Musicycle. Dalla Classica al Jazz - All About Jazz Interviews

All About Jazz Interviews
All About Jazz Feature Interviews

Kevin Frenette: Fall River Guitar Guy However cool the surface of his music, Kevin Frenette is not content to serve up any sort of "easy listening." The guitarist grew up in Fall River, a small city in southeastern Massachusetts, but the beauty of his music is akin to a sylvan setting--to enter into it is to traverse a forest trail. Some themes and motifs--"organisms"--are finely formed and highly developed; some are just budding--new ideas still in the rough, offered to the ear as tokens of innovations transpiring or to come. There are frenzies of activity, coolly psychedelic, and then dry turns--demanding terrain that challenges, but in the final analysis leads to greater triumphs and more difficult pleasures. There is always in it a knot to unravel, or to tie, for those choosing to take his path... Julian Joseph: Joining Jazz and Baseball 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 and baseball, bringing the two together in a major jazz opera... Bobby Zankel: Peaceful Jazz Warrior 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... Wycliffe Gordon: What This is All About Versatility is an important part of a well-developed artistic soul. The arts provide a wide range of outlets of expression that can be nurtured and grown into their finest results. Music could very well be a reason to believe in the extraordinary, and jazz musicians are no exception; they might even be a norm. It is the dream of every artist to create freely, as improvised notes are gathered in an instrument and then exposed to the world at a moment's notice. And here comes jazz: wide open doors, windows letting all that sunshine in, and the ability to take a deep breath right before the soul allows the magic to materialize in the form of music... Eric Zinman: The Piano as Endangered Species For over twenty years, pianist/composer Eric Zinman has been crafting his own approach to his instrument, since meeting trumpeter m: Bill Dixon in the '80s. He views himself as an ensemble player, who plays to include; in addition to his own writing, his trio disc, Eric Zinman Ensemble (Cadence, 2006), features short pieces by m: John Voigt, m: Laurence Cook, Lowell Davidison and m: Ornette Coleman. Each composition feels lived with and explored thoroughly, while the music breaths and flows with a wide dynamic range. The interplay between piano, drums and bass is speech-like and unpredictable; the instruments seeming to merge their colors in a very unique way... Nils Petter Molvaer: Skeletons, Samples and Fish Fillets There's no overstating the impact that Nils Petter Molvær's debut CD Khmer made when it was released on the ECM label in 1997. The Norwegian trumpeter/composer was no stranger to ECM and its founder/producer Manfred Eicher-- Molvær had been a member of the collective jazz group Masqualero, that had released records on the label, and he'd played on sessions by ECM artists such as percussionist Robyn Schulkowsky. With his impeccable European jazz credentials and his winsomely melodic, atmospheric trumpet playing--distilled through a host of influences like Jon Hassell, Brian Eno, and Middle Eastern and Norwegian music--Molvær was, in a sense, the archetypal ECM artist... Abbey Lincoln: African Queen in a Top Hat (This interview was conducted in 2002) Abbey Lincoln made a stop in Amsterdam in 1998 for a rare appearance at the 110-year old Concertgebouw, where m: Sonny Rollins likes to play when he comes to town. The sellout crowd was composed mainly of seemingly staid yet perennially hip "pensionados" (as the Dutch like to refer to their restless retirees) but by the end of the final encore, the historic hall had reached a collective groove and the ghosts of Mahler and Mozart were probably bopping their heads to the beat. Lincoln's second encore was a tribute to her friend m: Betty Carter, who had died just weeks earlier: "I'll be Seeing You... Nobu Stowe: Beyond Free The music of NS (Nobu) Stowe is synonymous with the musical storytelling characterized with spontaneity and melodic romanticism--a true rarity in the field of fully improvised music. Stowe has not only mastered the art of total improvisation--a method of fully improvised music that embraces song-like melody, tonal harmony and rhythmic propulsion as well as more commonly improvised free elements--but also unique sets of fully improvised music, incorporating his own vast musical influences, from Baroque and progressive rock to soundtracks, ethnic elements and many more, with loose-yet-comprehensive structures. The results are well-documented in the highly original works released on the German Konnex label and famed Italian Soul Note lab el--Brooklyn Moments (2006), New York Moments (2007), Hommage an Klaus Kinski (2007), An die Musik (2008) and, most recently, Confusion Bleue (May 2010)... Pete Robbins: Balance Dream Pete Robbins is all about balance, in temperament and as an artist. He produces a polished sound on his alto saxophone, with a light tone betraying corners of darkness and complexity. Already an accomplished leader at 31, he grafts his sound onto ensembles of varying sizes with aplomb and equanimity. His style as a leader is distinctive. Just as distinctive are the contributions of his disciplined band members, heeding Robbins' swift directives but always sustaining a fine weave of individual voices... Taylor Haskins: Raising His (Trumpet) Voice Taylor Haskins is forging more of a career in the jazz world, and it's based on his solid musicianship and flair on the trumpet: a good strong tone, good chops, and a wide array of influences, translating into him being at ease and formidable in many styles, including being plugged-in. In addition to stepping out more on his own as a solo player, he can be found, in recent years, with the likes of m: