Poetry & jazz with Sam Sadigursky (2)
Posted 11 March, 2010 in Jazz, Music, Poetry, The Jazz Session
Show #150! Crazy, ain’t it?
Multi-instrumentalist Sadigursky just released Words Project III: Miniatures (New Amsterdam, 2010), the third in his series of releases combining contemporary poetry with improvised and through-composed music. In this interview, Sadigursky talks about his decision to use poems as an inspiration for composition; which texts lend themselves to his work and why; and what the various vocalists on his albums bring to the music. Learn more at samsadigursky.com.
LISTEN: The Jazz Session #150: Sam Sadigursky
If you’d like to buy this album, you can support The Jazz Session by purchasing it via the link below:
Three observations: Thumbs up, Fats & Kassav’ (0)
Posted 26 February, 2010 in Music, Random Musings
Good morning! Here are three things I’ve been thinking about this morning:
1. Has the “thumbs up” gesture completely replaced the “OK” gesture?
OR 
2. Fats Domino turns 82 today. Huzzah!
3. The album Kassav’ au Zenith is, to my ear, one of the greatest live records ever made. If this album doesn’t dispel your blues, nothing will. But don’t take my word for it. Check it out for yourself:
A song for W.H. Auden on his birthday (0)
Posted 21 February, 2010 in Music, Poetry
Poet W.H. Auden was born on this date in 1907, and he died just a few weeks after I was born in 1973. In between he wrote some of my favorite poems, including this one, “A Walk After Dark,” which I set to music several years ago and titled Cloudless:
Cloudless (mp3, 4:07)
POEM: Gene Ludwig (1)
Posted 23 October, 2009 in Jazz, Music, My poems, Poetry
Photo by Ben Johnson, Sr.
I saw organist Gene Ludwig in concert earlier tonight, and wrote these three pieces while watching the show. If you’d like to know more about Gene, listen to my interview with him on The Jazz Session.
Gene Ludwig
1.
Gone deep inside, he slides
effortlessly across the organ keys,
never losing the sense of weightlessness
every earthbound mortal
longs for.
Unlike most, he isn’t held
down by gravity, not forced to
wear the chains of step-by-step,
inch-by-inch. Instead, he
gently leaves the earth, smiling.
2.
Perhaps he’s the local mortician,
skin made alabaster through
affinity with those he serves;
or an accountant, toiling away
until life’s energy winds down
like the gold watch they’ll give him;
he could be any one of a hundred
buttoned-up Rotarians in grey flannel suits,
friends with the mayor or with
the chief of police.
Then he sits down at the organ, and
joy springs from those ivory fingers.
He strips off the grey shell,
revealing the light at his core.
That light is the only thing
that reaches us faster
than his sound.
3.
Grabbing two handfuls of
electricity, he
naturally believes that life is beautiful, that
everyone has ready access to this
level of presence, this certain
understanding of the melody.
Doubtless, they all
would trade places
if they could, exchanging
Gene’s grace for their own.
POEM: Bongocero (0)
Posted 4 June, 2009 in Music, My poems, Poetry
Bongocero
the meaty slap of flesh on flesh
the pop of skin on skin
fingertips, the side of the thumb
legs a vice to hold the shells
the heart of the matter is a mix
of rhythm and freedom
of accompaniment and improvisation
of ancient order and modernity
then from the back of the stage
the trumpets kick in
and the bongocero drops his drums,
which fall to the stage with a thud
now it’s skin grasping wood striking metal
as the bell cuts through
the urgent stabs of the horns
and gives a lift to the dancers
gi-gi-go
gi-gi-go
gi-gi-go
gi-go
gi-gi-go
gi-gi-go
gi-gi-go
gi-go
Big news for The Jazz Session! (0)
Posted 19 May, 2009 in Jazz, Music, The Jazz Session
I’m thrilled to announce the launch of a new partnership with All About Jazz, the world’s most visited jazz Web site. AAJ founder Michael Ricci and I have been working together for several years now, with AAJ hosting transcriptions of the interviews that appear on The Jazz Session.
Now we’ve decided to combine forces. That means The Jazz Session will be featured on the home page at allaboutjazz.com. We’ll also be working together to visit festivals on behalf the new TJS/AAJ partnership, starting this summer with the Tanglewood Jazz Festival and others. The idea is to conduct interviews right in front of the crowds who come to see the artists. Then we’ll bring these interviews to you after the festivals.
We’re also launching a widget for The Jazz Session that will allow you to display the latest episode right on your blog or Web site. I’ll be mentioning the blogs and sites that do this on episodes of the show, and also linking to them from this site. So if you decide to link to The Jazz Session, please let me know at jason@thejazzsession.com.
For more information on the new partnership, and for instructions on adding the widget to your site, please read the press release.
The Jazz Session hits 200,000 downloads
On the very same day that The Jazz Session announced its new partnership with All About Jazz, the show hit 200,000 downloads. I’m so proud of the show and grateful to all of you for supporting it. This is a true labor of love for me, and I hope it shows in the interviews.
PLUS:
Jason Crane interviews trumpeter Hugh Masekela about his 2009 album Phola (Times Square Records). The album finds Masekela in a quieter, more reflective mood — a decision he credits to producer Erik Paliani. Despite the more reserved surroundings, Masekela’s flugelhorn playing is as intense as ever. In the interview, Masekela discusses Miriam Makeba, music as a political force, and why he doesn’t play for fun.
This week on The Jazz Session: David Sanborn! (0)
Posted 4 May, 2009 in Jazz, Music, The Jazz Session
Jason Crane interviews saxophonist David Sanborn. Sanborn is one of the few jazz players whose name is known even outside the jazz world. It’s fitting, then, that he’s using his new album Here & Gone (Decca, 2008) to bring a lesser-known jazz saxophonist into wider awareness. Here & Gone celebrates the music of Hank Crawford, a saxophone player and the principal arranger for the Ray Charles “little big band” of the 50s and 60s. Crawford’s playing had a huge impact on Sanborn, and Sanborn repays the favor with this thoughtful and soulful tribute.
The Jazz Session #55: The Wee Trio (0)
Posted 27 April, 2009 in Jazz, Music, The Jazz Session
Jason Crane interviews vibraphonist James Westfall, bassist Dan Loomis and drummer Jared Schonig, known collectively as The Wee Trio. Their first record, Capitol Diner Vol. 1 (Bionic Records, 2008) features original music, jazz standards … and Nirvana. The trio explores the music they love through the lens of collective improvisation, and the results are fresh, fun and worth repeated listening. Find out more at theweetrio.com.
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