Interview News

Jazz Face: Bobb Fantauzzo

Source: JazzINK by Andrea Canter
September 21, 2011

Bobb Fantauzzo is a many of many flutes. Each flute generates a slightly different face, I would guess a slightly different embouchure given the varying sizes of the wooden cylinders and their mouthpieces. For his performance tonight at The Nicollet with the trio Jazz Zen (electric cellist Aaron Kerr, drummer Darren Pinto), Bobb brought along seven or eight diverse-looking instruments in the flute family, and said it was just a fraction of his collection. Maybe one looked somewhat like the ...

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Vibraphonist Tim Collins Interviewed at All About Jazz!

Source: All About Jazz
September 20, 2011

Tim Collins likes to mix it up. It starts at home; the vibraphonist is married to a successful concert violinist and is intimately connected to the world of classical music. Recording with pianist Matthias Bublath, Collins has also worked with guitarist Charlie Hunter, who produced his second album, mixing rock, jazz, and string quartets. He seeks melodies and inspiration without regard to genre, covering songs by artists a disparate as Tom Petty and Björk on Castles and Hilltops (Nineteen-Eight Records, ...

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Alan Pasqua on Bill Evans

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
September 20, 2011

It takes a lot of courage for a pianist to take on Bill Evans. It requires even more courage for that pianist to overdub himself recording Evans' songs. After all, any pianist who would attempt such a thing would be asking for a ton of trouble. Evans fans are pretty particular, passionate and protective of the late pianist and have a low tolerance for intruders. Unless, of course, a pianist paying tribute to Evans actually pulled it off. Alan Pasqua ...

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Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey's Chris Combs Interviewed at All About Jazz

Source: All About Jazz
September 19, 2011

On a Memorial Day in 1921 Tulsa, Oklahoma, an encounter between a young black shoe shiner named Dick Rowland and a white elevator operator named Sarah Page—an incident that was reported with hazy details and shocking incompleteness—started one of the most brutal and tragic race riots in American history. Even more tragic, however, was how little the event was discussed by national or even Oklahoman sources. It was an event that Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey's pedal steel guitarist Chris Combs, ...

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Branford Marsalis on KUOW

Source: Seattle Jazz Scene
September 17, 2011

Branford Marsalis is a three—time Grammy winning saxophonist and composer. He works with new and established jazz musicians as the head of Marsalis Music, and teaches students new ways to think about jazz music. Today, Branford Marsalis joins us to talk about the legacy and future of jazz music, the importance keeping the culture of music thriving in New Orleans, and how jazz music shaped who he is and how he expresses himself today. Click here to listen on KUOW. ...

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Saxophone Prodigy Grace Kelly's Astounding Musical Journey

Source: Best. Saxophone. Website. Ever.
September 16, 2011

When putting these interview articles together, sometimes I get an artist whose accomplishments are so impressive and numerous that it makes putting everything into a few paragraphs, well, kind of a pain in the tush. That said, thanks a lot Grace Kelly. I'll go ahead and list just a few of the bullet points here:

Has recorded 7 solo albums with appearances by Phil Woods and Lee Konitz among others In 2011 she became the youngest musician ever to be ...

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Justin Kauflin: Blind VA Beach Pianist Jazzed to Be Competing in DC

Source: Phyllis Kauflin
September 15, 2011

Virginia Beach-reared Justin Kauflin strolled onto the stage for the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition on Sunday with a grin on his face and his guide dog, Candy, at his side. After settling in at the keyboards, and settling his black Labrador onto the floor beside him, he proceeded to play for a chance at $25,000 and a one-year record deal. His set greatly impressed a former teacher. He was not, however, named a finalist by the judges, who ...

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Leading Questions: Bill Anschell

Source: Seattle Jazz Scene
September 13, 2011

When I was 14 I was a miscast classical clarinetist with no real interest in classical music or clarinet. Or jazz, for that matter. My guilty pleasure was playing pop tunes by ear on my family's upright piano. The piano is a climate-sensitive instrument that, sadly, can't tune itself no matter how nice it looks. Practice makes me feel and play better. Unfortunately, the buzz usually wears off by the time I get to the gig. Some of my best ...

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