Results for "Interview"

Latin Jazz Conversations: Hilario Duran (Part 4)

September 8, 2010

A strong Latin Jazz bandleader carries a specific set of tools that guide them through their multiple responsibilities; the best bandleaders make these skills look natural, but they are actually learned over time. Any good leader spends years, and sometimes decades, as a sideman behind multiple artists. They work hard, watch the masters, learn the necessary ...

A Portrait of Sonny Rollins

September 8, 2010

Today is Sonny Rollins' 80th birthday. In addition to his much-anticipated concert at New York's Beacon Theater this Friday night, a new coffee-table book has just arrived that features lush color photographs by John Abbott and engaging text by Bob Blumenthal. Saxophone Colossus: A Portrait of Sonny Rollins (Abrams) is about as close as you will ...

Sonny Rollins: The Abstract Expressionist

September 8, 2010

After 60 years of playing tenor sax, Sonny Rollins thinks he just might be getting the hang of it. Sonny Rollins, saxophone colossus, turns 80 on September 7. You wouldn't know it to see him standing at the front of the bandstand, one of the last of the jazz legends, unleashing his soul through the frantic ...

Julian Joseph: Joining Jazz and Baseball

by Bruce Lindsay
September 7, 2010

Julian Joseph is something of a jazz master of all trades. Pianist, composer, bandleader, arranger, broadcaster and educator, Joseph is constantly busy, always working on new ideas and projects, spreading the word about music, encouraging young performers and generally promoting jazz around the world. With Shadowball Joseph has turned his attention to the relationship between jazz ...

Bobby Zankel: Peaceful Jazz Warrior

by Victor L. Schermer
September 6, 2010

For many decades, Philadelphia has been home to a cadre of multi-generational jazz musicians who go on year-after-year composing, arranging and performing some of the best, highest level music to be heard anywhere. This tradition is exemplified in no better way than by alto saxophonist, composer and bandleader Bobby Zankel. Zankel apprenticed with legendary ...

Sonny Rollins Takes a Ride

September 4, 2010

A couple of months ago, I asked Sonny Rollins if he would be  willing to visit his old neighborhood in Harlem with me from the back of a comfortable car for the Wall Street Journal. His 80th birthday was coming (September 7). So was a much heralded concert at New York's Beacon Theater (September 10). Now ...

Under Your Skin Interview: The Barbican London

September 3, 2010

Eden Brent: A Jazz Queen With a Case of the Blues

September 3, 2010

Jazz grew out of the blues some time in the late 19th or early 20th century in and around New Orleans. While the two styles grew apart as each developed its own lexicon, there's no mistaking the fact that the they are deeply intertwined—one need look no further than Billie Holiday, Count Basie and most musicians ...

Orrin Keepnews on Bill Evans

September 2, 2010

In rereading producer Orrin Keepnews' superb book, The View From Within, a collection of his jazz writings and recollections over the years, I came across the following passage on Bill Evans and the recording of Explorations. I've often posted that the years between 1959 and 1965 represent my favorite Bill Evans period, with Explorations being among ...

Zappa Bust to be Unveiled in Baltimore on 9/19

September 2, 2010

SEPTEMBER 19 WILL BE DECLARED “FRANK ZAPPA DAY" IN BALTIMORE Details of events were announced today for the unveiling of a sculpture of Frank Zappa and celebration honoring the composer for the legacy of his music and his commitment to the First Amendment. September 19, 2010 marks the 25th anniversary of Zappa's testimony on Capitol Hill ...