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Interview

An Appreciation of Billy Taylor, Jazz Renaissance Man

Source: Greg Thomas
January 2, 2011

Dr. Billy Taylor exited the stage of life on Dec. 28, but his legacy as a jazz Renaissance man will most certainly live on. He was perhaps the foremost jazz educator of the past 50 years, sharing the gospel of jazz not only in books and classrooms, but also with millions of people as a radio and television broadcaster and worldwide ambassador of the music. The Grammy Award winner also founded several institutions dedicated to the preservation and continuation of ...

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Interview

Paois Records: The Little Label That Could

Source: Sheryl Lynn Thomas
January 1, 2011

What do a radio promoter in Livingston, Texas, an entertainment lawyer in Berkeley, California, a publicist in Lincoln, Massachusetts, a sales rep who is a grandfather, and an operations & marketing director balancing her laptop in one hand and young child in the other have in common? They are all on the team of San Francisco-based Patois Records strategizing a campaign around the upcoming CD release and recent Grammy nomination of label head and Latin Jazz trombonist Wayne Wallace. Wallace, ...

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Interview

Saxophonist David Liebman, Named NEA Jazz Master, Pays Homage to Trane, Ornette

Source: All About Jazz @ Spinner
December 30, 2010

David Liebman got his start in the early '70s as a sideman on saxophone for such esteemed leaders as John McLaughlin, Elvin Jones and Miles Davis. Like so many others, he was initially inspired by John Coltrane, which is one of the reasons Liebman pursued and is best known for his soprano sax work, creating a nimble, pliable and surprisingly muscular sound on the instrument. Always a prolific leader who does a wide variety of projects, Liebman has released 40 ...

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Interview

Vince Guaraldi Is More Than "A Charlie Brown Christmas"

Source: All About Jazz @ Spinner
December 26, 2010

Every year, I bust out the soundtrack to 'A Charlie Brown Christmas,' and it gets me in the holiday spirit. I've done different stories about the anniversary of the album's release and I've even written some about others like David Benoit and George Winston tackling Vince Guaraldi's work. But instead of just celebrating this Christmas and jazz classic once again, I think that its time to look a little deeper into the genius of Vince Guaraldi. ...

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Interview

The New Orleans Party Asylum give Santa Claus a taste of swinging Dixieland jazz

Source: Lauren Rogers
December 24, 2010

The New Orleans Party Asylum have unveiled their own brand of lunacy on Yuletide Aphrodisiac, a collection of Christmas covers made over in the style of Dixieland jazz. Featuring vocalist/pianist Dave Kosmyna, clarinetist/saxophonist Ray Heitger, drummer Tad Dickerson, and bassist Riley Kloos, the New Orleans Party Asylum formed in 2009 but its roster of top-shelf jazz musicians have been together for 15 years in different incarnations. But who exactly are the New Orleans Party Asylum? And why have a skeleton ...

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Interview

Railroad Earth: Take My Hand

Source: JamBase
December 24, 2010

By : Dennis Cook “Tell me have you heard the story going down the line? Say the name Railroad Earth and instantly images of steam engines, high crested mountains and open plains spring to mind. There's a rooted romance to this band, a sonic cousin to Terrence Mallick's Days of Heaven, the lingering Wild West imagination, and traveling spirits up to their eyeballs in living, dreaming aloud and game to hit the road with just a carefully packed bindle and ...

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Interview

Author Anil Prasad Interviewed at All About Jazz

Source: John Kelman
December 28, 2010

He may not be a household name and you likely won't hear him mentioned in music journalism classes alongside Robert Christgau, Lester Bangs and Anthony DeCurtis. But for those familiar with his work, Anil Prasad is considered among the most knowledgeable, provocative and forward-thinking music journalists in the world today. In 1994, Prasad was dissatisfied with the lack-of-depth and diversity found in the conventional music journalism landscape and stuck out on his own to create Innerviews website, one of the ...

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Interview

Singer Kellylee Evans Interviewed at All About Jazz

Source: Fully Altered Media
December 27, 2010

In a sense, singer Kellylee Evans was fast-tracked into her career in music, deciding relatively late in her still-young life that she would plunge into show business waters; waters that can sometimes be murky and beset with storms. When the Toronto, Canada-area woman made a decision to drop pursuit of a master's degree to pursue singing—a decision made after a near-death experience—it wasn't long before she was working on her first recording, an album created with the aid of noted ...

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