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An interview with jazz vocalist Dheepa Chari: From Ella Fitzgerald to Depeche Mode
Source:
Lauren Rogers
The growth of an artist is measured between records. In the case of New York-based jazz vocalist Dheepa Chari, it is the creative evolution unveiled from her 2010 debut EP, On 4th Street, to her new full-length debut, Some New Fashion. The first glimpse of development is already revealed on the first track, “Rocks in My Bed." Here Chari offers a deep, bluesy delivery that is quite unlike anything from her EP. It's a exciting shift in style, one that ...
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Guitarist Sinan Bakir, Turkey's Great Gift to Hartford's Ongoing Jazz Renaissance
Source:
Sinan Bakir
Guitarist Sinan Bakir Next Up In Library Jazz Series: Turkish Musician Ultimately Makes Hartford His Home Guitarist Sinan Bakir, Turkey's great gift to Hartford's ongoing jazzrenaissance, was so homesick when he first arrived in Hartford 11 years ago as a scholarship student that he almost turned around and went home to his beloved hometown of Ankara, the capital of Turkey. Luckily for Hartford, Bakir chose Connecticut's capital city over Ankara, and has established himself as a much respected player on ...
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A Chat with Rodrigo Y Gabriela
Source:
JamBase
By Dennis Cook Reinvention is a tricky business. Veer too far from the known and one loses existing fans, stick too close to well trod paths and risk being predictable and safe. Rodrigo y Gabriela have gone their own way since they emerged with a bang in the early 2000s as a hypnotizing duo that mingled flamenco attack with metal accents, jazz seductiveness and more. With just two acoustic guitars (and some choice effects and smart use of volume), Rodrigo ...
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Interview: Benny Golson
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
I hope when the Kennedy Center starts to think about this year's honoreers, they will give serious consideration to composer-saxophonist Benny Golson. As I write in today's Wall Street Journal (go here if you're a subscriber), Benny is the stylistic heir to Billy Strayhorn and Tadd Dameron. He is to jazz what Carole King and Harry Nilsson are to pop-rock and Stevie Wonder is to soul. If you're in New York, Benny will be at the Jazz Standard starting today ...
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Saxphone Colossus Sonny Rollins Interviewed at All About Jazz!
Source:
All About Jazz
Making two trips to the White House within a calendar year, to receive two of the nation's most prestigious awards bestowed upon artists, is more than fairly momentous. Those are significant feathers in the ol' cap—surely reasons to crow or, at the very least, feel pretty satisfied about oneself. So it had to be a hell of a year for Sonny Rollins—had to be. But, with the ever level-headed, realistic and humble Rollins, one wouldn't really notice it. He doesn't ...
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Jazz Face: Billy Peterson's Rhapsody
Source:
JazzINK by Andrea Canter
Outside of the Twin Cities, Billy Peterson is probably best known for his two+ decades of work with the Steve Miller Band. But here at home, and particularly over the past six months, Billy literally has served as the house bassist at the Artists Quarter, appearing with a wide range of jazz artists from vocalists to quartets and trios, from established bands to new configurations. He's also been working steadily with vocalist Pippi Ardennia as her “house band" bassist for ...
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Guitarist Kenny Burrell Interviewed at All About Jazz!
Source:
All About Jazz
Kenny Burrell has appeared on so many essential jazz recordings that jazz history and his story seem irretrievably intertwined. Billie Holiday's valedictory rumination Lady Sings the Blues (Verve, 1956)? Jimmy Smith's epochal funk throwdown Back at the Chicken Shack (Blue Note, 1960)? Tony Bennett's Carnegie Hall debut? Kenny Burrell played guitar for them all. Even Jimi Hendrix once famously remarked, “Kenny Burrell—that's the sound I'm looking for." Burrell has shown no sign of slowing down in the ensuing decades. He ...
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Interview: Roberta Flack
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
You haven't lived until you hear Roberta Flack sing Feel Like Makin' Love over the phone. Her folk-soul voice is still so warm and rich. In today's Wall Street Journal (go here), I write about Roberta's new Beatles album, Let It Be Roberta. This CD isn't your typical pop-tribute album. Instead, It's a bold, revisionist interpretation of Fab Four hits that strips away the all-too familiar trappings and replaces them with soul, folk, gospel and electronica. In short, it's wild ...
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