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Interview
Roxy Coss: Standing Out
All About Jazz: You have recently released a new CD, Chasing the Unicorn (Posi-Tone, 2017), just a year after the release of Restless Idealism (Origin, 2016). Albums are like a snapshot of a timeframe, how has that musical image changed in a year? Roxy Coss: More back story is it was recorded more than a year apart, even though they were released a year apart, so there was actually more time between recordings, almost two years. When I ...
read moreJamie Saft: Jazz in the Key of Iggy
In 1988 Bill Laswell produced Iggy Pop's album Instinct. Back then, little he could have known that, almost thirty years later, he would have been instrumental in facilitating the iconic singer's first foray in the Jazz world. Loneliness Road (RareNoiseRecords) documents the latest incarnation of James Newell Osterberg Junior, the front man of proto-punk band The Stooges. In this interview pianist Jamie Saft details the making of this one-of-a-kind project. A graduate of Tufts University and the New ...
read moreDavid Torn: Making Records, Film Composition, and Working With David Bowie
Experimental guitarist, looper, songwriter, improviser, session guitarist, film composer, record producer, mixer...David Torn is all of those things. He is constantly on the move, looking forward to the next thing. He was last interviewed for All About Jazz in 2007 ("David Torn: A Lifetime Of Improvisation In Non-Improvisational Settings“). Our conversation mostly ranged over his many activities in the ten years since then. Asked about researching his playing history, and the Wikipedia article in particular: The ...
read moreWouter Turkenburg: Jazz Education in the New Millennium
All About Jazz and Wouter Turkenburg would like to dedicate this interview to the memory of saxophonist Michael Brecker (1949-2007). In addition to his prodigious accomplishments as an instrumentalist and band leader, Brecker was an exceptional worldwide teacher and mentor, both by example and instruction in countless workshops and classes. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of Music and left a jazz legacy that will forever provide a role model and inspiration for students and aspiring musicians. ...
read moreRufus Reid: Composer, Educator, Bassist, Gait Keeper… And Prophet
Rufus Reid doesn't play standards, as much as he is the standard, a well of knowledge and wisdom that this bassist was fortunate to sit down with one afternoon. All About Jazz: When you did the Elizabeth Catlett album/project, it seemed that the beauty of her work inspired you, but am I wrong in my observation that her work could also be considered somewhat “Afrocentric?" How much of that inspired you, The Afro- American/African culture? How much has ...
read morePiotr Turkiewicz: Putting Wroclaw On The Jazz Map
At just thirty seven years of age it's hard to believe that Piotr Turkiewicz has been pulling the strings of Jazztopad for almost a decade already. The festival, staged each November in the Polish city of Wroclaw, was already a few years old when Turkiewicz became Artistic Director in 2008, but under the canny stewardship of Turkiewicz and General Director Andrzej Kosendiak, Jazztopad has been transformed, in both style and substance, to become one of Europe's more progressively minded jazz ...
read moreThe indefatigable Bill Frisell
Since he first appeared on the international scene in the late '70s, Bill Frisell has shown considerable originality and strong individuality. Thanks to an instrumental voice that is both immediately recognizable and immensely versatile, he continues to stand out among the artists that have contributed to rewriting the role of guitar in jazz and beyond. Adept in jazz, blues, country, new classical, and pop music, Frisell has spent his entire career exploring all aspects of American music, redefining ...
read moreLwanda Gogwana: Tradition and Innovation
When South African trumpet virtuoso Lwanda Gogwana released his second album Uhadi Synth (Lwanda Gogwana Music Group, 2016) last year, he reinforced his position not only as one of South Africa's truly exceptional horn talents, but also as one of its most probing and insightful artists and composers. The title of the album itself--the modern synthesizer juxtaposed with an uhadi, a traditional bowed instrument of South Africa's Xhosa people--reflects an interest in exploring, studying, and even uniting the ...
read moreMark Guiliana: A Natural Progression of Research
Mark Guiliana is a prominent figure among the new wave of drummer-leaders of his generation. The upcoming album Jersey is the second with his Jazz Quartet and marks his debut for Motema Music. All About Jazz met him last July, before his performance at the Malta Jazz Festival, to speak about his ability to seamlessly integrate acoustic and electronic music, his upcoming album and the current line-up of the Jazz Quartet featuring Fabian Almazan at the piano. All ...
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