Richard Bona, m: Guillermo Klein, m: Jamie Baum, and the m: Dave Holland Big Band... Robert Levin: The War is Over - A Conversation About Jazz [Editor's Note: Interview conducted by Eleanor Brietel, New York Editor of The Drill Press. Most of this interview, originally published on the Buzzle website, was conducted via email.] Eleanor Brietel: You've published fiction and you also write essays on a variety of subjects. I want, however, to confine this discussion to your thoughts about jazz, a special interest of yours that has resulted in a couple of books, a lot of liner notes and numerous articles in places like Down Beat, Rolling Stone, Metronome, Jazz and Pop Magazine (where you were the Jazz Editor) and The Village Voice (where you earned a reputation as an avid--some would say, zealous--supporter of the so-called "jazz revolution" in the '60s). What got you into jazz in the first place? Who were your guides and teachers... Ximo Tebar: Merging Sounds Into a Jazz Style Musician, producer and director of his own music school, Ximo Tebar stands out as the main jazz figure in Valencia, Spain. His music and talent, however, have also given him an international stature as an excellent guitarist and composer. His frequent collaborations with some of the finest musicians in the jazz scene, the stylistic variety of his recording and his admirable work capacity make Tebar an artist worth following... John Tilbury: A Strong Emotional Response To Music Pianist John Tilbury is renowned not only for his work in AMM and his other improvising, but also as a peerless interpreter of such contemporary composers as Morton Feldman, John Cage, Christian Wolff and Howard Skempton. He is uniquely well positioned to reflect on the similarities and contrasts between improvising and playing repertoire... Jeff Berlin: Still the Ace of Bass Through the course of a four-decade career, Jeff Berlin has refused to end his musical quest. He crafted a popping, percussive style so thoroughly ingrained in the recordings of the 1980s, it's nearly ubiquitous. His work with Bill Bruford, whom he met during a stint with Yes, led to further innovations in playing... Agus Setiawan -- WartaJazz.com: An Indonesian Jazz Mission In his book The Miracle: The Epic Story of Asia's Quest for Wealth (HarperCollins, 2009), Michael Schuman writes, "In little more than a generation, Asia has emerged from centuries of stagnation to become the rising force of the global economy--a transformation so spectacular that some have called it a miracle... Mark Soskin: Challenges Welcome In conversation with the immensely talented and engaging pianist Mark Soskin, the word "challenge" arises periodically. It's used in a good sense. Simply put, "I like to be able to be handed a challenge and then rise to it," he said in conversation, earlier in the summer of 2010. Diversity is also something he likes. The evidence is in the myriad of projects with which he has involved himself since leaving a golden gig with Sonny Rollins years ago, after holding the piano chair in the Saxophone Colossus' band for about a decade. That variety includes solo concerts, a recording contract with Kind of Blue Records, where has examined the attributes of the jazz quartet, duet projects of varying kinds, and recently a project with singer Roseanna Vitro that examines the music of m: Randy Newman\|... Lenny White: Jazz/Rock Collides Again When that cool, overcast dawn arrived in Bethel, New York, neither the Woodstock Music and Arts Fair's expired permit, nor the rain, mud, and technical problems could have kept m: Jimi Hendrix and his Band of Gypsys from playing. It was destiny. Believe it. A hundred miles south on that same morning of August 18, 1969, m: Miles Davis had gathered the four other members of his famous quintet at his New York City home for a short rehearsal: drummer m: Jack DeJohnette, saxophonist m: Wayne Shorter, bassist m: Dave Holland, and pianist m: Chick Corea. He'd also invited the 19 year-old drummer from saxophonist m: Jackie McLean's band, m: Lenny White... Cecil Taylor: This Music is the Face of a Drum [Editor's Note: This article first appeared in Jazz and Pop Magazine (April 1971)] As an artist-in-residence at the University of Wisconsin, Cecil Taylor has finally been able to realize a long-held ambition--the command of a large orchestra. Comprised of fifteen of his students (and augmented by Jimmy Lyons, Sam Rivers, Leroy Jenkins and Andrew Cyrille), the "Cecil Taylor Ensemble" recently played concerts at Wisconsin and at Dayton University in Ohio and it is scheduled to make its New York debut at Hunter College in May... William Ellis: Music On A Chink Of Light Black and white photographs of jazz legends taken by the likes of Herman Leonard, William P. Gottlieb and William Claxton have gained iconic status over the years. Decades on, their photographs of m: Charlie Parker, m: Dexter Gordon, m: Billie Holiday, m: John Coltrane, m: Chet Baker and m: Miles Davis adorn countless walls of jazz aficionados around the world. These photographs may owe their status, at least in part, to the fame of their subjects. Back in '89, as a photographer struggling to build a name for himself, William Ellis knew only too well that for the doors of opportunity to swing wide open for him, he too had to land a big fish... Dan Weiss: The Creative Absence of Egotism The first time drummer/composer Dan Weiss is heard, there can be a perception of something inherently wrong with the music. It slowly creeps up--like a chill on a cool morning, just as the sun is rising over a misty ridge. Waves of lush pastel colors pass over and around in impassioned washes of rhythm and elements of time. The slow intensity of his cymbal work is similar to tones on a keyboard connecting with all aspects of a quiet and beautiful wilderness in sync with human existence...

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