Monthly Archives: June 2011
Stanley Clarke: Uncut Blindfold Test
To be on the road seems to be the default condition of the virtuoso bassist Stanley Clarke, who turned 60 today. Having spent much of the past year-and-change touring with three of his own ensembles, the forty-year veteran launches his … Continue reading
Filed under Bass, Blindfold Test, DownBeat, Stanley Clarke
Andrew Hill’s 80th Birthday Anniversary
“When I was a child, I was able to write music without hearing it,” Andrew Hill told me in the spring of 2000, during one of several conversations for a DownBeat article that ran later that year. “I’d write it … Continue reading
NEA Jazz Masters 2012: Von Freeman
For the thirtieth and perhaps final installment of the National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Masters Awards, the NEA selected a quartet of hardcore individualists, who have steadfastly followed their own path through the decades: Drummer Jack DeJohnette, tenor saxophonist … Continue reading
Filed under Chicago, Interview, Tenor Saxophone, WKCR
Donald Harrison Turns 51 Today
This evening, alto saxophonist Donald Harrison, “Duck” to his friends, observes his 51st birthday with opening night of a three-night run at the Jazz Standard linked to his participation in the acclaimed HBO series Treme, for which his personal biography … Continue reading
Filed under Alto Saxophone, Article, DownBeat, New Orleans
Mark Turner Blindfold Test, Uncut
It’s New York’s gain, if the world’s loss, that Paul Motian doesn’t like to leave the island of Manhattan. Fortunately, he doesn’t need to. In the latest iteration of his ongoing residence at the Village Vanguard, Motian will perform the … Continue reading
Filed under Blindfold Test, DownBeat, Mark Turner, Tenor Saxophone
The Pile (#6): Orrin Evans, Freedom
Over the past few weeks, via Facebook, I’ve been communicating with a cohort of people, all but a few of whom are complete strangers, who share with me the singular experience of spending our childhoods and teen years in Greenwich … Continue reading
George Colligan’s Jazz Truth Blog
In addition to Ethan Iverson’s estimable Do the Math blog, my favorite jazz blog these days is George Colligan’s JazzTruth, which lives up to its name not only through George’s penetrating writing, but also strong interviews with such major and … Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Chick Corea is 70 Today
To note Chick Corea’s 70th birthday, I’d like to share an interview from two years ago that was conducted for the now-dormant webzine www.jazz.com. Chick Corea (May 26, 2009) – for jazz.com: “I like all kinds of sounds,” Chick Corea … Continue reading
