Hearsay
November 2004 By Felix Contreras
Manolo Badrena
The first time percussionist Manolo Badrena ever set foot into a recording studio he played on one of the top-selling jazz albums of all time. He had just auditioned for the fusion group Weather Report when keyboardist Joe Zawinul asked him to come the studio...
November 2004 By Felix Contreras
Jerry Gonzalez
Trumpeter and conguero Jerry Gonzalez has finally found a place where he can relax and concentrate on his music. The 55-year-old New Yorker went to Madrid in 2002 with Spanish film director Fernando Trueba to promote the Latin-jazz-performance film Calle...
November 2004 By Mike Shanley
Allison Miller
Between touring as part of the U.S. State Department's Jazz Ambassador program and working with artists that range from singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant to multireedist Marty Ehrlich, the New York-based drummer Allison Miller found time to compose seven...
November 2004 By Jesse Varela
Rebeca Mauleon
In 1999 Rebeca Mauleon made Round Trip (Bembe), her debut outing as a leader, and she was trying hard to promote the CD, taking nightclub gigs as much as possible. But instead of feeling like a pianist, Mauleon says she was turning into a business manager...
November 2004 By Geraldine Wyckoff
Maurice Brown
When Maurice Brown blows his trumpet, folks notice. His irrefutable energy, talent and focus continually surprise audiences like those at his weekly performances at New Orleans' Snug Harbor club. "I get wrapped up in the music" is how Brown explains his...
November 2004 By Bill Milkowski
Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey
One look at this scruffy trio of touring bohemians from Tulsa, Okla., (they play 150 dates a year across the country), and "jam band" immediately comes to mind. However, what pianist Brian Haas, bassist Reed Mathis and drummer Jason Smart are doing as Jacob...
October 2004 By Christopher Loudon
Jessica Molaskey
Though jazz and show tunes have long been kindred, not so jazz singers and musical theater stars. Rare indeed is the Broadway belter who can cross the footlights to find equal comfort and acceptance in smoky boites and trio-lined studios. The rule's exception...
October 2004 By Mike Shanley
Sean Jones
In the summer trumpeter Sean Jones was in England, where he was touring with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Upon returning to his home in New Jersey, he resumed work on a doctorate at Rutgers University in classical trumpet, a follow-up to his masters...
October 2004 By Bill Milkowski
Jessica Jones
While still living in the Bay Area, tenor saxophonist Jessica Jones met the late Don Cherry when she was part of saxophonist Peter Apfelbaum's Hieroglyphics Ensemble. "Don had just moved to the area, and he did a gig with us and played some of my tunes...
September 2004 By Felix Contreras
Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez
When drummer Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez was 14 years old he went to jail for playing "revolutionary" music in Cuba. "I was playing in the most popular rock 'n' roll band in Cuba," he explains from the safety of a public radio studio in New York. "It was...
