Listen to the show using the player above.

More photos:

I had the pleasure tonight of performing a featured poetry set with the Poets Jazz Trio — poet Dan Wilcox on saxophone and percussion, poet Tom Corrado on bass, and me reading my poems and playing saxophone and percussion. We played as part of the Dan’s Third Thursday Poetry Series at the Social Justice Center in Albany. Many fine poets came out for the open mic and it was a joy to see them all. In this post, you’ll find photos from the event taken by poet Alan Catlin, along with an audio recording of the set that you can listen to with the player at the top of this post.

Thanks to Dan and Tom, and to Jason Parker of oneworkingmusician.com for his transcription assistance.

Tonight’s show was dedicated to the late jazz organist Gene Ludwig and to his wife, Pattye.

Organist Gene Ludwig passed away yesterday, July 14, 2010. I didn’t know him well, but he was a guest on The Jazz Session in August, 2009, and we spoke several times in person and by phone and email. Gene and his wife Pattye were extremely kind to me and to everyone with whom I saw them interact, particularly during Gene’s performance last year in Schenectady, NY. My thoughts are with Pattye and with their families at this time.

Gene’s Schenectady gig inspired a poem that appears in my book, Unexpected Sunlight. You can read the poem here at jasoncrane.org.

Listen to this poem using the player above.

Art Pepper is my favorite alto saxophonist and one of my favorite musicians, period. I wrote this while listening to Stuttgart May 25, 1981 – Unreleased Art Vol. V. Art’s wife, Laurie, has been on The Jazz Session twice. If you’d like to learn more about Art, please listen to her appearances in 2007 and 2009.

Photo (c) Laurie Pepper

The Truth About Art Pepper

Art’s life is Synanonymous with art, the making of
with the alto saxophone, the playing of
with Ginsberg’s angel-headed hipsters, the slaying of

Art’s sound is a soaring cry that no bird of prey can outshine
he is a misty-morning muezzin atop the minaret calling the faithful
to the temple of pure emotion, architecture without artifice

Art is the inmate released, outpouring pent-up desire
archetype of the madness that bound those bound by the 50s
survivor of the plain old lives that crashed in the purple mountains

Art for Art’s sake, one foot hokey-pokeying on the ledge
the people like ants – aren’t they always? – far below
(although Art was never one to put himself above the people)

Art could play a ballad like he had Cupid’s arrow lodged between his ribs
could play the blues like he’d been struck down on a dusty road
could blaze like the nucleus of the sun, irradiating the audience with love

Art was the original Comeback Kid, cutman in his corner dabbing
his sweaty brow with a towel, handing him a new reed soaked
in the jar of blood and guts beside the ring

Art could take a punch, roll with it, let the kinetic energy of the blow
travel from his gut to his spine, slide up to his brain
there to spark the next invention, the next flight of fancy

Art is beauty and beauty is truth and therefore Art was the truth
he was the news that stays news, the last dispatch from the battlefront
Art could make the shooting stop, could arrest breath and pause time

Art’s most magical reality was that he was purely human
not carved from marble by a holy sculptor with a careful eye
but made from the same clay as we all, gifted with the breath of music

Listen to this poem using the player above.

A poem dedicated to the jazz musician Sun Ra, written after reading an article by Nate Chinen.

to swing you in the arms of the stars

you don’t need a rocket to get there
there wouldn’t be any there there if you got there
anyway

but HE would be there in a long robe
dime store rhinestones a glittering milky way
HE is a high priest with a congregation of everyone

arms lifted to create a horizon, the sun medallion
set into HIS space pope’s mitre
your eyelids are getting heavy, it’s all getting heavy

doo-wop be-bop swing and free
Space Is The Place for you and me
and HE and we and Muhammad Ali

the Black Christ descends from the highest peak
of the Andes, looks around slowly, sees
nothing of interest, climbs back to the summit

for some, it is just too much chaos
but there was order, too, and beauty, and reason
a cover story for those long kept under the great white thumb

isn’t the homesickness of 746 million miles
better than the sickness of a home in Alabama
where being a little green man would be preferable to being what HE is?

sure, HE had a name, HE was her man, her little boy
a baby from a womb not covered in stars
but released in blood and tears like all the rest

pushed into a world not of HIS choosing, HE chose not to be of this world
adopted for HIMSELF a new birth in the undiscovered country
fell from a new womb with the slight bounce of nine percent less gravity

as has been previously noted, we are spinning on a marble
that is whirling around a fire
the hole in the middle of the universe surrounded by black wax

