Jazz’s best journalists ask questions and jazz’s best artists answer them.
Depending on how he looks at it, Kenny Garrett’s latest album, Sounds from the Ancestors, has been out for an eternity or an instant. Recorded … Read More “Kenny Garrett Reflects on Generations Past, Present, and Future with Sounds from the Ancestors“
As I delved ever deeper into the 14 albums that document the Larry Goldings/Peter Bernstein/Bill Stewart trio to prepare for our January Zoom conversation, what … Read More “Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein, and Bill Stewart Celebrate 30 Years Playing Together”
The musical avant-garde is an area where creative people who have earned wisdom through a lifetime of experience can flourish. Wadada Leo Smith, who last … Read More “William Parker Keeps Refining His Approach to the Bass—and Music”
Wisconsin-born and proud: For all of the avant-everything complexity Ethan Iverson has applied to his solo projects or the sounds he created in his role … Read More “Ethan Iverson Returns to Basics and Looks Toward the Future on Blue Note Debut”
Since releasing his debut album in 1992 for Mesa/Bluemoon, Rick Braun has established himself as one of the most popular and prolific artists within the … Read More “Thirty Years In, Rick Braun Is Eponymous at Last”
When the world shut down last year, so did Alicia Olatuja. The St. Louis, Missouri-bred vocalist sat in her New Jersey apartment one day watching … Read More “Alicia Olatuja Breaks Through as New Kind of Vocal Coach”
In May, during Jazz Congress 2021—held online rather than at the conference’s usual location, Jazz at Lincoln Center in midtown Manhattan, because of the pandemic—a … Read More “Vocalists Celebrate Jon Hendricks’ Centennial”
Counting off a tune as she steps to the mic, Veronica Swift holds tempo in her stride. In the living room of a longtime collaborator, … Read More “Veronica Swift on Singing When Things Get Complicated”
Billy Hart doesn’t see jazz as being split between avant-garde and straight-ahead; for him, the big distinction is between acoustic and electric. And given the … Read More “Billy Hart Is Still Solid as a Rock”
Drummer, composer, and bandleader Nate Smith is reliving the mid-pandemic moment when he realized his life had to change. He’d been traveling frequently, recording in … Read More “Nate Smith Talks New York City and Kinfolk 2: See the Birds“
