Interview News

Drummer Muhammed Ali Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
July 7, 2010

Though not as well known as his brother, drummer Rashied Ali (1935-2009), Muhammad Ali spent the 1970s as one of the busiest drummers in free jazz, primarily working in a cooperative Paris-based quartet with saxophonist Frank Wright, pianist Bobby Few and bassist Alan Silva, and known as the Center of the World Quartet. Born in Philadelphia in 1936 as Raymond Patterson, Ali has worked with many of the preeminent names in the jazz avant-garde, including saxophonists John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, ...

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Farewell, Fred

Source: Master of a Small House
July 7, 2010

A previous post harboring hope now has as a sobering finality to it... Fred Anderson is gone. Details are widely available regarding the particulars of his passing so I won't dwell on them here. Despite best laid plans, I wasn't able to immerse myself in Fred's recorded work to the degree that I had planned. That disparity between intent and outcome got me thinking about cause and effect relationships and more specifically the death of a musician signaling a flurry ...

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OP and Queen Elizabeth

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
July 7, 2010

Here's a story from the BBC:

The Queen has unveiled a life-size bronze statue of Canadian jazz pianist Oscar Peterson during the latest stage of her visit to the country.She was joined by the musician's family for the ceremony at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.

During his life, Peterson recorded with jazz greats like Ella Fitzgerald and Charlie Parker. He played for the Queen a few years before his death in ...

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Tenors of the Times (Part One): June 27, 2010

Source: Jazz Lives by Michael Steinman
July 7, 2010

The EarRegulars were an all-reed edition (no brass need apply for that one Sunday) last week, June 27, 2010: Greg Cohen, bass; James Chirillo, guitar; Harry Allen and Scott Robinson, tenor saxophones. There were no JATP antics that night; rather, the four musical lines reminded me greatly of beautiful vines, creating a tapestry of lovely sounds and responses.

Here are three selections from the first set.

One is a haunting TOO LATE NOW, which could never be with these players: ...

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Legendary Pianist Ahmad Jamal Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
July 6, 2010

Ahmad Jamal, possibly the most influential of living jazz pianists, turned 80 years young on July 2, 2010. It is however, business as usual and instead of celebrating at home in his slippers, Jamal was wowing an audience at the Marciac Jazz festival in France.

Jamal is touring now more than ever before, and is in demand all over the world. Judging by his 2010 touring schedule, he does his best to oblige, with concerts in Australia, Brazil, and Canada, ...

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Sketches from Spain

Source: The Ring Modulator by Adrian Stevenson
July 4, 2010

Interview with Mike Walker in Andalucia, Spain. 22nd June 2010The new Manchester Jazz Festival website includes a fifteen minute interview with Mike Walker that I managed to get while I was on Mike's advanced Jazz Guitar Master Class Retreat in Andalucia, Spain recently. I thought I'd include it here as well.Mike talks about how the Simcock Walker Swallow Nussbaum tour came about, and how he went about writing material for this group of musicians, as well ...

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Live Sampler Jan Bang Interviewed at AAJ...And More!

Source: All About Jazz
July 5, 2010

When it comes to organically integrating modern technology into music, few countries are innovating to the degree of Norway, and at the epicenter of that country's forward-thinking approach to melding improvisation with jazz and Norwegian traditionalism--not to mention contemporary classicism, pop, ambient and more; truly any and all musical markers--is producer/remixer Jan Bang, who has just released his first album as a leader, ....and poppies from Kandahar (SamadhiSound, 2010).

Bang, from his home base in Kristiansand at the south tip ...

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George Wein on the Rebel Festival

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
July 3, 2010

Most people are unaware that in 1960, Newport, R.I., hosted not one but two jazz festivals. There was the big one that had been produced by George Wein since 1954. And there was a smaller, alternative festival put on by Charles Mingus. But after the riot of July 2, 1960, the smaller concert series known as the Rebel Jazz Festival was all but forgotten in the flurry of headlines.In Burt Goldblatt's book, Newport Jazz Festival, Lorraine Lorillard, freshly ...

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