Interview News

Mikayla's Totally Jazz Debuts at AAJ: Interview with Organ Guru Dr. Lonnie Smith

Source: All About Jazz
January 7, 2008

All About Jazz introduces a new column, Mikayla's Totally Jazzed, featuring artist interviews and thoughts on jazz by saxophonist/student Mikayla Gilbreath.

Despite her young age, she's managed to connect with a surprising number of well-known musicians, hosting a pre-concert reception at Sonny Rollins' 50th Anniversary Carnegie Hall Concert in 2007 that was attended by artists including Jimmy Heath, Lou Donaldson, Paquito D' Rivera, Joe Lovano, David Liebman, Dr. Lonnie Smith and Marion Meadows.

At fourteen she's already a confirmed jazz ...

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Saxophonist Bennie Wallace Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
January 2, 2008

Saxophonist Bennie Wallace, also known for his clarinet work, moved to New York in 1971 after graduating from the University of Tennessee, playing with Monty Alexander, Sheila Jordan and others before debuting as a leader in 1978. He has released numerous records for Enja and also had a pair of highly-regarded discs for Blue Note in the late 1980s. In the fall of 2007, he brought an ambitious project to New York City, celebrating the work of the legendary Coleman ...

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Pianist Georg Graewe Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
January 1, 2008

Could Georg Graewe be a chameleonic figure in the world of jazz improvisation? Listening to a selection of recordings from over the last decade or two, it soon becomes clear that this German pianist is frequently found in completely different settings, with his music consequently traversing the distance from intensely thoughtful sparseness through to throttling, high-density hyperactivity. He's always identifiably himself, but deeply affected by the colleagues that he chooses for any given session. Graewe has played piano duets with ...

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Guitarist/Producer Chris Schlarb Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
December 31, 2007

Guitarist and producer Chris Schlarb has been at the heart of creative, underground music in Los Angeles for a number of years. His involvement in bands like I Heart Lung and the fifty-member collective Create(!) has resulted in improvisational music of great imagination, no little dissonance and undeniable beauty, as witnessed on the outstanding albums Between Them a Forest Grew, Trackless and Quiet (SAA, 2007) and A Prospect of Freedom (SAA, 2006)

His first solo album, Twilight & Ghost Stories ...

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Howard Rumsey Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
December 26, 2007

With Ken Koenig's enlightening and entertaining DVD history of a SoCal treasure, Jazz on the West Coast: The Lighthouse, ninety year-old Howard Rumsey returns to the spotlight. Bassist, booker and raconteur extraordinaire, Rumsey presented the best jazz shows in LA for thirty-three consecutive years. First with a group of studio musicians and Stan Kenton veterans, he ran the ongoing jam and experimentation of the Lighthouse All-Stars, establishing the springboard for the soon-to-be-ballyhooed “West Coast Jazz" sound.

After more than a ...

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Guitarist Jimmy Bruno Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
December 25, 2007

Jimmy Bruno's stature as one of jazz's top hard bop guitarist is undisputed. His career as a musician and educator warrants the numerous times that he has been interviewed at All About Jazz.

In this interview with AAJ contributor Edward Zucker, Bruno discusses his current CD, Maplewood Avenue (Affiliated Artists, LLC, 2007), the Jimmy Bruno Guitar Institute, carpal tunnel surgery and a near carjacking. He also offers his uncensored opinion on numerous other topics.

Check out Jimmy Bruno: From Surgery ...

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Veteran Drummer Steve Reid Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
December 24, 2007

A sell-out crowd and a standing ovation at the London Jazz Festival concert to launch Daxaar (Domino Records, 2007) is a sure sign that veteran drummer Steve Reid is enjoying something of an Indian summer. Since teaming up with electronics improviser Kieran Hebden in 2006, Domino Records has released three albums of their cutting-edge collaborations, and Steve Reid has reached a whole new audience with his African-inspired, jazz improvisations.

In a sense, Reid and Hebden are revisiting the spirit of ...

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Attn: Musicians - Self-Directed Interviews at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
December 20, 2007

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