Interview News

Interview: Marty Napoleon (Part 1)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
June 1, 2011

Marty Napoleon is probably best known as the pianist in Louis Armstrong's All Stars, starting in 1952. That in and of itself would make Marty a superstar, considering who was in that band. But perhaps even more surprising is that Marty did not read music in the early part of his professional career. All of his jazz-playing skills came from his ear and a family thick with musicians, including pianist Teddy Napoleon and uncle Phil Napoleon. What also may news ...

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Arrested Development / Speech - Gil Scott-Heron

Source: underyourskin
May 31, 2011

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Wilbert Longmire

Source: Sound Insights by Doug Payne
May 31, 2011

Cincinnati based guitarist Wilbert Longmire has long had a curious career as a legend throughout northern Ohio and as an occasional headliner on national albums, paired with some of jazz's greatest names. Born in Mobile, Alabama, Wilbert moved with his parents to Cincinnati when he was only three. He started off as a violinist in his school's orchestra, studying and performing classical music until he discovered the guitar. He played a little while, learning the songs he wanted, and put ...

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Plenty of Celebration on the 85th Birthday of Miles Davis

Source: Groove Notes
May 27, 2011

Miles Davis would have been 85 years old today, and the birth of the legendary trumpeter is being celebrated in several ways and places around the country today.

LIFE.com just posted never-before-seen photos of Miles from 1958. According to LIFE.com:

When LIFE photographer Robert W. Kelley snapped a few rolls of film at an intimate jazz gig on May 14, 1958, neither he nor the magazine's editors could have known the importance of what he had witnessed. Perhaps that's ...

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Happy Birthday, Miles Davis!

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
May 27, 2011

The most famous jazz musician to come from the St. Louis metropolitan area, Miles Davis (pictured) was born May 26, 1926 in Alton, IL and raised in East St. Louis. Today would have been Miles' 85th birthday, and the occasion is being celebrated across the country in many ways, including an official party at East St. Louis City Hall. StLJN also received this morning a notice of a press conference being held this afternoon to announce the Miles Davis Festival, ...

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Chick Corea Plans Month-Long Jam Session for His 70th Birthday

Source: All About Jazz @ Spinner
May 26, 2011

It's safe to say that most people who reach their 70th birthday have started to slow down and take it a bit easier than in their youth. But that is certainly not the case for keyboardist Chick Corea, whose early career saw him make his debut as a leader in 1966 and perform alongside Joe Henderson and Stan Getz. He hit it big with Miles Davis' landmark late-'60s electric bands and his landmark '70s fusion group Return to Forever. Recently, ...

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Q&A: Cuong Vu

Source: Jazz Online By Joseph Vella
May 26, 2011

Cuong Vu has been one of the most creative musicians in jazz since the late 1990's. I remember first hearing his album Bound in 2000 and being blown away by the sheer scale of the music featured on that recording. His later album called Come Play With Me was even better. In 2003, I remember seeing him perform brilliantly with Pat Metheny Group—a stint that lasted for many years. What's so exciting about Cuong is that he is unpredictable and ...

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Something Else! Interview: Jazz Pianist Michael Wolff

Source: Something Else!
May 26, 2011

Jazz pianist Michael Wolff—an endlessly engaging player whom the New York Times has praised for “near impeccable good taste, technical facility and lyrical inventiveness" —joins us for an SER Sitdown to discuss the lasting importance of his old boss Julian “Cannonball" Adderley, Nancy Wilson's way with a song, the world's weird attaction of Elvis Presley—oh, and what it's like being Dear Old Dad around the Naked Brothers Band ... Nick DeRiso: You received some well-deserved rave reviews for 2009's Joe's ...

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