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Interview

Latin Jazz Conversations: Paquito D'Rivera (Part 1)

Source: The Latin Jazz Corner by Chip Boaz
January 6, 2011

True musical visionaries don't appear out of the blue; they are the result of a life immersed in music from every angle. From a very young age, these artists have access to a wide variety of music and musicians, checking out all the possibilities of a musical life. They spend time in the company of important artistic thinkers and bring those thoughts into their music. Influential mentors guide these artists through proper technique, major musical works, and vast musicality. Most ...

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Interview

An Interview with Thumbplay Music Ceo Evan Schwartz on Designing a Great Music Service

Source: HypeBot
January 5, 2011

This is part two of my interview with Evan Schwartz, who is the CEO and co-Founder of Thumbplay Music. In this segment, Schwartz talks about balancing passive consumption with active engagement in the fan musical experience, as well as, how elements of gaming can be incorporated into a streaming music service. Hypebot: As we empower passive music listening, how do we keep fans actively engaged with artists? Evan Schwartz: This is something we think about all of the time. We ...

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Interview

Interview | Andrew D'Angelo

Source: Ars Nova Workshop
January 5, 2011

Ars Nova Workshop begins a New Year of music this Friday night with a concert by AGOGIC, who will be kicking off a three-date tour in Philadelphia before heading to New York and Chicago. This new project led by long-time collaborators Andrew D’Angelo and Cuong Vu features two emerging musicians from Seattle’s thriving jazz scene, drummer Evan Woodle and bassist Luke Bergman. ANW caught up with D’Angelo to talk about this new ensemble, Seattle’s evolving jazz scene, and his upcoming ...

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Interview

Alvino Rey: Studio Band, 1946

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
January 5, 2011

It's tough to get a fix on Alvino Rey. Many people who are remotely familiar with the big bands of the 1940s think of the steel-guitar playing Rey as a novelty act. He wasn't. Given the enormous size of his orchestras, many assume Rey led a Mickey Mouse band. He didn't. His name wasn't even Alvino Rey—it was Al McBurney. He had changed it in 1929 to catch the rumba craze. He even disliked Hawaiian music—despite his steel guitar's “Island" ...

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Interview

An Interview with Thumbplay Music CEO Evan Schwartz on Music Streaming and Piracy

Source: HypeBot
January 4, 2011

Recently, I spoke with Evan Schwartz, the CEO and co-Founder of Thumbplay Music. In this interview, Schwartz talks about the challenge of raising awareness for streaming services and their radio feature that will be launched in the new year. Hypebot: Given the results of your study, do you think compelling music services curve music piracy? Evan Schwartz: Yes. Music piracy is not going to go away, but we believe there is a large audience who can be moved to a ...

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Interview

Singer Jane Monheit Interviewed at All About Jazz

Source: John Kelman
January 4, 2011

Jane Monheit's voice is not a reflection of somebody else's talent: it is all on her. Home (Emarcy, 2010) is her new ticket to the legacy of the Great American Songbook, and her journey has been quite spectacular. Produced for the first time in its entirely by the Long Island-raised singer, the album also features guests including violinist Mark O'Connor), guitarist/vocalist John Pizzarelli, singer Peter Eldridge, trumpeter Joe Magnarelli and guitarist Frank Vignola, perfectly assembled in a project where Monheit's ...

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Interview

Bill Taylor Remembered Thomas "Fats" Waller

Source: Daniel Kassell
January 3, 2011

By Daniel Kassell Billy Taylor was a generous man. His enthusiasm relating his memories of seeing Fats and how that influenced his piano style was contagious. To me “Billy was it! He cut it, man!" I offer this in tribute to our greatest jazz media personality. At the International Association of Jazz Educators Convention publicist Arnold Jay Smith arranged a private interview with pianist educator Billy Taylor on January 24, 2004: Dan Kassell: Well I want to thank you in ...

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Interview

Trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer Interviewed at All About Jazz

Source: John Kelman
January 3, 2011

Trumpeter/composer Nils Petter Molvær is one of the main exponents of Nordic Jazz—a geographic ramification that has acquired, especially during the last decade, the status of an independent genre. He has created his own style by combining traditional instrumental elements with electronic sound processing: a fusion characterized by pregnant rhythmical patterns and a meditative mood. Molvær performed recently at the 2010 Enjoy Jazz Festival in Mannheim, Germany, with Food—Thomas Strønen and Iain Ballamy—also featuring Christian Fennesz, and is preparing to ...

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