HE pressed grooves into that wax and drew forth sound from the needle
while the tables turned – the polarity reversed – up was down
the black man was a cosmic prince, the king of the moonlit desert

couldn’t Pat Patrick wail over this awakening?
couldn’t John Gilmore swing you in the arms of the stars?
couldn’t HE tell you what your blood knows but your brain fears?

on the summit of the highest peak of the Andes
the Black Christ is clearing brush to make a landing place
for the ninth rocket, the one that will carry him away

we travel the spaceways from planet to planet
humming a tune born of a south too deep to bear
midwifed in stardust and held up in the harsh light of the sun for all to see

Listen to this poem using the player above.

I wasn’t going to write about the passing of jazz pianist Hank Jones until I saw this article in the New York Times.

UPDATE: Hank Jones’ manager, Jean-Pierre Leduc, posted this in response to the NYT article:

Hank had a huge farm up in Hartwick, NY, and he had most things he needed. He was not unhappy or hermit-like. I wish he had treated himself to a bigger space (he could have lived anywhere), but it was clean and right where he wanted to be — Upper West Side. On tour he had the best suite in the best 5-star hotels, and he was on tour a lot, even very recently. The article in The Times was a clear invasion of privacy.

I considered making revisions to the poem based on this, but I don’t think that’s necessary.

(Rafa Rivas/AFP/Getty Images)

91

“On the cluttered night-table was a book of Sherlock Holmes stories.”
– From a New York Times article on what was found in jazz pianist Hank Jones’ tiny one-room apartment after his death.

the detective used the violin
as a tool to sharpen his thoughts
the pianist practiced on an electric keyboard
using headphones so he wouldn’t disturb the neighbors

91 years is a long time
to be good at something so few understand
unlike Holmes, Hank never got a chance to stand in the parlor
to explain how he’d figured it all out
how he’d arrived at the real answer

he had to depend on ears and brains and beating hearts
to understand the messages pushed into ivory
by two hands, ten fingers, a billion synapses firing

when he died they broke into his room with a hammer
it was locked from the inside
a detail the detective would have appreciated
they found rumpled sheets, accolades
long ago forgotten and newly given
manifestations of his talent not sufficient
to encapsulate the world-altering beauty of it

there is nothing elementary
about 91 years of a black man playing the piano
no sidekick to remark on just how heavily
the odds had been stacked in opposition

could even the most talented sleuth
have pieced together the long road from Detroit?
inspected the dust of a thousand thousand footsteps
and traced the route from segregated hotels
to the grandest stages in the world?

91 years is a long time to breathe in and out,
to push down on the keys, to bear the weight of memory
the memory of waiting for his time in the spotlight

yet he could have walked down any street in America
and no one would have looked twice
he was a king, an 88-keyed deity who could
swing you into the ground and could pass
completely unnoticed among the multitudes
more concerned with the camera flash

in the end he went out playing
in a world that was richer for his footsteps across the stage,
his particular selection of notes
his attention to detail, elegance
and the long slow curve of 91 years of history

Listen to this poem using the player above.

Amputee

“don’t you miss it?”
that’s always the first question

for so many years
that metal was part
of my body, wedded
to my fingertips

I would wiggle my digits
and the conjured spirits
would wail and cry

“not really” I say
fixing my expression
to sell the lie

I’m an amputee, still
feeling the ghost limb

my appendage sits in a case
that the cat peed on
in the room where
I record the voices
of women and men
who would never dream of
allowing the doctor
to complete the operation

they would leap from the table
shove past the nurse’s grasping
hands, trailing the ends of
their open hospital gowns
and screaming “not that!”
as they plunged through the
double doors into the street

me, I catch sight of it
out of the corner of my eye
feel my fingers twitch

Listen to this poem using the player above.

Oh Lord

Don’t Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb On Me
When Charles wrote that,
the (magic) mushroom
seemed like a very real possibility.
Like there could be a day
when there were no more days,
when spring would jump
straight to winter
and the switch would get stuck.

Now his words sound quaint and old-timey,
like interring the Japanese
or smallpox blankets
or the city of gold that was exchanged
for dark flesh. Like bomber blackouts
on the West Coast and ships
in Davey Jones’ locker,
sent there by folks flapping their gums.

