Jazz Brothers alongside his older brother, Gap. Chuck later left home to join Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, stepping into the trumpet chair once held by Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan, ...
Continue ReadingChad Eby: A Closer Look at His Life, Work, and Tribute to a Legend
by La-Faithia White
Saxophonist Chad Eby has been a vital presence in the North Carolina jazz scene. Since 2006, he has served as Associate Professor in the Miles Davis Jazz Studies program at the university of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he plays a key role in shaping the next generation of jazz musicians. In addition to his work as an educator, Eby continues to perform and record, often collaborating with top-tier talent across the region. In recent years, he has led Chad ...
Continue ReadingAl Foster: Love, Peace and Jazz!
by Terrell Kent Holmes
This article was first published on All About Jazz on May 3, 2009. Drumming great Al Foster has spent nearly a half-century playing with some of the greatest musicians, and on some of the most memorable albums, in jazz history, from Miles Davis' On The Corner and Agharta to Joe Henderson's State of the Tenor and the collaborative group Scolohofo (with John Scofield, Joe Lovano and Dave Holland). Today Foster records and tours the world with his own ...
Continue ReadingStefan Hegerat's Bet Against Algorithmic Music
by Lawrence Peryer
Stefan Hegerat reached his breaking point with Spotify. Last year, the Toronto drummer and composer made a decision that's becoming more common among independent musicians: he began the process of removing his music from the streaming giant. “I recently read Liz Pelly's book about the evolution of Spotify and that really sealed the deal for me," Hegerat says, referring to the journalist's critique Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist (Simon & ...
Continue ReadingWorks—The Brooklyn Trio Finding Freedom in Space
by Lawrence Peryer
"I want to play music with these guys right now!" pianist Daniel Kelly exclaims midway through discussing Scouring for the Elements (Connection Works Records, 2024), the album from Brooklyn trio Works. Works is Kelly, flutist Michel Gentile, and drummer Rob Garcia and Scouring for the Elements is only their second recording in seventeen years. In that time, they have been plenty busy, Works is a vibrant working outfit, with over 250 concerts through their nonprofit Connection Works, collaborations ...
Continue ReadingPrepared: The Munich Trio Making Minimalism Move
by Lawrence Peryer
Munich's experimental music scene has yielded Prepared, a trio that merges chamber music, minimalism and dance music through a distinct lineup of prepared piano, bass clarinet and drums. The group brings together three established musicians, Chris Gall, Florian Riedl, and Christoph Holzhauser, whose individual paths through Argentinian tango, folk music, and German hip-hop intersect in musically exciting ways. The band emerged from Munich's tight-knit music community. “We have known each other from the Munich music scene and have ...
Continue ReadingThe Creative Convergence Of R*Time And Doug Hammond
by Lawrence Peryer
A metal sculpture, a borrowed ladder, and Doug Hammond's unexpected presence transformed a routine tour stop into the genesis of It's Now: R*Time Plays Doug Hammond (ESP-Disk, 2024). During R*Time's performance at a gallery in Linz, Austria, drummer Igal Foni spotted a metal sculpture he wanted to incorporate. When the venue declined permission, he found a ladder in the basement. That improvised percussion choice caught the attention of Hammond, who typically makes only brief appearances at local shows.
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