Interview News

Guitarist Massimo Sammi Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
March 24, 2010

Massimo Sammi has lived a diverse life, to say the least. Growing up in Italy, Sammi began playing the piano at an early age, before quitting his lessons because of his cigar-smoking instructor. After graduating high school, Sammi studied law, graduating in 1997, then served in the Italian military, where he played trumpet in the army brass band. Admitted to the bar in 2000, Sammi quickly realized that his spare time was focusing more and more on his love for ...

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Vocalist Barb Jungr Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
March 23, 2010

Singer Barb Jungr is on a roll at present. In March 2009 she and accompanist Simon Wallace played for the first time at Caf Carlyle, in New York City, presenting a show entitled “The Men I Love" which featured songs by the likes of Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen, Todd Rundgren and Neil Diamond. The show received rave reviews and was voted one of the year's best by Time Out New York. The songs from the show formed the ...

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Saxophonist Craig Handy Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
March 22, 2010

Saxophonist Craig Handy is a musician's musician. Those “in the know" know about him, which is why he's been a first call player in New York for over two decades. He is a careful, thoughtful improviser--expansive and precise. His solos build on a rich knowledge of the tradition at the same time as they often set out for the edge, walk it, but never fall off. While he derives portions of his vocabulary from the'Trane/Shorter axis, there is a shrewd ...

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Audience Friendly? Check Maurice Brown...

Source: The Independent Ear by Willard Jenkins
March 21, 2010

Trumpeter Maurice Brown has been one to watch for more than a minute.  Early on, courtesy of his Hip to Bop release it was apparent that here was a young artist intent on filtering his jazz-steeped improvisations through the prism of the music of his life hip hop, funk, and a healthy sense of “I love the blues, she heard my cry“ an overall quest for the good groove.  My curiosity was further piqued when several years ago the Chicagoan relocated ...

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Other Places: A Brubeck Jazz Profile

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
March 21, 2010

On his excellent blog, Jazz Profiles, Steve Cerra's new subject is Dave Brubeck. He is taking for his text the extensive booklet notes I wrote for the four-CD Brubeck box called Time Signatures: A Career Retrospecitve. When it popped up today, I read the essay for the first time in years. To adapt what Paul Desmond used to say about recording, I didn't have to cough too often during the playback. To read the first of three parts and see ...

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Interview: George Avakian (Part 5)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
March 20, 2010

Columbia's first 12-inch jazz LP was George Avakian's idea. In 1950, when company president Ted Wallerstein played George a test pressing of Benny Goodman's band live in 1938, George knew instantly what he was listening to: Goodman's famed Carnegie Hall concert, which had been languishing in a closet and had never been released in its entirety. George decided to have the entire concert issued that year on two 12-inch LPs--jazz's first double-album. It appeared on the company's more expensive Masterworks ...

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The Disco Biscuits Change the Anthem

Source: JamBase
March 19, 2010

By: Brian Bavosa

The Disco Biscuits It's only hours before the lineup announcement for Camp Bisco 9 as I speak with bassist Marc Brownstein. A world-renowned festival hosted by The Disco Biscuits which originated in 1999, the annual event has seen its share of evolution over the years. Built slowly upon the roots of a regional party, big name artists like Snoop Dog, Nas and Damien Marley have made recent appearances. Maybe that's the reason Brownstein is bubbling with energy ...

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Interview: George Avakian (Part 4)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
March 19, 2010

By the mid-1950s, George Avakian was a record-industry rainmaker. As head of Columbia's Pop Album Department, George had enormous power. When he decided to sign talent, there was no question about whether the artist had the chops or stamina. Both were a given, since George had sized up both carefully in advance. The only question that remained was how quickly the artist would become a national entity and how big that artist would become with Columbia's mighty marketing and record ...

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