We don’t worry ’bout that no more.
We have seen the enemy and they are winning.
With friends like we’ve got, it’s just as well
Dastardly Dan leaves that girl tied to the tracks.
She’d better pray the train kills her,
because her insurance won’t cover just
losing a limb or two. That’s an act of God,
they’ll say. The Big Guy doesn’t like it
when you don’t pay your rent.

Photo (c) Andrzej Pilarczyk

Thanks to the wonderful Albany arts & culture site Nippertown for featuring my poem “Gravity,” inspired by Matthew Shipp:

“Gravity” at Nippertown

Listen to this poem using the player above.

Inspired by Matthew Shipp’s April 1, 2010 performance in Troy, NY.

Gravity
(for Matthew Shipp)

Matthew has to force his hands
back down to the piano
stop them from floating away
maybe from carrying him away, too

when it’s quiet you can hear the machines
tearing up Green Dolphin Street
they smash through the tarmacadam
down to the cobblestones

but then something goes wrong
some failsafe fails, and the machines
plunge on, grinding
into clay and on into the crust

a rock shelf gives way
there’s a long metallic groan
as the biggest digger spirals down
into the molten core

Matthew stands up from the piano bench
when the crashing subsides, then
he pushes against the piano,
forearms lean and tight,

really putting his back into it
slowly, so slowly you almost
don’t notice it at first,
the piano starts rolling

Matthew is sweating now,
his brow damp, his jaw hard
the narrow end of the piano
hits the crash bar and the door opens

flooding the theater with red light
a few dollops of lava
are already cooling on the remnants
of the pavement outside

Matthew pushes the piano through the door
to the edge of the hole
gets down on his hands and knees
and listens, peering into the pit

when he’s sure it’s time, he rises,
pushes the piano again
until the front wheel
clears the edge of the hole

Matthew plays one final chord
as the keyboard lifts off the ground
then watches as the piano tumbles
end over end into the pit

leaning out over the hole
he follows the piano’s path until it’s out of sight
and it’s only then that Matthew realizes
he’s not quite touching the ground

so he lifts his arms to the sky
and the clouds accept him as he rises
welcoming their returning son
as he breaks the tether of gravity

Listen to this poem using the player above.

This poem is the sixth in a series of pieces inspired by bass clarinetist Thomas Savy’s new CD, French Suite (Plus Loin Music, 2009). This particular poem came from his composition “Ouverture.” You can learn more about Thomas Savy at his MySpace page. I’ll be posting more poems in this series in the coming days. You can also read and listen to the first, second, third, fourth and fifth poems in this series.

toujours l’ouverture

cymbal crown church bell
assembles the faithful
center: two dancers
basso profundo
et Fili et Spriritus Sancti
screech strike rumble
circle ’round the cobblestones
white scarf around the waist
falls to the street as he spins
lightly, lightly now
dip and circle, bob and weave
“trouve moi la mélodie, mon amour”
one then another then another
until the street is clear
and the breeze carries the scarf away

Listen to this poem using the player above.

This poem is the fifth in a series of pieces inspired by bass clarinetist Thomas Savy’s new CD, French Suite (Plus Loin Music, 2009). This particular poem came from his performance of Duke Ellington’s “Come Sunday.” You can learn more about Thomas Savy at his MySpace page. I’ll be posting more poems in this series in the coming days. You can also read and listen to the first, second, third and fourth poems in this series.

worship

come, Sunday
and make of us
believers
through the power
of your melody
and the glory
of the chord

Listen to this poem using the player above.

This poem is the fourth in a series of pieces inspired by bass clarinetist Thomas Savy’s new CD, French Suite (Plus Loin Music, 2009). This particular poem came from his composition “Ballade de Stephen Edward.” You can learn more about Thomas Savy at his MySpace page. I’ll be posting more poems in this series in the coming days. You can also read and listen to the first, second and third poems in this series.

Stephen Edward

writes his cramped
letters in a worn
notebook, sitting
everyday at the
same table, making
his single glass last
sometimes he leans
back, letting the sun
hit him full in the face
at other times he’s
hunched and indrawn
the world shut out
his thoughts swirling
he’s filing reports
for a nonexistent
newspaper, one whose
readers all live in the
same house, between
two ears and exposed
to the rain under
Stephen’s sparse hair
whoosh

Listen to this poem using the player above.

