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Daniel Lanois: The Blacker the Dub, the Sweeter the Juice
Source:
JamBase
By Dennis Cook Infusing music with soul is no easy task. And we're not talking some stock R&B thing, this is soul in the archetypal sense—the invisible, overarching embodiment of things beyond the world we can see and taste. Soul in music is what makes it more than ditties meant to shift units and pass the time. Soul in music is what makes it breathe and leap into our hearts and minds, and yes, bodies, to live anew in our ...
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Interview: Don Sebesky (Part 1)
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Arranger Don Sebesky is among only a handful of musicians today who toured and recorded with both Stan Kenton and Maynard Ferguson's big bands at the tail end of the '50s. Don also arranged Wes Montgomery's most popular recordings for Verve and A&M in the '60s, and in the '70s arranged and conducted many of CTI's best-known releases. Don's signature touch is orchestral with surging power but also highly supportive of the soloist. Back in the '60s, Don was as ...
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Latin Jazz Conversations: Samuel Quinto (Part 1)
Source:
The Latin Jazz Corner by Chip Boaz
Our early years put a lot of pieces in place for us artistically, but they never cement our musical future into place. The sights and sounds of our childhood certainly stay with us, building an unconscious foundation for our future endeavors. They become a comfort zone and the measuring stick for all the music that we encounter in our adult lives. While this major influence may lead to a career in the music of our youth, fate may very well ...
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Happy Birthday, Jimmy Smith!
Source:
Riffs on Jazz by John Anderson
Jimmy Smith is the acknowledged master of the Hammond B-3 organ. In fact, the B-3 is the only instrument in jazz on which you'd find so little disagreement about who was the greatest player. And Smith took up the instrument relatively late. Smith was born on this date in 1925 (although some members of his family claimed he was actually three years younger) in Norristown, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. Both his parents were pianists, and young Jimmy took up ...
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The Kindie Music Scene: Marketing Music to Kids
Source:
HypeBot
This is part two of my interview segment with Debbie Cavalier, who's a children's entertainer and vocalist for Debbie and Friends, a kindie music group. She's also Dean of Continuing Education and Chief Academic Officer at Berklee College of Music. Joining Cavalier in this interview is Beth Blenz-Clucas. She's the founder of Sugarmountain PR, a firm that specializes in raising awareness children's and family-friendly music. In this interview, Cavalier and Beth Blenz-Clucas talk about the challenges of marketing kindie music ...
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Ticketfly CEO: New Business Opportunities Emerged from Ticketmaster, Live Nation Merger
Source:
HypeBot
Recently, I spoke with Andrew Dreskin, who is CEO of Ticketfly, an independent ticketing and social marketing platform. In this interview, Dreskin talks about the talent bubble in the live music sector and how social media has changed the way that concerts are marketed. Hypebot: What new opportunities emerged from the Ticketmaster and Live Nation merger? Andrew Dreskin: Historically, Ticketmaster was like Switzerland: a neutral third party. Live Nation, however, competes with many venues and event promoters around the world, ...
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Kenton Declares Jazz is Finished
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Six months before Stan Kenton recorded Kenton Plays Wagner, the bandleader let jazz have it in an April 1964 Down Beat article. Like the January 1964 Granz interview that I posted yesterday, Kenton blamed jazz's woes on folk—a rather quaint scapegoat of choice among one-time jazz powers. Folk surged in popularity in the 1950s but never quite caught on with teens. Closely associated with the struggles of labor movements of the '30s, groups like The Weavers, the Kingston Trio and ...
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Notes from the Net: Still More Miles to Cover; Brubeck on the Mend; Plus News, Reviews, Interviews, and More
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
Here's the latest compilation of assorted news briefs and links related to jazz, improvisation, and creative music in St. Louis, including news of musicians originally from the Gateway City, recent visitors, and coming attractions, plus assorted other items of interest:
Starting with some Miles Davis news, here's a recent article by PopMatters.com's Will Layman that asks, “How much Miles Davis is enough?" Well, for us, not just one item, that's for sure—so here's a review of the deluxe 40th anniversary ...
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