Interview News

Interview: Anne Phillips

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
October 25, 2011

Back in August, I poked fun at vocalist Anne Phillips. Well, not atAnne, personally, but at the cover of her 1959 album for Roulette, Born to Be Blue. Having her pose down at the rat-infested Brooklyn piers made the LP cover a natural target for my weekly “Oddball Album Cover" feature. Well, it turns out Anne has thick skin and a fabulous sense of humor. After exchanging emails recently,she agreed to tell me—and you—the story behind her 1959 LP, which ...

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Percussionist Thomas Stronen Interviewed at All About Jazz!

Source: All About Jazz
October 25, 2011

One of Norway's most prolific drummers, sampling percussionists and composers, Thomas Strønen is the co-founder of Food, along with British saxophonist Iain Ballamy. The group—which, since 2005, has whittled down from an original quartet that also featured Norwegians Arve Henriksen on trumpet and Mats Eilertsen on bass—released its most recent record, Quiet Inlet, in 2010 (its first for the German ECM label), and regularly includes guests that vary from one show to the next. up's sampled improvisational music.

Strønen is ...

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Violinist Diane Monroe Interviewed at All About Jazz!

Source: All About Jazz
October 24, 2011

Listening to Diane Monroe play jazz violin—whether solo, duo, or in a group—what's immediately evident is how great an improviser she is, fitting seamlessly with the music and the group, breathing and moving with the music. Only then does it become clear that she possesses the precision, complexity, and technique of a classical concert violinist. Indeed, Monroe studied classical violin at the Curtis Institute of Music with renowned teacher Ivan Galamian. While engaging in a career as a concert artist, ...

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Interview: Smokey Robinson

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
October 21, 2011

My Girl was Motown's seventh No. 1 pop hit and 12th No. R&B chart hit. Released onDecember 21, 1964, the single reached the top position on Billboard's Hot 100 chart the first week of March 1965. It remained there for only one week before being knocked into the No. 2 spot by the Beatles' Eight Days a Week. Today, My Girl is considered Motown's de facto anthem and its most lucrative single. Smokey still performs his song during each of his ...

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The Shearing Sound Revived

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
October 21, 2011

Riding on the popularity of its late mentor, a new jazz group's low profile may be about to get higher. A year or so before he died early this year, pianist George Shearing gave his blessing to vibraharpist Charlie Shoemake's idea of forming a living tribute to Shearing's quintet, for decades one of the most successful of all small jazz bands. The resulting combo, featuring Shoemake and other veterans of the Shearing quintet, has been playing concerts, clubs, festivals and ...

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Something Else! Interview: Jazz Legend Jimmy Cobb

Source: Something Else!
October 21, 2011

Jimmy Cobb, the lone survivor of legendary jazz dates featuring Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Dinah Washington, Wes Montgomery and others, continues to furiously drum—even while carrying the torch. The 82-year-old's newest album is called Remembering Miles. Cobb will also begin a tour celebrating the music of Coltrane on Thursday, continuing through Nov. 5 with Javon Jackson, Mulgrew Miller and Nat Reeves. Each project, in its own way, celebrates collaborations on Davis' Kind of Blue, Sketches of Spain and Porgy and ...

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Exploring Dafnis Prieto, 2011 Macarthur Fellow: Prieto as Bandleader

Source: The Latin Jazz Corner by Chip Boaz
October 19, 2011

Dafnis Prieto recently was honored as a 2011 MacArthur Fellow, being recognized for excellence in his artistic pursuits. From his studies in Cuba to his professional work in New York, Prieto has always been a musician committed to outstanding artistry and pushing the limits of his creative energy. This cutting edge attitude has led to a burst of Latin Jazz excitement, but not in the standard ways that one might expect. Prieto has shown himself to be a technically astounding ...

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Saxophonist Jeremy Udden Interviewed at All About Jazz!

Source: All About Jazz
October 17, 2011

Jeremy Udden is one of those outstanding working musicians on the scene in Brooklyn. A saxophonist, composer, and bandleader, he is—like so many musicians of his generation—influenced by a variety of things outside what is known as jazz, and his music reflects that. He's developed a band called Plainville that offers a different sound and feel. A different tapestry on which musicians can subtly embroider their improvisations. A different mosaic. Out of the New England Conservatory, he cut his teeth ...

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