Interview News

Pianist Tamir Hendelman Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
December 29, 2009

One of those “overnight sensations" who's been working steadily for years, Israeli-born pianist and composer Tamir Hendelman has finally caught a rocket. A member of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and the Jeff Hamilton Trio, as well as leader of his own groups, Hendelman is also a first-call arranger and accompanist for some of the best vocalists around, including Roberta Gambarini, Jackie Ryan, Angela Hagenbach and Greta Matassa. He was involved in pop icon Barbra Streisand's flirtation with jazz, playing on ...

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Esperanza Spalding Continues to Shine in '09 as Jazz's Bright New Star

Source: All About Jazz @ Spinner
December 28, 2009

By Tad Hendrickson

Covering jazz usually relegates me to covering small club gigs and jazz festivals. Yet there was Esperanza Spalding playing after President Obama's acceptance speech during the presentation ceremony of his Nobel Peace Prize. (Go here to watch a clip from the performance of her song 'Espera.') Those paying attention will know that this wasn't the first time the singer-bassist crossed paths with the leader of the free world. Spalding was tapped by Stevie Wonder to play the ...

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MMW Keyboardist John Medeski Interviewed at AAJ and More!

Source: All About Jazz
December 28, 2009

The Medeski, Martin & Wood band, one that has amassed followers like a snowball rolling down a mountain of wet snow since its emergence on the scene over 18 years ago, is one of those exceptional organizations that doesn't stick to playing what might be expected by its audiences. They don't play it safe, instead choosing to explore sounds, grooves, genres as the spirit moves them. And 2009 saw the spirit moving them a great deal.

For proof, Exhibit A ...

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Photostory12: Miles Davis

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
December 24, 2009

I've always loved this Herb Snitzer image of Miles Davis. The trumpeter isn't posing or glaring at the camera. Instead, he's caught in motion, looking back at someone who has caught his eye. There's velocity here and a perspicacious flash, like a star athlete captured in mid-air making a split decision. Interestingly, Davis' restless, caged expression is similar to Frank Sinatra's. Both were fully aware of their living-legend status, happy to be the center of attention but always in control. ...

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Other Places: Bob Brookmeyer

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
December 24, 2009

I yield to no one in my admiration for Bob Brookmeyer, but Darcy James Argue gives me a good run for my money. Brookmeyer, the ground-breaking composer, arranger, leader and nonpareil valve trombone soloist, entered his ninth decade this week. Early in December, the Eastman School of Music honored him for his lifetime of achievement and he sat in with the students there. I cannot improve on the eloquence about Brookmeyer in Argue's Secret Society web log. A sample:

Producer Todd Barkan Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
December 23, 2009

Todd Barkan has been one of the most important and versatile producers of jazz concerts and records around the globe for almost 30 years. The list of artists whose projects he has produced reads like a veritable Who's Who of jazz. Barkan has managed many artists, including the Boys Choir of Harlem, Chico O'Farrill and Freddy Cole, has been Jazz at Lincoln Center's artistic programming director since 2001m and ran 32 Records in New York at the turn of the ...

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Joe Alterman: Piano Tracks

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
December 22, 2009

It's easy to carp about the death of jazz and young jazz artists' ignorance of the music's history. Both are soft targets, especially since so many young jazz players seem almost proud that they know little or nothing about jazz's past. Somewhere along the line, “old" in our music schools became “useless," as if the shock of the new alone makes one's performances significant. One 21-year-old pianist who is changing these perceptions is Joe Alterman. His new album, Piano Tracks, ...

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Guitarist Pete McCann Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
December 22, 2009

Jazz guitarist and educator Pete McCann has been a first-call sideman and bandleader on the New York scene for almost twenty years. Possessing a musical style that draws from the blues, jazz and rock genres, McCann's playing and writing styles are as diverse as his influences. Having worked with such world-class performers as Lee Konitz, Chris Tarry, Dave Liebman, Kenny Garrett, Greg Osby, Brian Blade and the Maria Schneider Orchestra, McCann has appeared on over fifty recordings as a sideman. ...

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