Interview News

Don't Forget Eddie Lang, Please!

Source: Jazz Lives by Michael Steinman
October 26, 2010

Our '20s guitar man South Philadelphia's Eddie Lang, the “Father of Jazz Guitar" who died in 1933, lives again at Chris' Jazz Cafe. By Dan DeLuca Inquirer Music Critic From Django Reinhardt to Jimi Hendrix, the names that commonly appear on argument-starting lists of the greatest and most influential guitarists of the 20th century are familiar. But there's one flat-picking virtuoso from South Philadelphia typically left out of the conversation, whose music has receded into obscurity despite a ...

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In Studio with Manhattan Transfer

Source: Groove Notes
October 23, 2010

When The Manhattan Transfer (Tim Hauser, Cheryl Bentyne, Alan Paul, Janis Siegal) came into the KPLU/Jazz24 performance studio, they had literally just gotten off an airplane. A little jet-lagged but ready to sing, they kicked of the session with their version of Moten Swing.

When the song was over, interviewer Abe Beeson asked, “Is it that easy...once a song starts...to get happy?" Their answer, as you'll hear, was 'yes.' For nearly 40 years their love of music has kept The ...

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Saxphonist Jason Robinson Interviewed at All About Jazz...and More!

Source: Braithwaite & Katz Communications
October 25, 2010

Saxophonist Jason Robinson is alert and ready to work his place in the scheme of things, from jazz itself and music at large, to the existential particulars of philosophy. A supple technician with a penchant for abstract thought, he splices together different strains of theory and logic with combinatory takes on period, school and style. A deeply ingrained reverence and sense for jazz history comes out in his carefully calibrated, often composed body of multivalent, multicolored music. Equally informed by ...

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Bassist Linda Oh Interviewed at All About Jazz

Source: Fully Altered Media
October 26, 2010

In an arena that is overwhelmingly dominated by her male counterparts, bassist Linda May-Han Oh is going to be a force with which to be reckoned. Her auspicious self-produced debut, Entry (2009), was lauded by critics, and was one of pianist Vijay Iyer's top picks for 2009. Her technical know-how is solidified by visceral, emotive and gutsy performance. Oh walks softly and lets her double-bass do the boasting, and does so impressively. With the buzz slowly getting out about her ...

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Rudresh Mahanthappa and Bunky Green Lock Horns at the Jazz Standard

Source: All About Jazz @ Spinner
October 23, 2010

One of the great jazz stories of 2009 and 2010 has been the partnership between alto saxophonists Rudresh Mahanthappa and Bunky Green. The career of Mahanthappa, a Guggenheim Fellow and Downbeat Rising Star, has taken off, thanks to some strong post-Coltrane style playing of his own and his association with Vijay Iyer and other new bright lights on the jazz scene. Green is a different animal altogether—now 75, the saxophonist had a brief stint with Charles Mingus and played around ...

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Interview: Michael Formanek

Source: Ars Nova Workshop
October 23, 2010

Bassist and composer Michael Formanek has worked with many leading North American and European jazz musicians over the span of his 35 year career, including Stan Getz, Marty Ehrlich, Evan Parker, Dave Burrell, and several ensembles with Tim Berne. His new quartet with altoist Berne, pianist Craig Taborn and drummer Gerald Cleaver premiered at The Stone in 2008 and just released their debut record, The Rub and Spare Change, on ECM. They’ll be playing Philadelphia for the first time on ...

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An Unlikely Pairing? Think Again... the Rudresh and Bunky Show

Source: The Independent Ear by Willard Jenkins
October 23, 2010

One of the most potent new recordings released this fall, and one bound to receive top ten critic's considerations at year's end, is Apex, a partnership between kindred alto saxophone spirits Rudresh Mahanthappa and Bunky Green on the PI Recordings label. In addition to the cross-generational pairing of these two penetratingly original alto saxophonists, they are joined by a robust cast of fellow travelers that includes Jason Moran on piano, Francois Moutin on piano, and drummers Jack DeJohnette and Damion ...

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Frank O'Hara on Billie Holiday

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
October 23, 2010

If you're unfamiliar with Frank O'Hara, you're in for a treat. O'Hara was part of the New York School of poetry that emerged in the 1950s. What made this school singular is how its poets used words. Rather than stick rigidly to traditional form and meter, they expressed themselves freely and often journalistically. They also prized how words sounded smashed together and adored the feeling of abstraction. What's more, the school's poets came together informally with painters, dancers, jazz musicians ...

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