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Catching Up With
Less formal than our standard interviews with a focus on an artist's recent recording project or tour.
Mike Vax: Getting Vaxinated
Mike Vax has one of the shortest surnames in jazz music—he's “tied" with Tommy Vig and Jack Six for that honor. However, those familiar with his activities as a well-respected lead trumpeter and soloist with Stan Kenton, a stalwart member of the famous Dukes of Dixieland, the leader and man behind the annual tour of the Stan Kenton Legacy Orchestra, and as an ardent proponent of jazz education know that what the name Vax lacks in length, Vax delivers in ...
read moreMatthew Whitaker: A New Voice On Jazz Piano
Matthew Whitaker is an American jazz pianist. Blind since birth, he has performed at venues including Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and The Apollo Theatre, where aged ten, he opened for Stevie Wonder. Though he is only eighteen years old, multi instrumentalist Whitaker has come a long way to get where he is today, overcoming adversity and dedicating countless hours to honing his craft. Now with his declarative label debut Now Hear This (Resilience Music, 2019), ...
read moreShalosh: Onwards and Upwards Indeed
Shalosh is the Hebrew word for “three," and also a powerhouse piano trio from jny: Jerusalem with a dynamic rhythm section featuring drummer Matan Assayag and bassist David Michaeli with Gadi Stern on the keys. The group formed in 2014 when Stern and Assayag, who've known each other since childhood, joined with Michaeli for the trio's debut record. Their emphasis on co-leadership has been evident since the beginning. These days they are enjoying a significant surge in recognition ...
read moreWallace Roney: What’s Going on Today
Trumpeter Wallace Roney has come a long way since his days as a Miles Davis mentee. The young man who earned the Down Beat Award for Best Young Jazz Musician of the Year in both 1979 and 1980 is now a seasoned veteran with 22 band-leader recordings to his credit. During his career, Roney has played with Davis, Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Chick Corea and a long list of others.
read moreStephanie Richards: Creative Music
Calgary's Stephanie Richards has been rubbing shoulders with some of the world's finest jazz players since putting down roots in jny: New York City. The trumpeter has a passion for testing boundaries and an intuitive approach to her work. Her latest, Take the Neon Lights, is a tribute to her new home. All About Jazz: Collaborations have played a big part in your career to date. Is that by design? Steph Richards: It's inherent in the ...
read moreBret Primack on Jazz Video and the Ira Gitler Documentary
Since the 1990's, Bret Primack has probably been the most prolific video chronicler of jazz in the world. He has just released a documentary about jazz writer-record producer Ira Gitler called Ira Gitler Lives. Since Gitler was a big fan of Charlie Parker, I presume this is a play on a famous bit of graffiti—"Bird Lives." In the documentary, Primack uses footage amassed in person and via Skype including interviews with Gitler, a number of other jazz journalists ...
read moreVivian Sessoms: To Be Black In America
Vivian Sessoms has built a career in collaboration with a range of world-famous artists. P. Diddy, Michael Jackson, Donna Summer, Sinéad O'Connor, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Stevie Wonder all have a place on her resume. With a new Ropeadope contract in hand, Sessoms has produced a two-part album release called Life. They make an extraordinary pair, from both a personal and political perspective. All About Jazz: There is a lot here thematically. Walk us through it. Vivian ...
read moreKeith Fiala: From Maynard to the Maestro
Keith Fiala, trumpeter, composer, producer, author, educator/clinician, video production guru, and currently personal assistant to 10-time Grammy winner, Arturo Sandoval. Originally from Des Moines, Iowa and later jny: Austin, Texas, Fiala who also spent time starring on Maynard Ferguson's Big Bop Nouveau Band, took a few moments from his busy schedule to chat. All About Jazz: Keith, on behalf of All About Jazz, thanks for taking time from your busy schedule to talk. Keith Fiala: Thanks ...
read moreTierney Sutton: Movie Music Re-visited
Ace jazz singer Tierney Sutton has built up a large discography and international “gigography" with her tautly integrated and long-standing band— pianist Christian Jacob, bassists Kevin Axt and Trey Henry and drummer Ray Brinker— scooping up accolades and trophies, of the GRAMMY and poll-winning sort and more. Enter a new-ish relationship: screen life. Sutton and band have rubbed collective elbows with the film world in the last few years, after jazz-loving director Clint Eastwood hired them to perform ...
read moreHerb and Lani Alpert: Truth-Telling, the Arts and Heart
It's been nearly four years since we last spoke to Herb Alpert. Now in his early 80s and about to go on tour performing with his wife, Lani Hall, Alpert continues to be a dynamic—and vital—force in both the music and art world. His philanthropic efforts on behalf the arts and music education are unparalleled and distinguish him as a true humanitarian. All About Jazz: Herb, on behalf of All About Jazz, thanks for taking time.
read moreDavid Helbock: Inside & Outside the Piano
Austrian pianist/composer David Helbock was born in 1984, and began playing the piano at the age of six. He studied at the Feldkirch Conservatory with Prof. Ferenc Bognar, where he finished in 2005 with an “excellent" degree in performance and since 2000 took lessons with the New York jazz pianist Peter Madsen, who became his teacher, mentor and friend. Awards include the audience prize at the world's biggest jazz-piano-solo competition of the Jazzfestival Montreux, and the most important prize in ...
read moreArthur Satyan: A life Steeped in Music
Pianist, composer and educator Arthur Satyan came to Lebanon from his native Armenia in 1996 with a 3-month contract for the reopening of the area's premier performance space Casino Du Liban. Accompanying Satyan were American musicians drummer Steve Phillips, bassist Jack Gregg and guitarist Eric Schultz. Satyan ended up accepting a position at the Lebanese National Conservatory of Music as a professor of classical piano and, in 2005 founded the school's jazz department which he still heads. Throughout the past ...
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