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Enrico Rava: To Be Free or Not To Be Free
by Ian Patterson
Freedom, it could be argued, is most deeply understood by those who have been somehow constrained against their will, or who have been prisoners of their own skewed vision of what it means to be free. Trumpeter Enrico Rava knows the meaning of musical freedom; he was part of the free-jazz scene of the 1960s and ...
Remembering Michael Brecker, Five Years Later
Hard to wrap my mind around the fact that as of yesterday, Michael Brecker has been dead for five years, now. With over 900 recordings to his name, it's damned near impossible to avoid that singular sax sound of his whether the music is funk, rock, mainstream jazz or fusion jazz. Moreover, I find that more ...
In Praise of DeJohnette
Recent NEA Jazz Master is among best drummers ever It was nice to see the recent National Endowment for the Arts annual Jazz Masters awards ceremony and concert broadcast online recently from the Jazz at Lincoln Center. All the honorees were fitting, and all—the ones present—eloquent. Particularly trumpeter Jimmy Owens speaking about the needs of aging ...
Interview: Anthony Ortega (Part 4)
Personalities don't come much sunnier than Anthony Ortega's and his wife Mona's. Every time I call, I'm welcomed by enormous warmth and kindness. But their dispositions go way beyond words. You can hear an orange glow in the sound of their voices, how happy they are to be with each other and how grateful they are ...
Interview: Anthony Ortega (Part 3)
Lionel Hampton loved Anthony Ortega's playing in 1953, likening his sound on the alto sax to Charlie Parker's. There are indeed similarities, notably the yearning, bluesy tone and pushing off on the high notes. Anthony wound up in Hampton's band at just the right moment in time, when an amazing collection of musicians had assembled—including Quincy ...
Interview: Anthony Ortega (Part 2)
Before I launch into the remaining two parts of my Q&A conversation with saxophonist Anthony Ortega, I want to present you with The Street We Took (2007), a 15-minute documentary on Anthony and his wife Mona by filmmaker Andrew Rubin. Andrew generously made his short film available on YouTube after we spoke about its poetry and ...
Claire Daly: The Most Jazz Life I Could Ever Imagine
by Andrea Wolper
December 22, 1935. “I am going up the Taku River by dogteam to Fairbanks." “But you can't do that; there are mountains or something you can't get over. Anyway, it's no place for a woman." Thus man disposes of woman. That settled I went quietly about my business of getting ready.Thus begins the journal ...
Interview: Anthony Ortega (Part 1)
If you're a student of liner notes from the 1950s, the name Anthony Ortega should ring a bell. Anthony played saxophone on a range of well-known recordings during jazz's golden decade, including sessions led by Gigi Gryce, Art Farmer, Quincy Jones, Sonny Stitt, Dinah Washington, Billy Taylor, Nat Pierce, Maynard Ferguson and others. Anthony also led ...
Ian Rogers Unveils New Haircut ...And Interviews Rhapsody President John Irwin
Topspin CEO Ian Rogers is starting 2012 off with a new haircut. At the risk of sounding like there's some kind of man crush going on, Rogers has long been known for long hair (before photo to left) that made him look like a skateboarder (which he also is) rather than a CEO and father of ...
NEA Jazz Master Jack DeJohnette Week Begins at All About Jazz with Extensive Interview and More!
Approaching 70 later this year makes 2012 a special time for Jack DeJohnette. One of five artists to receive the 2012 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Jazz Masters Fellowship only makes it more so for the veteran drummer/pianist, who has appeared on hundreds of recordings over the past 45 years, including landmark sessions with artists ...
