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Bill Kirchner at the New School
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Back on Oct. 7, soprano saxophonist Bill Kirchner performed at New York's New School, where he teaches. Bill was accompanied by singer Holli Ross, singer/bassist Jim Ferguson and pianist Carlton Holmes. It was an extraordinary evening—so extraordinary that I wondered whether anyone was recording it. It turns out the school videotaped the concert and has made it available at YouTube. Before I show it to you, a few words about Bill and why he's such an inspiration. In addition to ...
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Interview: J.Q. Whitcomb
Source:
Eric Taylor
Q: What do you hope to accomplish as an artist? A: I'd like to continue improving my playing and writing in general of course, but I'm especially interested in flamenco and flamenco-jazz fusion. I aspire to build more musical contacts in these musical areas, create more bands focused on flamenco-jazz, and get deeper into the rhythms of flamenco. This is my musical direction moving forward currently. Q: What music were you raised on? A: I listened to plenty of classical ...
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Interview: Trumpeter/Composer Michael Sarian
Source:
Eric Taylor
Q: What are your goals as an artist? A: Right now my goal is to keep busy: keep playing, keep composing, keep working. Working on new projects, teaching, working behind the scenes at a non-profit - everything affects the music, and the more I do, the more I’ll have to say musically. Long-term, my goal as an artist is something I think most artists share: to stay relevant. I feel like I have something to say musically, whether it's composing ...
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Thaddeus Ford plays from the heart
Source:
Michael Ricci
By Jerry Armbrister Thaddeus Ford is lucky to be alive. One year ago, he suffered a heart attack—at the young age of 34. Now one year later, he has assembled his band and will play—at the Tuesday Nite Jazz series at the St. Paul United Methodist Church—a set of original tunes that he himself wrote. He is proud of the fact that he will be playing his own songs. Ironically, that fateful night a year ago this was the concert ...
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Remembering Lester Bowie
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
Today, we remember the great St. Louis trumpeter Lester Bowie, who was born October 11, 1941. Though Bowie actually was born in Maryland, he grew up in St. Louis as part of a family that included two brothers who also became professional musicians: Joseph Bowie, a trombonist and leader of the funk-jazz band Defunkt; and Byron Bowie, a saxophonist and arranger/composer. After developing his trumpet chops playing blues gigs around St. Louis with singers including Albert King and Little Milton ...
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Bandzoogle Founder Chris Vinson Reflects on 10 Years in Music Tech
Source:
Bandzoogle Blog
It all started in 1999, with a single band website, built by Bandzoogle's founder Chris Vinson for his alt- rock band, Rubberman. Grassroots promotion, plus the online community that the website created, helped the band get a record deal. In between tours, Chris worked at the record label, building websites for multi-platinum selling artists. To save time, he built a “control panel" to let managers and artists make the changes themselves. Realizing this could also help independent bands and musicians ...
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Meredith D'Ambrosio on Jackie Cain
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
When Jackie Cain died last week, I immediately thought of jazz singer-pianist Meredith d'Ambrosio. Meredith also has an intimate, conversational vocal style and, like Jackie, has an ear for great little-known songs that match her personality perfectly. Meredith and I chat often, so I asked her for a few recollections on Jackie (and Roy). Here's what Meredith said... “From the moment I heard Jackie and Roy's Euphoria on Symphony Sid's amazing jazz show on Boston radio in the early 1950s, ...
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Interview: Lady Gaga + Tony Bennett
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
After Tony Bennett and I spent a few minutes catching up at his art studio two weeks ago, we sat down on a sofa to chat for The Wall Street Journal about Cheek to Cheek, his new duet album with Lady Gaga. About 10 minutes into our conversation, I asked him the question that for many jazz fans is the elephant in the room: “What do you say to jazz fans who view the new album as a marketing strategy—a ...
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