This poem is the third in a series of pieces inspired by bass clarinetist Thomas Savy’s new CD, French Suite (Plus Loin Music, 2009). This particular poem came from his composition “Stones.” You can learn more about Thomas Savy at his MySpace page. I’ll be posting more poems in this series in the coming days. You can also read and listen to the first and second poems in this series.

Stones

like the ones
my grandfather
painted flowers
on, found near
the water
where the pilgrims
landed, stepping
onto the big stone
and calling out
thanks to their god

Listen to this poem using the player above.

This poem is the second in a series of pieces inspired by bass clarinetist Thomas Savy’s new CD, French Suite (Plus Loin Music, 2009). This particular poem came from his composition “My Big Apple.” You can learn more about Thomas Savy at his MySpace page. I’ll be posting more poems in this series in the coming days. You can also read and listen to the first poem in this series.

My Big Apple

every tune about New York
rushes forward this way
even the ballads
the kinetic energy of the city
is just too strong to resist
and before you know it
a laconic melody about
the Hudson has turned
that river into the Mississippi
at flood stage
the skyscrapers floating by
at 45 degrees to the horizon
businessmen doing the
backstroke off the Battery

Listen to this poem using the player above.

This poem is the first in a series of pieces inspired by bass clarinetist Thomas Savy’s new CD, French Suite (Plus Loin Music, 2009). This particular poem came from listening to his performance of John Coltrane’s “Lonnie’s Lament.” You can learn more about Thomas Savy at his MySpace page. I’ll be posting more poems in this series in the coming days.

the bass clarinet

reaches down, scoops
out your intestines
causes your brow
to furrow, your eyes
to narrow then shut

lamentation, an old
fashioned word
from before these sounds
existed, before this
Frenchman was born

John William burned
his lament onto the wax
as he had inscribed it
onto the paper
black ink to red fire

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:

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.

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.

LISTEN TO THE SHOW

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.

LISTEN TO THE SHOW

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.

Listen to the show.

Jason Crane interviews the members of the trio Fly: bassist Larry Grenadier, drummer Jeff Ballard and saxophonist Mark Turner. Fly is very much a collective effort — the group operates with a leaderless philosophy in which everyone contributes equally. As a result, the trio has come up with some fresh and exciting sounds as they try new combinations and new ways to balance their respective instruments. All three musicians are very much in demand as sidemen, too. A full transcript of this interview is available at AllAboutJazz.com.

LISTEN TO THE SHOW.

Jason Crane interviews organist Barbara Dennerlein about her pipe organ recording Spiritual Movement No. 2 (Bebab Records, 2008). The album was recorded at one of Germany’s most famous churches in front of a very appreciative audience. In this interview, recorded before a concert in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Dennerlein discusses jazz on the pipe organ; why organists should use their feet; and how she adapts to the challenge of seldom having her own instrument on stage.

LISTEN TO THE SHOW.

My latest article for The Island Packet newspaper on Hilton Head Island, SC, is about singer Rebecca Kilgore and pianist John Sheridan. Read the article.

THE JAZZ SESSION #52: MARILYN CRISPELL. Jason Crane interviews pianist Marilyn Crispell about her album of solo piano pieces, Vignettes (ECM, 2008). Crispell made an early name for herself with Anthony Braxton, and she’s since amassed an impressive list of recordings that include composed and freely improvised pieces. In this interview, Crispell talks about the nature of improvisation, the particular challenges of solo playing, and the joys of Woodstock, NY.

Listen to the show at thejazzsession.com.

My latest article for the Island Packet newspaper is a short biographical sketch of Bucky Pizzarelli. The posted piece is significantly shortened, but you’ll get the idea.

• Bucky Pizzarelli: Jazz Guitar Hero

Jason Crane interviews vocalist Kate McGarry. Her new album, If Less Is More … Nothing Is Everything (Palmetto, 2008), explores everything from spirituality to The Cars in McGarry’s typically atypical style. McGarry is joined on the record by guitarist Keith Ganz, organist Gary Versace, bassist Reuben Rogers, drummer Clarence Penn, saxophonist Donny McCaslin, percussionist James Shipp, and vocalists Peter Eldrige and Jo Lawry.

