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Interview

Interview: Geri Allen (Part 3)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
January 20, 2012

If you were to guess what pianist Geri Allen is like to talk to on the phone based solely on her music, you might say, “stormy," “short on patience" and “booming." Actually, the opposite is true on all counts. Geri is gentle, patient and embracing. In conversation, you hear the lyrical voice of a kind, caring person—which may seem in stark contrast with the powerful, energetic and domineering artist you hear on disc. [Photo by Alan Jackman] Geri will be ...

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Interview

Jazz Be Nimble

Source: Tamela D'Amico
January 20, 2012

In the music “business," art is often eclipsed by commercialism, and these days, I find myself growing partial to songs that showcase vocals and instrumentation over electronic enhancements. I recently touched upon artists who present a retro sound that appeals to my nostalgia and longing for a modicum of purity. This type of player is perhaps not exposed as readily as Lady Avril Cyrus Bieber, but hey, if ye seeketh, ye shall find. One of the most flexible and enduring ...

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Interview

Interview: Geri Allen (Part 2)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
January 19, 2012

Pianist Geri Allen loves drama. Whenever she opens a song, she sets the mood with dynamic intrigue. Whether the song is an original ballad like Flying Toward the Sound or the churning Soul Heir, Geri splashes the ear with sparkling beauty—instinctively knowing that to win audiences' hearts, you have to engage their ears fast with colorful surprises. Even on Billy Strayhorn's Lush Life, you sense the curtain going up on both the familiar and the new, which she follows with ...

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Interview

Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman Celebrate 40th Anniversary of Yes' Fragile; Stream the Interview!

Source: Something Else!
January 18, 2012

Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman are appearing this week on “InTheStudio: The Stories Behind History's Greatest Rock Bands," as the syndicated rock radio show celebrates the 40th anniversary of Yes' Fragile. “Probably around 'Fragile' was the time that I started to become a little bit more like a director—they used to call me 'Napoleon,'" Anderson says on the program. “They never told me to my face. (Chuckles.) It didn't matter, I didn't care, as long as it was happening. Later ...

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Interview

Interview: Geri Allen (Part 1)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
January 18, 2012

Too many jazz fans are unfamiliar with pianist Geri Allen. Though not yet a household name, Geri will be soon. Her recordings and live performances make her one of jazz's most vibrant and dynamic musicians. Geri has been categorized as avant-garde, but that term seems ironically passe. Geri's free approach and warmth transcends “avant-garde," placing her at the front of a group of musicians today who are forging a new jazz style. I call it the jazz-feelings movement. Last week Geri ...

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Interview

An interview with New York-based saxophonist Mark Lopeman

Source: Graham Taylor
January 16, 2012

It's fitting that the cover of saxophonist Mark Lopeman's latest album, Nice Work If You Can Get It, is a watercolor portrait from his daughter Rosie. After all, Lopeman approaches his instrument like a painter himself, utterly spellbinding in his ability to illustrate various moods from the unbridled joy of “My Reverie" to the warm caress of “I'm a Fool to Want You" to the gentle introspection of “Everything Happens to Me." Stellar musicians such as the New York-based Lopeman ...

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Interview

Two Hollywood Songbirds

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
January 17, 2012

I wasn't around in Los Angeles in the '50s and early '60s, but from what I hear, it was quite a place. Actually, you kind of sense that the city was overflowing with musical talent. Anyone who loves rare jazz albums by little-known singers knows that there were a lot of superb vocalists on the scene there whose names today have been largely forgotten. Two examples are Thelma Gracen and Mavis Rivers. Thelma Gracen [pictured] was a big band singer ...

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Interview

In Praise of DeJohnette

Source: RJ on Jazz by R.J. DeLuke
January 15, 2012

Recent NEA Jazz Master is among best drummers ever It was nice to see the recent National Endowment for the Arts annual Jazz Masters awards ceremony and concert broadcast online recently from the Jazz at Lincoln Center. All the honorees were fitting, and all—the ones present—eloquent. Particularly trumpeter Jimmy Owens speaking about the needs of aging musicians (and the lack of support from jazz club owners in that regard), and the good works of the Jazz Foundation of America. Among ...

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