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Interview

Tom Teasley's Expanded Global Viewpoints

Source: The Independent Ear by Willard Jenkins
May 12, 2012

When the DC-area based multi-instrumental wizard and all around percussion renaissance man Tom Teasley asked me to write liner notes for his latest global percussion release All The World’s A Stage it got me wondering about the evolution of one who self-identifies as a jazz percussionist, yet has so successfully broadened his base to include theater, teaching across far reaches of the planet, and seemingly all manner of expressions in the percussion universe. I mean, what kind of brain exercises ...

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Interview

Hal Blaine on Karen Carpenter

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
May 7, 2012

Maybe it's because I came of age in the early '70s. Or because my parents had a “burnt orange" car. Or that I had an apple-green Schwinn Stingray. Or that our home was painted redwood. Whatever the reason, the Carpenters always take me back to a time when everything was changing, and not always for the better. But through it all—the striped bellbottoms, the tough kids in the suburbs and the gloomy news—Karen Carpenter's voice made everything sound just right. ...

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Interview

Something Else! Interview: Allen Toussaint, Hall of Fame Singer-Songwriter and Producer

Source: Something Else!
May 3, 2012

Allen Toussaint, fonky-fonky pianist, writer and producer of untold hit songs, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and first-chair favorite son, makes his annual appearance this week at the 2012 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival – a tradition, he says, “which I dearly, dearly love.” Then, he plans to resume a completely revitalized solo recording career alongside Joe Henry, who oversaw Toussaint’s swinging triumph Bright Mississippi a couple of years ago. In a career dating back to the 1950s, ...

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Interview

Interview: Van Alexander (Part 2)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
May 3, 2012

As noted yesterday, Van Alexander, 97, arranged Ella Fitzgerald's A-Tisket A-Tasket, recorded by Fitzgerald with Chick Webb's orchestra on May 2, 1938. Though the song may seem a bit of a novelty number now, the single was a runaway hit in late June 1938. By the then, the country was growing increasingly worried: Germany had invaded Austria on March 12 and Japan had invaded China on June 17. Fitzgerald's song hit No. 1 on June 25 and remained there for ...

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Interview

Greece-based Saxophonist Nikos Koulouris Links Creative Development To Personal Growth

Source: Lauren Rogers
May 2, 2012

To saxophonist Nikos Koulouris, his creative development is embedded with his personal growth; they reached maturity together. “My evolution as an artist is closely connected to my evolution as a human being. Realizing through the years who I really was and who I wanted to become helped me express myself musically,” Koulouris explained. “Accepting myself, my capabilities, my limitations, my desires, and my dreams gave me a sense of balance and inner peace that helped me free myself musically.” It’s ...

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Interview

Interview: Van Alexander (Part 1)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
May 2, 2012

Today is Van Alexander's birthday (Happy Birthday Van!). He's 97 years old. Van is probably best known for arranging Ella Fitzgerald's career-launching hit A-Tisket, A-Tasket, which she recorded with Chick Webb's band in 1938—on this very day, in fact, 74 years ago. Van wrote the words, including her interchange with the band, and Ella tweaked them in places to make it hip. Van also is the last surviving member of the Chick Webb band and a direct link back to ...

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Interview

Sacha Distel: Guitarist-Singer

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
May 1, 2012

French and Belgian jazz musicians from the 1950s aren't given nearly as much credit in the U.S. as they deserve. The same is true for British jazz musicians. Ask most Americans to name their favorite European jazz artists from the period and they'll likely run dry after a handful—usually Toots Thielemans, Tubby Hayes, Bobby Jaspar, Martial Solal and maybe René Urtreger. There were plenty more greats, of course, including guitarist Sacha Distel. Like Nat King Cole, Distel today is best ...

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Interview

Artie Shaw: The Money Band

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
April 30, 2012

In 1949, Artie Shaw needed money. He would later claim the cash infusion was sought to help settle back taxes owed. But alimony payments to novelist Kathleen Winsor, whom he had just divorced, were certainly a financial drain. Just a year earlier, Shaw had vowed never again to front a dance band, carping about having to play Stardust night after night. And yet in August 1949, for a number of pragmatic reason, Shaw assembled one of the finest orchestras of ...

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