Category Archives: Drummer
A 2007 Jazziz Article and Four Interviews with Roy Haynes, who Turns 87 Today
Roy Haynes, who turns 87 today, is the living embodiment of the notion that, for certain human beings, age is nothing but a number. Haynes continues to astonish with his brilliance and creativity at the drumkit. I’m posting below an … Continue reading
Filed under Drummer, Interview, Jazziz, Roy Haynes
Memories of Max Roach, (b. Jan. 10, 1924, d. Aug. 16, 2007)
Four years ago, when Max Roach died, DownBeat asked me to write a multi-part appreciation—an obituary, an account of the funeral, and an assessment of his massive contribution to the sound of jazz. Towards this end, I interviewed some 20 … Continue reading
A 1994 WKCR Interview with Ed Thigpen, (Dec. 28, 1930-Jan. 13, 2010 )
In observance of master drummer Ed Thigpen’s birthday, I’m posting the proceedings of an interview that we did on WKCR a few weeks before his 64th birthday, when he was in NYC to play a week at Bradley’s with the … Continue reading
Filed under Drummer, Ed Thigpen, WKCR
An Interview with Alvin Fielder, July 2002
Following up on the previous post, which contained a couple of interviews with Kidd Jordan, here’s one with drummer Alvin Fielder that I initially conducted for what I’d hoped would be a Downbeat feature on the pair. DownBeat wanted to … Continue reading
Filed under AACM, Alvin Fielder, Cadence, Chicago, Drummer, Uncategorized
R.I.P. Paul Motian, 1931-2011
When I launched this blog last May, I was looking for apropos material to post. As it happened, Paul Motian was at the Village Vanguard that week (it was one of his eight scheduled 2011 engagements) helming a newly-configured quartet … Continue reading
Two Interviews with Drummer Brian Blade
Continuing our mini-series on drummers informed by the Afro-diasporic elements of New Orleans culture, here are a pair of interviews with Brian Blade, who turned 41 on July 25th. The first conversation, which originally ran on www.musician.com, comes from 2001, … Continue reading
Filed under Drummer, Interview, Jazz.com, New Orleans
Idris Muhammad and George Coleman, WKCR, April 5, 1995
Continuing our mini New Orleans drummer series, here’s an encounter with Idris Muhammad from a week in 1995 when he was working with George Coleman at the Village Vanguard, one of three successive Vanguard gigs in an 18-month span that … Continue reading
Filed under Drummer, Interview, New Orleans, WKCR
Herlin Riley: New Orleans Drummer, 1999 Interview
Following up on yesterday’s post of a 1986 interview with Edward Blackwell, rich in cultural implication, here’s a dialogue with drummer Herlin Riley, the nephew of Melvin Lastie, Blackwell’s close friend. Riley’s c.v. includes a five-year run with Ahmad Jamal, … Continue reading
Filed under Drummer, Interview, New Orleans
Edward Blackwell, WKCR, May 4, 1986
Six or seven months after I began broadcasting on WKCR, Eustis Guillemet, a bass player from New Orleans, asked if I’d be interested in interviewing the iconic drummer Ed Blackwell (October 10, 1929 – October 7, 1992) on the Sunday … Continue reading
Filed under Drummer, Ed Blackwell, Interview, New Orleans, WKCR
Vernell Fournier on Ahmad Jamal, WKCR, 1990
Yesterday’s Ahmad Jamal birthday posting included a conversation with New Orleans drum master Herlin Riley, Jamal’s drummer of choice during the ’80s. Today I’m sharing an interview that I conducted in 1990 on WKCR with Riley’s famous New Orleans antecedent, … Continue reading
Filed under Ahmad Jamal, Chicago, Drummer, Interview, WKCR