Listen to the show.

CONTEST: Win Kate McGarry’s new CD! To enter, send an e-mail to contest@thejazzsession.com with “KATE” in the subject line. And remember — if you’ve won in the past 30 days, sit this one out, OK? Good luck!

BONUS TRACK: Listen to Kate sing Joni Mitchell’s “Chelsea Morning” at the 2008 Tanglewood Jazz Festival.

Jason Crane interviews saxophonist Sonny Rollins. He’s just released Road Shows Vol. 1 (Doxy Records, 2008), a compilation of live performances spanning 20 years. Gary Giddins calls it “one of the finest Sonny Rollins albums ever released.” In this interview, recorded on Election Day 2008, Sonny talks about everything from the prospect of an Obama presidency and the crisis of global warming to the mystery and beauty of jazz improvisation.

LISTEN

I posted this today at The Jazz Session:

Hi friends,

One of the beautiful things about having an online show is that I’m not bound by the restrictions that accompanied the radio version of my show. And so, I’m going to use this forum just this once to ask you to help get out the vote for Barack Obama. THERE IS STILL TIME for you to make a difference.

The easiest thing to do is to make calls from your own home. To get started, visit the Obama training page.

You can watch some short training videos there, or just click the GET STARTED link to start making calls. You’ll get a simple script that’s very easy to use. I just made 40 calls to supporters in the Philadelphia area to give them their polling locations and to remind them to vote.

Most of you know my politics, and you know that I’m a progressive. I don’t think Barack Obama is the perfect candidate. But I DO think he’s the far better choice — not simply the lesser of two evils, but actually someone I can support with enthusiasm and a clear conscience. And given that the next president is likely to appoint as many as three Supreme Court justices, we can’t afford to be complacent.

So please, take 30 minutes or an hour TODAY and make some calls for the Obama campaign.

And then CELEBRATE ON ELECTION DAY by listening to my interview with saxophone legend SONNY ROLLINS. I’ll be talking with Sonny at 5 p.m. on Election Day, and I’ll post the show that same evening at The Jazz Session site.

That’s right: OBAMA/ROLLINS in ’08! (The Obama/Rollins logo is courtesy of my good friend Jeff Vrabel.)

Make some calls, enjoy some jazz, and take back our country!

Thank you very much.

Peace and love,

Jason

p.s. — If you need a little boost of inspiration, here it is:

(Thanks to poet and jazzer David Budbill for the links!)

Jason Crane interviews Polish pianist and composer Marcin Wasilewski. His new recording, January (ECM, 2008), features his own compositions alongside those of Gary Peacock, Carla Bley, Ennio Moricone and … Prince. Wasilewski’s trio is very much a part of the new European piano trio renaissance, featuring inventive material played democratically.

LISTEN TO THE SHOW

CONTEST! The Marcin Wasilewski Trio starts a U.S. tour on November 1 in Seattle, with stops in San Francisco, LA, Chicago, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Columbus. I’ve got two tickets to Marcin’s show at the Jazz Bakery in LA on Monday, November 3. To win, be the first person to send an e-mail to contest@thejazzsession.com with “Marcin” in the subject line. Listeners who have won in the past 30 days need to sit this one out. Everyone else — good luck!

On the new episode of The Jazz Session, I interview pianist and composer Satoko Fujii. Fujii has released four new recordings in 2008, her 50th birthday year. These records find her with her New York trio; on accordion in the avant-folk-jazz group of her husband, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura; in a quartet with some of Japan’s most talented improvising musicians; and in a second trio with both American and Japanese musicians. Far from slowing down in her middle years, Fujii seems to be pushing herself even more relentlessly, searching for new and exciting ways of expressing her musical ideas.

Listen to the show.

I wrote this after meeting Henry:

For Henry Grimes

Henry sits
in a plastic chair on
the balcony,
drinking water and watching
the lake.
Below the surface,
roiling motion.
Outside,
reflected sky.

Henry waits
to be surprised,
never knowing where
this note — here —
will take him.
Sometimes
he doesn’t find his way back
for a long time.

Henry talks
with his hands,
plucking and bowing his message,
going to the ritual and
inviting all to follow.

Henry talks.
Henry waits.
Henry sits.
Henry knows.

