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Interview

"Does Anyone Remember Conrad Gozzo?"

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
January 14, 2014

In response to the Rifftides post about the death of Al Porcino, reader Dick Vartanian sent a comment: I remember Al Porcino well and had deep regard for his playing. But does anyone remember a equally great countryman of his named Conrad Gozzo? Jack Greenberg responded with this: Everyone who is my age (70 years old) and plays trumpet remembers Conrad Gozzo. As the most sought after lead trumpet player in Hollywood up until his death in 1964, his recorded ...

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Interview

Interview: Carol Stevens, Part 1

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
January 13, 2014

About a year ago, I came across a fascinating album from 1957 by a female vocalist named Carol Stevens. The album was That Satin Doll (Atlantic). What made the album so interesting was that the singer spent a few songs using her voice as an instrument, tonally improvising along to the melody. Her timbre also was terrific—a husky, sexy, hurt sound that seemed to have survived a real-life film noir. And her phrasing curled around melodies like a curious kitty-cat ...

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Interview

Pandora Co-Founder Tim Westergren Opens up on Topics Like: Who's Really Screwing Artists?

Source: HypeBot
January 11, 2014

Pandora Co-founders Tim Westergren and Tom Conrad recently sat down with PandoDaily's Sarah Lacy for a PandoMonthly Fireside Chat. The series is ongoing, featuring major figures in tech, and Lacy typically includes some difficult questions in the process of giving entrepreneurs a platform to open up. Tim Westergren's responses are currently being featured and he discusses the difficult early days, the isolation of the entrepreneur and answers the question, “Who's really screwing artists?" PandoDaily typically shares some highlights of their ...

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Interview

The New NEA Jazz Masters: Richard Davis

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
January 10, 2014

The 2014 NEA Jazz Masters will receive their awards in a ceremony at New York’s Lincoln Center Monday evening, January 13. The four recipients are pianist Keith Jarrett, saxophonist Anthony Braxton, bassist Richard Davis and—in the jazz advocacy category—publisher, recording executive and musician Jamey Aebersold. They will be the 32nd group in the jazz community to be so honored since the National Endowment for the Arts established the recognition program in 1982. The affair will include performances by young musicians ...

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Interview

Baritone Saxophone Artist, B.J. Jansen Interviewed On WHCR 90.3FM "The Voice Of Harlem"

Source: JM Creative
January 10, 2014

Baritone Saxophone Artist, B.J. Jansen was interviewed on WHCR 90.3FM “The Voice of Harlem", January 5th, 2014 by Lamon Fenner on Lamon's Jazz Break @ 8. Jansen discusses his first new release in nearly two years, a new quartet album entitled, RONIN. He talks with Lamon about the deeper and more philosophical aspects of his new release, Ronin. “The plight of the Ronin draws many similarities to what I have observed with those of us who adopt the way, or ...

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Interview

Snyder on Hall

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
December 20, 2013

John Snyder, who produced some of Jim Hall's best albums, sent a comment on Hall’s passing. It appears with the dozens of other observations sent by readers following the Rifftides remembrance posted on December 10, but the staff decided that the poetic eloquence of Mr. Snyder’s tribute stands on its own. We reproduce it here, followed by a performance from Jim Hall Live, the 1975 Hall trio album with bassist Don Thompson and drummer Terry Clarke recorded at Bourbon Street ...

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Interview

Interview: Phillip Brandon

Source: Eric Taylor
December 19, 2013

Q: Your music is a hybrid of various genres, namely funk, jazz, and rock & roll. How did this style come about? A: It's an amazingly beautiful thing when you set out with a vision, and then have others share in that vision without purposefully persuading them to do so. When I started this project, I wanted to infuse music that spoke to me. When listening to music, I never feel bound by a particular genre. Therefore, when creating music, ...

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Interview

Interview: Slack-Key Guitarist Jim "Kimo" West On New Christmas CD

Source: Eric Taylor
December 15, 2013

Q: You have a new Christmas album. You released “Kimo's Hawaiian Slack-Key Christmas" in 2008. How would you say this CD differs? A: “Ki Ho'alu Christmastime" is my second holiday CD. I recorded it back in January 2013 while the spirit of the season was still intact. Just before Christmas I had been playing around with some slack-key arrangements of “The Christmas Song" and “Sleigh Ride," and since my schedule was pretty open, I went ahead and recorded those and ...

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