Home » Jazz News

Interview News

Timely announcements covering new album releases, tours, concert series, special events, job postings, crowdfunding campaigns and more. You can find more news by searching our website, viewing our news stream, seeing what's trending or reading our blog posts. Subscribe to our news RSS feed and/or embed AAJ news content on your website or blog. Learn about our news service here. Submit news here.

Interview

Interview: Ches Smith

Interview: Ches Smith

Source: Ars Nova Workshop

Since finishing his studies at the prestigious Mills College, percussionist Ches Smith has worked across jazz, rock, and experimental categories, proving to be a versatile artist ready for any challenge. Over the years he has worked with Xiu Xiu, John Zorn, Wadada Leo Smith, John Tchicai, Marc Ribot, Fred Frith, Tim Berne, Terry Riley, and many others. He has appeared on over 30 recordings, the most recent being Finally Out Of My Hands with his These Arches ensemble featuring Mary ...

Interview

Jambase Questionnaire: Soulive

Jambase Questionnaire: Soulive

Source: JamBase

Welcome back to JamBase's baker's dozen to the bright lights of the music world. Last time we heard from Rubblebucket. Jazz has been mulling over The Beatles since the Fab Four first started cranking out hits. But unlike other forms of pop opportunism in the genre, The Beatles provided sexy grist for robust jazz musicians, providing the launching pad for some of the most enjoyable excursions ever from George Benson, Booker T & The MGs, Jimmy Smith and others. Today, ...

Interview

Interview: Phil Ramone (Part 4)

Interview: Phil Ramone (Part 4)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

In 1967, Phil Ramone began engineering a string of Dionne Warwick's hits by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. If Bacharach and David were America's equivalent of Lennon and McCartney (perhaps even bigger by some accounts), then Phil was akin to George Martin. But unlike the Beatles, there was no overdubbing. Instead, everything was recorded at once, and Phil had to deal with immediacy and nuance. Bacharach's music was complex, requiring careful miking to capture not only the dramatic string and ...

Interview

Latin Jazz Conversations: Jovino Santos Neto (Part 2)

Latin Jazz Conversations: Jovino Santos Neto (Part 2)

Source: The Latin Jazz Corner by Chip Boaz

Whether similarities are readily apparent on the surface, musical styles share common roots from around the world. We hear an end product that has reached our ears after many different connections with established traditions. We tend to forget that these finely shaped musical products developed through a number of interactions, mostly because we don't obviously see or hear it. Musicians travel though, and they come into contact with countless other artists throughout their lives. Each encounter leaves a mark upon ...

Interview

Lorraine Gordon on Chucho Valdes

Lorraine Gordon on Chucho Valdes

Source: Voll-Damm Festival Internacional De Jazz De Barcelona

We asked Lorraine Gordon, owner of New York's legendary Village Vanguard, who has presented Chucho Valdés on many occasions, to recommend his highly anticipated concert in Barcelona (with the Afro-Cuban Messengers) on November 17th at the historic Palau de la Música. Here is her answer. On November 1st, in New York City, the great Chucho Valdés made an appearance at the Village Vanguard. Chucho played to two packed houses -at 9 p.m and 11p.m.- and made the new Steinway piano ...

Interview

Interview: Phil Ramone (Part 3)

Interview: Phil Ramone (Part 3)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Recording engineer and producer Phil Ramone had three things going for him when he set up A&R Recording in 1959. First, he was a trained classical musician who could hear what most of his peers could not. Second, he was passionate about making records that sounded more vivid and dynamic than everything else on the market. And third, he was fortunate to have come in contact with the right people at just the right time—notably Atlantic's recording engineer Tom Dowd ...

Interview

Latin Jazz Conversations: Jovino Santos Neto (Part 1)

Latin Jazz Conversations: Jovino Santos Neto (Part 1)

Source: The Latin Jazz Corner by Chip Boaz

For many modern musicians, jazz is not the first port of entry—they actually travel through several different styles before settling into jazz. A number of musicians start instrumental studies firmly rooted in classical music, building technical and artistry skills. While classical music may seem like a totally different world than jazz, they both occupy the art music space, making it a small leap from classical to jazz. Even more artists get their musical interests kickstarted through rock and pop, following ...

Interview

Cool, Hip and Funny

Cool, Hip and Funny

Source: Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes

I interviewed singer-guitarist John Pizzarelli for a profile that will be in the December issue of Hot House in conjunction with a mid-month (December 14 to 18) run with his quartet at Birdland in Manhattan. As is usually the case with these encounters, John had far more to say than space allows in the magazine. I'll add a link when the piece is published in the online edition. Here's one such JP gem, part of his discussion about the fun ...


Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletters highlight our top stories, top album reviews, website news, free songs, radio & podcast shows, news, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.