Jason Crane
13 September 2008

I posted three new episodes of The Jazz Session this week:

• The Jazz Session #41: Eddie Daniels
• The Jazz Session #42: Jo Lawry
• The Jazz Session #43: Spencer Day

All About Jazz

All About Jazz published my interview with saxophonist Donny McCaslin and my coverage of the 2008 Tanglewood Jazz Festival.

Other news

And today, I hung out with my good friend, trumpeter Satoru Ohashi, for the first time in years. Satoru is in Troy tonight with Tony Clifton and His Katrina Kiss My Ass Orchestra for a performance at Revolution Hall.

My latest article for All About Jazz is an interview with percussionist and educator Bobby Sanabria:

Bobby Sanabria is a living museum of Afro-Cuban music. Sanabria is a percussionist, drummer and educator who is at the forefront of Afro-Cuban music—particularly the frontier where it intersects with jazz. In 2007, Sanabria released Big Band Urban Folktales (Jazzheads, 2007), an album he says takes the music “beyond the 21st century.” Jason Crane, AAJ contributor and host of The Jazz Session, sat down with Sanabria in May 2007 to talk about the history of Afro-Cuban music, Sanabria’s own career, and “The Ugliest Man In America.”

• Read the entire article.

On Feb. 25, The Jazz Session celebrates its first anniversary. One year ago, I sat down with saxophonist Grant Stewart to record show #1. It’s been a great ride since then.

As a matter of fact, TJS hit its 50,000th download today! Thank you very much to all of you for the amazing support you’ve given me. That goes out to all the artists, labels, PR folks, jazz broadcasters and writers, and especially the listeners.

As you know, TJS has been on a hiatus recently because of my ongoing relocation to Albany, NY. I’m still working in Albany five days a week and commuting back to Rochester on the weekends as we get our house ready to sell and look for a new home in Albany. New shows will be on a less-than-regular schedule until that gets straightened out.

But never fear, a new show is here! Trumpeter Avishai Cohen joined me to talk about his album After The Big Rain. The interview is available right now, so check it out!

I’m also getting back into the swing of things with All About Jazz. I’ll have several interviews out soon (I promise, John K!), so look for those at AllAboutJazz.com.

Thanks again for all your support, and for making The Jazz Session more successful than I ever imagined. Onward into 2008!

• Ingrid Jensen — Viking Spirit
• Steve Swallow — The Poetry of Music

You can read the entire list at AAJ’s site.

From Lois Gilbert at JazzCorner.com:

George Cables Healing Fund

As many of you know, George Cables received a liver and kidney transplant in early October 2007. His recovery is going very well, but of course, bills are mounting. We have set up the “George Cables Healing Fund” to help offset some of George’s expenses. The money will go directly to George with no operational costs (except what PayPal takes out) or administrative costs. George will also get a copy of every donation made, and you have an opportunity to write a short note with your donation.

To donate, visit GeorgeCables.com and click on “Healing Fund.”

If you prefer sending a check, please make it payable to:
GEORGE CABLES
c/o JazzCorner.com
245 West 25th St. #2F
New York, NY 10001

You can learn more about George Cables and his relationship with Art Pepper on The Jazz Session #34: Laurie Pepper on Art Pepper

On the new episode of The Jazz Session, Jason Crane interviews Laurie Pepper, wife of the late alto saxophonist Art Pepper (1925-1982). Laurie has recently put out two sets of previously unreleased live recordings by Art Pepper — Unreleased Art, Vol. 1: The Complete Abashiri Concert — November 22, 1981 (Widow’s Taste, 2006) and Unreleased Art, Vol. 2: The Last Concert (Widow’s Taste, 2007). Both concerts show Pepper at the height of his emotional expression, and still very much in command of his instrument. In this interview, Laurie Pepper talks about the concerts and the process of releasing them, and also gives insight into the troubled and triumphant life of her husband.

LISTEN

THE JAZZ SESSION #32: TORD GUSTAVSEN: Jason Crane interviews pianist and composer Tord Gustavsen. His most recent recording, Being There (ECM, 2007), is part of a trilogy of records exploring the intimate territory traversed by the pianist and his trio. With bassist Harald Johnsen and drummer Jarle Vespestad, Gustavsen delves deeply into the rich musics of the world, filtering the results through a contemplative lens. Being There is an album that rewards repeated listening, and the interview makes it clear that a lot of thought and passion has gone into the music.

