Interview News

Pianist Tord Gustavsen Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
April 2, 2008

It's no surprise to fans of pianist Tord Gustavsen's trio that its most recent release, Being There (ECM, 2007), was selected 2007 Album of the Year by the critics of UK's Jazz Review. Born in Norway, this jazz Viking may well be on a world crusade for soulful and meaningful music, armed only with his meditative piano and lyrical compositions.

AAJ contributor Joao Moreira dos Santos spoke with Gustavsen recently, about his background, how he came to be with ECM, ...

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Bassist/Composer Terry Plumeri Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
March 31, 2008

Bassist Terry Plumeri wears several hats and wears them well. He has scored films, written his own symphonic tone poems, conducted symphonic orchestras all over the world and worked with some of the top names in jazz.

AAJ contributor Maxwell Chandler spoke at length with Plumeri, covering his film, classical and jazz work, including his recently-reissued 1971 album, He Who Lives in Many Places, which features Herbie Hancock, John Abercrombie, Michael Smith and Eric Gravatt.

Check out Terry Plumeri: Singing ...

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Vocalist Chris McNulty Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
March 28, 2008

Chris McNulty may well be regarded not only as a fine jazz singer but also as the epitome of jazz globalization these days. Born in remote Australia, she made her career in the USA and in 2003 performed in Russia at the White Night's Jazz Festival to celebrate St. Petersburg's 300th Anniversary. How far McNulty wants to go seems to be the million dollar question to ask the author of one of the finest vocal recordings of 2006: Whispers the ...

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Percussionist Bobby Sanabria Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
March 24, 2008

Bobby Sanabria is a living museum of Afro-Cuban music. Sanabria is a percussionist, drummer and educator who is at the forefront of Afro-Cuban music--particularly the frontier where it intersects with jazz. In 2007, Sanabria released Big Band Urban Folktales (Jazzheads, 2007), an album he says takes the music “beyond the 21st century."

Jason Crane, AAJ contributor and host of The Jazz Session, sat down with Sanabria in May 2007 to talk about the history of Afro-Cuban music, Sanabria's own career, ...

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Mosaic Count Basie and Lester Young, a Charlie Haden Interview, and More

Source: All About Jazz
March 17, 2008

Some jazz news of note from the past week or so... *Mosaic Records has put up information and a discography for their forthcoming Lester Young and Count Basie set. I was told last week that the Benny Goodman Columbia box is on track for an early-summer release. *Ethan Iverson of The Bad Plus has posted his recent interview with bassist Charlie Haden, which originally appeared in this past January's Downbeat. *The widely-syndicated, Siskel-and-Ebert-style radio jazz program Listen Here! will cease ...

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Pianist Misha Piatigorsky Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
March 17, 2008

Russian-born pianist Misha Piatigorsky fled from behind the Cold-War-era Iron Curtain with his family to make a new life in a small New Jersey town. He started out as a classical pianist before discovering jazz. Since that discovery, he's moved from bebop to Brazilian to groove music, melding them all seamlessly on his record, Uncommon Circumstance (Misha Music, 2007).

Jason Crane, AAJ contributor and host of The Jazz Session, spoke with Piatigorsky in April 2007.

Check out Misha Piatigorsky: Invent ...

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Guitarist Jamie Fox Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
March 10, 2008

Jamie Fox's path to recording his first album as a leader has been anything but mundane. Growing up listening to, well, just about everything, Fox began his career as a musician in San Francisco. There he followed his eclectic ear to playing gigs with such diverse names as Brother Jack McDuff, Dr. John, Joan Baez, and his own collective, The Blues Among Us. After tiring of the San Francisco scene and looking for a little more stability, Fox arrived in ...

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Multi-Instrumentalist Dana Leong Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
February 26, 2008

Whether on the cello, trombone or laptop, whether playing straight-up jazz, classical, or the many hybrid concoctions his work has already produced, Dana Leong seems to acknowledge no boundaries. He has worked with a wide range of players, holds down the cello chair for the Paquito D'Rivera trio, has just released a second album fusing jazz with hip-hop, runs a recording studio, shows up in Hollywood films, and is currently touring as an artistic ambassador with the State Department Rhythm ...

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