Interview News

Singer Dana Lauren Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
June 30, 2010

What does it take for someone who has been singing since she was a toddler--and had her sights set singing as a vocation since in elementary school--to make a strong go of it? Great focus and a strong will would be necessary traits. Willingness to learn and a thick skin would also be valuable, particularly in the jazz genre, in which emotional depth and artistic truth go hand-in-hand with the sheer technique needed to pull off successful performances.

Dana Lauren, ...

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Marco Benevento: Music is Still Secret

Source: JamBase
June 30, 2010

By: Ron Hart

Marco by Michael Benevento Few musicians have defined the state of piano jazz in the 21st century quite like Marco Benevento. Whether alongside longtime partner drummer Joe Russo as the Benevento/Russo Duo, as the leader of his own trio with bassist Reed Mathis and drummer Andrew Barr or playing in such groups as Garage A Trois or, most recently, as the new member of The Slip spinoff Surprise Me Mr. Davis, this 32-year-old native of North Jersey ...

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Dave Holland, in Bass Player

Source: Between the Grooves with Philip Booth
June 29, 2010

I recently spoke with master jazz bassist Dave Holland, for a piece published in Bass Player magazine. We talked about his playing history, Pathways, the new CD from his Octet, and his newly renovated and relaunched web site, among other topics.

The full directors cut of the text is below, or click here to go directly to the Q&A feature online.

Born in England but beckoned to the U.S. by Miles Davis in the late 60s, Dave Holland has long ...

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Guitarist Alex Machacek Interviewed at AAJ...And More!

Source: All About Jazz
June 29, 2010

Be careful what you wish for, for you may get it--so the saying goes. When Alex Machacek asked drummer Marco Minnemann if he had a drum solo he could pass his way to compose around, he could never have expected a drum improvisation lasting 51 minutes. Before he could say, “Hey, 13/16 is a really odd meter," he found himself committed to composing, or recomposing as he puts it, around the entire piece.

24 Tales (Abstract Logix, 2010) is a ...

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Tickle the Ivories, Elmo

Source: Riffs on Jazz by John Anderson
June 28, 2010

Elmo Hope, born on this date in 1923, was a self-taught hard bop pianist and composer who never achieved wide recognition but was influential on other bebop pianists. He was actually childhood friends with Bud Powell--they listened to classical music (J.S. Bach, in particular) together. Hope had a percussive style of playing that was generally rhythmic, fast, and harmonically complex, although he could also play very slow, almost meditative music as well. In the early 1950s, he recorded with Sonny ...

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Trombonist Alan Ferber Interviewed at AAJ...And More!

Source: All About Jazz
June 28, 2010

Trombonist and composer Alan Ferber is a precise and thoughtful individual whose careful, deliberate expression is equally evident in both his insightful way of speaking--and his beautifully composed and executed recordings. As a freelancer, Ferber has tackled a wide breadth of music, everything from big band and small ensemble jazz to Broadway musicals and the beats of Dr. Dre.

As evidenced by his latest nonet recording, Chamber Songs: Music for Nonet and Strings (Sunny Side, 2010), Ferber is never satisfied ...

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Pianist Fred Hersch Survives Coma to Write a New Chapter to His Jazz Career

Source: All About Jazz @ Spinner
June 28, 2010

Even though it was Sunday, the Village Vanguard was packed to catch the last night of pianist Fred Hersch's weeklong run. Hersch had played the legendary club in New York's West Village before, even releasing a live album recorded there, and the room had the energy of an artist restaking his claim as one of current jazz's most important figures. He's released more than 30 albums as a leader and has played sideman to such legends as Stan Getz, Joe ...

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Interview: Stanley Kay (Part 2)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
June 26, 2010

The late Stanley Kay told me he was most proud of two career highlights: being hired by Buddy Rich and founding the DIVA Jazz Orchestra. Let's cover the second one first: In 1990, Stanley was conducting a band in which Sherrie Maricle was playing drums. Taken with Sherrie's playing, Stanley asked her if other female jazz players could be assembled for a big band. Sherrie said, “No problem." In 1992, Stanley founded and then managed the DIVA Jazz Orchestra, which ...

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