• LISTEN

THE JAZZ SESSION #33: KATE MCGARRY: Jason Crane interviews vocalist Kate McGarry about her new album, The Target (Palmetto, 2007). It’s yet another stellar album in a career that has seen her working with everyone from Fred Hersch to Maria Schneider. On The Target, McGarry is joined by her husband Keith Ganz on guitar, Gary Versace on organ and piano, Reuben Rogers on bass and Greg Hutchinson on drums, along with guest appearances from saxophonist Donny McCaslin and Theo Bleckman on voice loops. On both American songbook classics and impressive new compositions, the band finds an organic chemistry that brings something new to the old tunes and makes the new tunes sound familiar.

• LISTEN

Master drummer Max Roach died today at the age of 83. Here’s the story from the New York Times:

• Max Roach, a Founder of Modern Jazz, Dies at 83

Jason Crane interviews percussionist, bandleader, composer and educator Bobby Sanabria. Sanabria is a living link to the great Afro-Cuban jazz tradition. He’s played with just about everyone, including Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Paquito D’Rivera, Charles McPherson, Mongo Santamaria, Chico O’Farrill and Mario Bauza. He’s also a Grammy-nominated solo artist and a powerful force in bringing the Afro-Cuban tradition into the 21st century. This interview features a sneak peek at his new album, Big Band Urban Folktales (Jazzheads, 2007), which hits stores in June.

LISTEN

My most recent article for The Guide on Hilton Head Island is about singer Marlene Ver Planck, who performs there this weekend. Enjoy!

On the new episode of The Jazz Session, Jason Crane interviews drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts. You might know him from his years with Wynton Marsalis, or his years with Branford Marsalis, or his stint as the drummer on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, or from his many, many recordings as a leader and sideman. Tain’s new album is Folk’s Songs (Dark Key Music, 2007). It features his band The Ebonix with Marcus Strickland on saxophone, David Kikoski on piano and Christian McBride on bass.

LISTEN

On the new episode of my weekly interview podcast The Jazz Session, my guest is saxophonist and composer Christine Jensen. Based in Montreal, Jensen has recorded three albums. Her most recent project is Look Left (Effendi, 2006), the result of a half-year spent studying and writing in Paris. The Globe and Mail called Jensen “one of the most important Canadian composers of her generation.”

Check out the show at TheJazzSession.com.

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Show #6: MISHA PIATOGORSKY. Jason Crane interviews pianist Misha Piatigorsky. Misha fled with his family from Russia during the height of the Cold War and ended up in New Jersey. A classically trained pianist, he discovered jazz and fell in love with the music, ending up at Rutgers studying with Kenny Barron. He won the 2004 Thelonious Monk Composers Competition. He’s also the pianist and musical director for singing legend Mark Murphy. Misha’s new trio with bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Ari Hoenig is a fusion of hip-hop grooves with his non-traditional jazz compositions. Their new record is Uncommon Circumstance (MISHAMUSIC, 2007). :Listen to the show.

Show #7: WAYNE ESCOFFERY. Jason Crane interviews saxophonist Wayne Escoffery about his life and his new album, Veneration (Savant, 2007). Escoffery was born in London and moved to New Haven, Connecticut as a child. He sang in a boys choir and then got introduced to the saxophone. Choosing the latter, Escoffery moved into the orbit of legendary saxophonist Jackie McLean, eventually attending McLean’s Artist Collective and his jazz program at the Hartt School of Music. In addition to his own band, Escoffery currently performs with the Mingus Big Band, Tom Harrell, Ben Riley’s Monk Legacy Septet and in a band with his wife, singer Carolyn Leonhart. Listen to the show.

Show #8: DAVID TORN. Jason Crane interviews David Torn, a man of many talents. He’s a film composer whose music you’ve heard in Friday Night Lights, Believe In Me, and The Order. He’s also contributed tones and textures to films like this year’s Best Picture winner, The Departed, and the 2000 hit Traffic. Before his film days, he was known for daring musical collaborations on albums such as Cloud About Mercury (ECM, 1987). And he’s worked as a guitarist and/or producer for everyone from David Bowie and David Sylvian to John Legend and Tori Amos. David Torn has returned to ECM after two decades for prezens (ECM, 2007), an adventurous record that features Tim Berne, Craig Taborn and Tom Rainey. Listen to the show.

