Interview News

Interview: Marty Sheller (Part 2)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
October 29, 2009

Three forces transformed Latin music in the fall of 1962. First, the grittier, slinky funk of Horace Silver, Bobby Timmons and Art Blakey had a big impact on artists, shifting Latin music away from popular Cuban dances. Second, waves of Puerto Rican immigrants to New York in the 1950s had created a new youth market for rhythms emerging from the city's Hispanic neighborhoods, particularly East Harlem. Third, hit radio and teen dance crazes like the Twist (1960) and Mashed Potato ...

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Interview: Marty Sheller (Part 1)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
October 28, 2009

The name Marty Sheller may not ring a bell. But anyone hip to Latin-jazz is aware of his enormous contribution to the music. First, that's Marty's trumpet solo on Mongo Santamaria's 1962 hit recording of Watermelon Man. The single helped launch the boogaloo, a dance beat that merged Puerto Rican and Cuban rhythms with jazz and funk. The boogaloo not only influenced Lee Morgan and Art Blakey in the 1960s but also James Brown, who incorporated the funky rhythm and ...

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Keeping the Flame Burning for a Beloved Queen of Salsa

Source: Michael Ricci
October 27, 2009

Celia Cruzs mausoleum at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx looks downright homey. Colorful plants flank a modest walkway, and clear side windows let visitors peer inside, where family photos, a rosary and a Cuban flag rest atop the singers tomb, along with a framed magazine clipping about The 10 Unbelievable Wigs of Celia Cruz. While titans of industry and government spend eternity hidden behind thick granite walls, theres a reason her final resting place is so inviting. The Queen of ...

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The Art of Art Farmer

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
October 27, 2009

Reviewing the Art Farmer Jazz Icons DVD the other day stimulated thoughts of his unique place in the pantheon of major jazz soloists. I started to write them, then realized that I already had. Here is an excerpt from the Farmer chapter of my book Jazz Matters.

Even on some of Farmer's first recordings in the early 1950s it was clear that he was a first-rank soloist in the making. By 1956 Farmer's work showed a combination of incisiveness and ...

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Singer/Songwriter/Pianist Bruce Hornsby Interviewed at AAJ...and More

Source: All About Jazz
October 27, 2009

For more than 20 years, singer/songwriter, pianist/composer, and band-leader Bruce Hornsby, has proven to be a survivor in an ever changing music environment. From winning multiple awards including a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1987 for the multi-platinum album The Way It Is (RCA, 1986) with his band The Range, to dual releases in 2007 (on Sony/Legacy)--a foot-stomping bluegrass duo Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby and the swinging jazz trio outing Camp Meeting, with drummer Jack DeJohnette and bassist ...

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2010'S Rising Star is 15-Year-Old Gifted Songbird Nikki Yanofsky

Source: Michael Ricci
October 26, 2009

As you are making your early 2010 coverage plans, beautiful teenage Canadian vocalist Nikki Yanofsky needs to be at the top of your list. Heralded as a “young Ella Fitzgerald, with poise, polish, nuance and artistry" (Seattle Post-Intelligencer), you're certain to hear/read about Yanofsky in the coming months. Here's why: Produced by Phil Ramone and Jesse Harris (of Norah Jones fame), Yanofsky's Decca debut will be out first quarter 2010 and features the star's songwriting collaborations with both Harris and ...

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A Tribute to Cannonball

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
October 26, 2009

Washington, DC, correspondent John Birchard ventures into the jazz wilds of the US capital in search of live music and reports to Rifftides readers on what he hears. This time, the event was a tribute concert.

CANNONBALL REVISITED By John Birchard

It could have been 1962. On Saturday evening at Baird Auditorium at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, a quintet of musicians from the Smithsonian Jazz Master Works Orchestra presented Portrait ...

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Joe Albano Interview on breakthruradio.com!

Source: Michael Ricci
October 26, 2009

Take a glimpse into the life and times of the enigmatic saxophonist! Joe Albano at breakthruradio.com. More About Joe Albano

Joe Albano, a native of Boston, MA, now residing in NYC, began his instrumental studies at 14 with local hometown hero, Saxophonist Ray DeNice. Quickly gravitating to the saxophone, and ignoring all logic and reason, he attended the Berklee College of Music in Sept of 2000. He graduated in 2005 and holds a B.A. in Professional Music. His performance studies ...

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