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Interview

For Americana Recording Artist, Julie Christensen, Cathartic Journey Prompts Album -- Weeds Like Us -- While New Leonard Cohen Biography Marks Her Role In Legendary Career

Source: KJPR Publicity and Artist Relations
November 29, 2012

Julie Christensen'S “WEEDS LIKE US” CD Candidly Reveals a Cathartic Journey of Loss and Survival Bringing “Great Plains Soul” to Acclaimed Career of Americana Singer-Songwriter While Release of New Leonard Cohen Biography Documents Christensen's Pivotal, Musical Role in Legendary Career Los Angeles, CA: It is a busy season for Julie Christensen, whose critically-acclaimed recordings, and longtime backing vocals for Leonard Cohen, confirm her standing as a quintessential “Americana” artist who matters. Now, her body of work has taken a decidedly ...

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Interview

Interview: Lalo Schifrin

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
November 13, 2012

The Sunday before Hurricane Sandy veered inland and flooded Northeastern coastal areas, I caught the last flight out of JFK bound for Los Angeles. I was heading west to interview Lalo Schifrin for the Wall Street Journal (go here). As the jet taxied, it seemed only fitting that my conversation with music's master of suspense should start out with real-life nail-biting drama. Meeting Lalo was a thrill for me. One of my first exposures to jazz as a kid was ...

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Interview

Jessica Ferber on Bob Campbell

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
November 12, 2012

Last Thursday, my phone rang. On the other end was a young woman who hurridly began telling me a story, adding that a friend had suggested she contact me. The only words that stuck at the time were “photographs," “Campbell" and “homeless." Since I hear from media relations people all day long promoting one thing or another, I asked her to send me an email and that I'd take a look. She sent along a link to a Kickstarter drive ...

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Interview

Steve Lipman: The Singin' Dentist Balances Healing With Frank Sinatra

Source: Harry Watters
November 12, 2012

When the Dream Academy sang, “Like Sinatra in a younger day," in their wind-swept '80s hit, “Life in a Northern Town," they could easily have been describing jazz singer Steve Lipman. Looking and sounding like Ol' Blue Eyes himself, Lipman mesmerizes with his warm crooning on his latest album, Ridin' the Beat. But what's fascinating about Lipman is that he balances a career in music with also being a dentist. Dubbing himself “The Singin' Dentist," he occupies a unique persona ...

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Interview

Interview: Sue Raney (Part 2)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
November 6, 2012

What makes vocalist Sue Raney special? First and foremost, she uses her intonation like a net to capture you completely. As Sue sings, she has this way of wrapping a lyric around her finger without ever becoming possessive. What's more, she lays back in just the right places by adding a breathiness to her voice—feathering her delivery. This enables her to seem attached to a song without smothering it. It's a studied coolness that seduces you without ever being clingy. ...

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Interview

Interview With Jazz Pianist Tal Cohen

Source: Harry Watters
November 5, 2012

Q: What made you decide to become a pianist? Did you receive any formal training? A: I always liked the piano. At first I played xylophone but wasn't very good at it, unfortunately, so my mum suggested the piano. I immediately said yes because it meant I wouldn’t need to carry the xylophone to lessons anymore. I will always thank mum for that. The sound of the piano always touched me, and I suppose as a child in Israel everyone ...

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Interview

Interview: Sue Raney (Part 1)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
November 5, 2012

Sue Raney is a direct link to America's golden age of pop and jazz singers. Yet she remains one of the most underrated female vocalists still on the scene today. Sue has recorded exquisitely with every major arranger—Nelson Riddle, Billy May, Ralph Carmichael, Bill Holman, Bob Florence, Jack Marshall, Billy Byers and others. She also has been teamed with Buddy DeFranco, Page Cavanaugh, Shelly Manne, the Four Freshmen, Supersax and her husband, French hornist Carmen Franzone. So why isn't Sue ...

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Interview

Clifford Brown, 1930-1956

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
October 30, 2012

Today is the 82nd anniversary of Clifford Brown’s birth. Here is what I wrote in Rifftides on June 26, 2006, half a century following his death. Fifty years ago today at The Seattle Times, as I ripped copy from the wire machines my eye went to a story in the latest Associated Press national split. A young trumpeter named Clifford Brown had been killed early that morning in a car crash. My heart stopped for a beat or two. My ...

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