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Interviews
Chick Corea: Music With The Fun Factor
Chick Corea is a musical icon, having amassed a career that runs through most styles of jazz and has veered off into classical experiments as a well. Freedom of expression is always being at the core. His amazing musical journey—over five decades as a solo artist—has had him rubbing elbows with some of the best musicians in history—Stan Getz to Sarah Vaughan. Herbie Hancock John McLaughlin, Roy Haynes, Joe Henderson, Gary Burton and so many more. In the ...
read moreRichie Beirach: Indelible Memories and Thought-Provoking Reflections on a Life in Jazz, Part 2
Part 1 | Part 2 Richie Beirach hovers somewhat mysteriously in the pantheon of the great modern jazz pianists. Some of the others in that category from his generation (coming up in the 1960s/'70s), like Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, and Kenny Barron have greater celebrity, but Beirach easily qualifies alongside them as one of the most accomplished masters. While the aforementioned have developed a signature style, emotional power, and virtuosic technique, Beirach, above and beyond those ...
read moreRichie Beirach: Indelible Memories and Thought-Provoking Reflections on a Life in Jazz, Part 1
Part 1 | Part 2 Richie Beirach hovers somewhat mysteriously in the pantheon of the great modern jazz pianists. Some of the others in that category from his generation (coming up in the 1960s/'70s), like Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, and Kenny Barron have greater celebrity, but Beirach easily qualifies alongside them as one of the most accomplished masters. While the aforementioned have developed a signature style, emotional power, and virtuosic technique, Beirach, above and beyond those ...
read morePolly Gibbons: Jazz or Blues, It's The Feeling
British singer Polly Gibbons is past the up-and-coming stage. Her strong will, passion and impressive talent continue to propel her down a path where more good things are sure to come. An indication of her prodigious talent is heard on her latest release, and third for Resonance Records, All I Can Do. It's a joyous romp through jazzy and bluesy standards. When she swings and sings jazz, gruff traces of the blues emerge through her rich vibrato. And ...
read moreEmma Frank: Well-Rounded And Quite Frank
Among today's protagonists, breaking the boundaries between what vocal jazz should and folk or singer-songwriter music can be--Gretchen Parlato, Esperanza Spalding or Rebecca Martin come to mind--jny: Boston-born and raised Emma Frank is deservedly making a name for herself. On her last outing Ocean Av (Susan Records, 2018) the singer's songwriting demonstrates the perfect balance between elaborate harmonies, the melodic immediacy of catchy choruses and dynamic rhythmic intricacies that are paired with refined lyrics. Of course, being backed by a ...
read moreRalph Peterson: True Messenger, True Warrior
Drummer Ralph Peterson has been on the jazz scene for some 35 years or more, carving out a career as a performer and an educator that would be the envy of many. His main influence is the legendary Art Blakey, and Peterson has been a standard bearer for that music and that style for some time. It's not his only thing though. He's played with Walter Davis, {{Jon Faddis, David Murray, Stanley Turrentine, Craig Harris, Henry Threadgill, Michael ...
read moreKarina Corradini: From Ella to Elis
It's remarkable how some musicians can overcome severe adversity, stay focused, persevere and come out on the other side of the tunnel. There are many such stories, and one is singer Karina Corradini from jny: Buenos Aires, who has been on the jny: Los Angeles jazz scene for some 15 years. Corradini has an appreciation for all kinds of music, but listening to Ella Fitzgerald and other jazz musicians has bequeathed to her a strong sense of swing ...
read moreAshley Pezzotti: Telling Her Story
As a child, Ashley Pezzotti, from Brooklyn, by way of Miami, was singing and performing. It hasn't stopped. And though only 23, it seems she has a strong career ahead of her. The title of her first album, We've Only Just Begun, out earlier this year, is a harbinger by title. As a work of art, its very strong. It displays not only an outstanding vocal instrument with a sassy flair for negotiating the jazz genre, but solid ...
read moreCannonball: A Man of the People
This interview was conducted at Union College in Schenectady, New York in 1971 and was originally published in an arts newspaper called Transition. Julian Cannonball Adderley was only three when he began to dig jazz and his hunger for his music is yet to be satiated. The first music he remembers hearing was in church. His mother was the organist of an Episcopal church. This church background has had a profound effect on his playing. His father played ...
read moreMonty Alexander: Still Rolling
If there's one defining quality to Monty Alexander's music, it's joy. An unmistakable undercurrent of happiness has been constant across several decades, dozens of recordings and countless performances all over the world. He could be honoring classic jazz balladeers, exploring the danceable “riddims" of his native Jamaica or anything in between, and you can always hear the spirit of celebration in there somewhere. Alexander turns out to be just as delightful and effusive in conversation as he is ...
read moreShambhu: Soothing Guitar for Stressful Times
The times we live in call for reflection and one of the ways of providing it is through music. Music can slow our lives down and make us live in the moment, but it can also connect people. Since he discovered music, guitarist and composer Shambhu Neil Vineberg has been on a journey that has seen him connecting with many different people and sounds, and he is still finding new ways to express the music he hears while staying to ...
read moreRick Lawn: The Evolution of Big Band Sounds in America
From the latter part of the Jazz Age through the Swing Era, big bands dominated the jazz scene and a large part of the entertainment industry. After World War II, their fortunes declined, but their music soared to new heights, spurred on by innovative leaders, instrumentalists, and very importantly, the composers/arrangers who worked behind the scenes writing the large ensemble scores which required increasing ingenuity and resourcefulness. The back story of what made the big bands transform over time is ...
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