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Interview

Interview: Mike Stern

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
July 14, 2022

The arrival of rock guitarists on TV shows, at concerts and on the radio in the mid-1960s and the emergence of the artist-controlled rock album in the late ‘60s led to a seismic change in jazz. Many young budding jazz musicians found themselves admirers of pop-rock and rock—or at least the larger incomes those forms generated and the increased attention by young audiences and the media. The result of these dual allegiances—to jazz and rock—produced a hybrid that became known ...

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Interview

Interview: Al Di Meola on 'Saturday Night in SF'

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
July 11, 2022

As legendary jazz albums go, Friday Night in San Francisco is a cult classic. Recorded live at San Francisco's Warfield Theatre on December 5, 1980, the album was released in 1981 and featured three superb guitarists—Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía. All three played acoustic models. In some respects, the album's popularity at the time demonstrated that jazz fusion had run its course and that fans had aged and were ready for a change. The album also ...

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Interview

Interview: Vicki Burns on 'Lottus Blossom Days'

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
July 8, 2022

Last October, I received an email from vocalist Vicki Burns: Hello Marc. I'm not sure if you remember me. I wrote you years ago and asked if you'd consider reviewing a live album I did in 2008, Vicki Burns: Live at Anna’s Jazz Island. You wrote back with some excellent advice that I took to heart. You said I had a great voice but the standards I was singing were really over done and that I needed to find ...

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Interview

Interview: Dave Stryker, 'As We Are'

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
June 21, 2022

If there was an upside to the pre-vaccine pandemic of 2020-2021, it's that creative artists had solitary time to think about the road forward. For guitarist Dave Stryker, that period of confinement resulted in As We Are (Strikezone), a fascinating new album recorded in January 2022, featuring a jazz quartet backed by an inventive string quartet. The group includes Dave Stryker on guitar, Julian Shore on piano, John Patitucci on bass, Brian Blade on drums, Sara Caswell on violin (with ...

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Interview

Interview: Michael Abene

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
June 7, 2022

Michael Abene has always been a double threat. In addition to being a gorgeous pianist and accompanist, he's a towering arranger of big bands, orchestras, singers and instrumental ensembles. Fans of Maynard Ferguson are probably most familiar with his piano playing and arrangements for the band's recordings for Roulette and Mainstream in the 1960s. These days, Michael has been keeping busy, as you'll soon read. I recently caught up with Michael for a JazzWax interview after writing about him in ...

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Interview

Interview: John Scofield, Solo

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
May 31, 2022

John Scofield has one of the most distinct and fascinating guitar sounds in jazz. Notes are picked and bent, creating a pizzicato-like, jagged sound that meows in places and lingers in others. John and I have been long-time e-mail pen pals and he's a regular reader of this blog, just as I am an avid John Scofield fan and listener. Dating back to 1977, John has recorded more than 40 albums as a leader and is a three-time Grammy winner. ...

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Interview

Andrea Brachfeld & Insight: 'Evolution'

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
May 23, 2022

One of the finest jazz flutists around today is Andrea Brachfeld. She studied with Hubert Laws, Jimmy Heath and George Coleman, among others, and has released 10 CDs as a leader. Andrea's latest, with her trio, Insight, is Evolution (Origin). And what a trio: pianist Bill O'Connell, bassist Harvie S and drummer Jason Tiemann. After hearing Andrea on Evolution and becoming smitten by her playing, I reached out for an email interview. To fully understand Andrea's grace, spiritual energy and ...

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Interview

Alan Broadbent: 'Like Minds'

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
May 13, 2022

Out today is Alan Broadbent's new trio album, Like Minds (Savant), with Harvie S on bass and Billy Mintz on drums. It's a terrific trio recording, featuring Alan's elegant piano and superb conversational interactions with Harvie and Billy. I've known Alan for many years, and it's always a joy to hear his new releases, see him live and catch up. I first fell in love with his playing on his duo albums backing vocalist Irene Kral—Where Is Love (1974) and ...

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