Interview News

Interview: Bob Brookmeyer (Part 5)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
June 27, 2009

Over the past 25 years, Bob Brookmeyer has worked tirelessly to develop as a composer, teacher and conductor. While his recent recorded works can be classified as modern classical, they retain a rich jazz orchestral feel and flow. What's particularly fascinating about Bob's recent works is their massive scope and honesty. The more expansive Bob's canvas, the more you actually learn about his moods, feelings and personality.

Bob's most recent recording, Music for String Quartet and Orchestra, is a fine ...

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Interview: Bob Brookmeyer (Part 3)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
June 26, 2009

By the late 1950s, Bob Brookmeyer was one of the most dynamic forces in jazz. His reputation for playing the valve-trombone with enormous force and passion was established, and his writing was equally smart and engaging. But Bob also was emerging as one of the most sought-after orchestral arrangers in the business. Known for his inventive touch, Bob's charts took risks and consistently featured structured drama, linear tension and potent swing.

Bob's arranging skills had become so polished and advanced ...

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Interview: Bob Brookmeyer (Part 4)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
June 26, 2009

The rise of the studios in the late 1950s and early 1960s created enormous opportunities for jazz musicians. With the proliferation of visual media such as movies and television along with TV advertising, more instrumentalists were needed who could sight-read music perfectly the first time. But while live and recorded studio work provided jazz musicians with a steady paycheck, most had to strike Faustian bargains. Individualism and creativity had to be tabled, replaced by dull, rote performing. For artists like ...

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Michael Jackson's Spirit, Music, Legacy Outlive His Death

Source: All About Jazz
June 26, 2009

While the vultures, thieves and naysayers pick over the bones of his controversial personal life, it is only the talent and genius of Michael Jackson that matter in the aftermath of his death. Jackson is one of the most monumental figures in the history of music. He was the ultimate performer, the self-proclaimed “King of Pop" and the master of modern entertainment. His spectacular vocal ability and knack for writing songs full of hooks, combined with a massive stage presence ...

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Mixing the Prepared with the Impromptu

Source: Michael Ricci
June 26, 2009

Nearly all jazz balances improvisation against composition, but a band like Floriculture makes you realize how many degrees there are of striking that balance. That’s because it takes each side to extremes, and pulls together some far-apart traditions. In the band’s music, the composition — by the group’s leader, Carl Maguire — is serene and complicated, with discomfiting, big-interval melodies; in opposition to that, the group-improvisation pockets grow torrid. Sometimes the two ways of playing are alternated. Sometimes they’re mashed ...

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Interview: Bob Brookmeyer (Part 2)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
June 24, 2009

Bob Brookmeyer's early childhood was bleak--until he discovered music and jazz. Then he threw himself into learning the clarinet and trombone, quickly becoming a whiz sight-reader. By age 14, Bob was already a professional arranger and musician, rushing off after high school to play on local recording sessions. Not a fan of the slide trombone, Bob began playing valve-trombone, mastering the instrument and the enormous energy needed to make it swing. After two years at the Kansas City Conservatory of ...

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The Jazz Conceptions Orchestra Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
June 24, 2009

For many people, the bonds forged at college serve as the foundation for lifelong friendships; bonds that often keep like-minded friends committing to get together once in awhile to share passions.

The Jazz Conceptions Orchestra (JCO) was created along these lines, but instead of getting together for the occasional game of golf or fishing, whenever these guys get together they put down some great music. And now, the JCO is beginning to make an important mark on today's jazz scene. ...

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Interview: Bob Brookmeyer (Part 1)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
June 23, 2009

Before I interviewed Bob Brookmeyer several weeks ago, I was warned. “If you don't have it together, he'll take your head off," said one journalist friend. Another wagged a finger, saying “Bob can be very, very gruff." Well, I'm here to report that Bob Brookmeyer is one of the nicest guys in the world. We had three long conversations, and if I lived near his house, my wife would probably have to drag me home each day.

Bob is easily ...

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