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Interview

An Interview with Grace Kelly

Source: Groove Notes
August 24, 2011

This morning I had the opportunity to speak with 19-year-old jazz saxophonist Grace Kelly by phone. Grace has won numerous awards and released several albums already, as well as being a very talented vocalist, pianist and composer. Grace will be coming to Seattle for the first time, performing at Tula's for two nights as part of the Earshot Jazz Festival in November. In this audio blog, Grace discusses how she went from being a clarinetist at 10 years old to ...

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Interview

Latin Jazz Conversations: Ami Molinelli (Part 1)

Source: The Latin Jazz Corner by Chip Boaz
August 24, 2011

A change of plan often breathes excitement into life and offers the possibility of digging deep into new paths of inspiration. Leaving yourself open to new ideas may present some initial discomfort, but almost always leads to new learning and self-discovery. Sometimes it's simply better to ditch the plan completely and follow your passion—you never know where it might lead and the journey might be better than the destination. When this journey sends an individual towards music, the entire world ...

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Interview

Pianist John Escreet Interviewed at All About Jazz

Source: All About Jazz
August 22, 2011

Looking forward—moving forward—is an essential quality to pianist John Escreet, a United Kingdom native who moved to the United States, specifically New York City, in 2008 to pursue an education at the Manhattan School of Music. So is achieving a unique sound and approach, both for artistic and practical reasons. Escreet, age 22 when he moved from England, has been playing music on the modern edge of jazz with artists like David Binney, Ambrose Akinmusire and Tyshawn Sorey—all people who ...

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Interview

Saxophonist Patrick Brennan Interviewed at All About Jazz

Source: All About Jazz
August 23, 2011

Since moving to New York City in 1975, one-time bassist/painter Patrick Brennan has crafted a musical path that is open in its candor and indebtedness to all facets of black music. Much like trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, the alto saxophonist brews a thicket of his own distinct musical language that “unlike much contemporaneous vanguard music is built specifically upon the potentialities of swinging and polyrhythm." For the astute lay person this means moving the expressive expansiveness of trap playing and ...

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Interview

An Interview with Anton Schwartz

Source: Groove Notes
August 19, 2011

I had the opportunity this week to speak by phone with tenor saxophonist Anton Schwartz. Anton recently moved to the Seattle area. I had the chance to ask him about what brought him to the Puget Sound, and how he has networked himself into the local jazz scene so far. We also talked about the differences between a jazz scene like Seattle versus the scene in New York, his recent project with vocalist Ed Reed, being in a high school ...

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Interview

Cleveland, Ohio jazz band modQUAD unites improvisational jazz with funk on new CD

Source: Lauren Rogers
August 19, 2011

The cleverly, playfully named modQUAD has avoided the mistake that improvisational jazz acts often make, especially those who are making their debut. That fatal flaw is in skidding off the rails rhythmically, letting creative egos dominate the groove instead of working collectively towards producing a compelling song. On the Cleveland, Ohio band's new album, It's Not Your Mama's Jazz (or is it?), modQUAD pledges allegiance to funk while working within the framework of jazz, producing a taut, tightly performed collection ...

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Interview

Something Else! Featured Artist: Genesis

Source: Something Else!
August 14, 2011

Believe it or not, Phil Collins was once just a member of this group called Genesis. Back then, before Collins turned Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks into his backing band, Genesis had begun its musical life as a witty, sometimes quite theatrical prog-rock project. The twin departures, however, of Peter Gabriel and then Steve Hackett led to a turn into more popular sounds. Before you knew it, Collins had launched his own concurrent solo career—memorably unleashing the mid-1980s earplug “Sussudio" ...

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Interview

An interview with Israel's acclaimed bassist Noam Elron

Source: Lauren Rogers
August 13, 2011

His dynamic touch with the double bass might not suggest it, but Noam Elron is a late bloomer. The Israel-based musician didn't begin experimenting with the instrument until he was in his mid-20s. On his latest album Fluctuation, Elron shows no sign of inexperience with the double bass; in fact, it sounds like he was born to play it. Elron took some time off from his hectic schedule for this revealing interview. Q: How did you learn to play the ...

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