Composer and multi-instrumentalist Ornette Coleman won the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his album Sound Grammar (Sound Grammar, 2006). In a rare move, the Pulitzer committee chose someone who wasn’t nominated.

NPR has the story and audio selections from the album.

Show #5: Jason Crane interviews Japanese pianist Toru Dodo. Born in Tokyo, Dodo started playing piano at age 4, then gave up his dream of concert piano for the economics department at Tokyo’s Meiji University. He found jazz at Meiji, and eventually came to the United States to study at Berklee College of Music. Since moving to New York City in 1998, Dodo has released three CDs and performed with Kenny Garret, Benny Golson, Curtis Fuller, Ruth Brown and Terumasa Hino. His new album is Dodo 3 (Jazzcity, 2006). Listen to the show.

Read my article on the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, featuring an interview with trumpeter Marcus Printup.

Tyrone Hill, trombonist with the Sun Ra Arkestra, died March 11 at age 58.

Read the full story.

Joe Vella has been merging jazz and technology for decades, starting with early Internet bulletin boards, founding JazzOnline.com, and then moving into the world of podcasting. As a podcaster, he’s produced series on everyone from The Beach Boys, for the fortieth anniversary of Pet Sounds (Capitol, 1966) to Pat Metheny. Now he’s turned his attention to one of the towering musical figures of all time—saxophonist John Coltrane. Vella’s Traneumentary is a multi-episode exploration of Coltrane’s music and influence. It features a who’s who of jazz luminaries, from musicians such as McCoy Tyner, Billy Taylor and Jimmy Cobb to writers and producers such as Joel Dorn and Ashley Kahn.

You can read my interview with Joe at All About Jazz.

Then check out the Traneumentary.

Show #3: John Abercrombie
John Abercrombie’s forthcoming record is The Third Quartet (ECM, 2007). Abercrombie has been on more than 50 ECM recordings as a leader or sideman, including sessions with Charles Lloyd, Kenny Wheeler, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Liebman and Dave Holland. This interview features several excerpts from the new CD in advance of its April 3 release. You’ll also hear Abercrombie’s moving remembrace of lifelong friend Michael Brecker.

Several years ago, I celebrated Dr. Seuss’s birthday on my radio show by combining his talents with those of another singular American genius, pianist Thelonious Monk. Today is the good doctor’s birthday, so I bring you my version of his classic Green Eggs And Ham mashed up with Monk’s Blue Monk. Enjoy!

Listen: Green Eggs And Ham (mp3)

Bassist Steve Swallow and poet Robert Creeley were friends for 30 years. Swallow first read Creeley’s work in the 1950s, and instantly fell in love with what Creeley had to say and the way he said it. Twenty years later, a chance meeting with Creeley led to a personal and professional relationship. Creeley’s work inspired two of Swallow’s albums — Home (ECM, 1980) and his most recent recording, So There (XtraWATT/ECM, 2006).

I talked with Swallow about So There and his relationship with Creeley. Swallow proved himself to be as consummate an appreciator of poetry and life as he is a master of the electric bass. You can read the interview at All About Jazz.

I do not usually promote someone else’s website. However, this is pretty cool. Just launched this AM on vanityfair.com.

Annie Leibovitz’s Film Noir photo montage of Hollywood’s A-list features the music of the Bob Sneider/Joe Locke Film Noir Project. John Sneider’s “Black Dahlia” is set to the multi-media slide show (featuring Paul Hofmann, Joe Locke, Grant Stewart, Bob and John Sneider, Martin Wind, Tim Horner and Luisito Quintero). This track is on an upcoming release titled Nocturne For Ava Gardner (release date not set).

The behind-the-scenes video of the Leibowitz photo shoot has “Rumblin’” (Bob Sneider) throughout. This is performed by John Sneider (trumpet), Bob Sneider(guitar) and the late great Bob Stata(bass).

Stay warm,

Bob

MICHAEL BRECKER MEMORIAL
Tuesday, February 20th
Town Hall
123 West 43rd Street
6:00-7:30pm
General Admission
Public Invited
Doors open at 5.15pm

Here are obituaries in the New York Sun and The Washington Post.

Jazz fest expands to bigger market
Owners of Rochester event plan a similar gig in Baltimore

Jeff Spevak
Staff music critic

The powerful chords struck by the Rochester International Jazz Festival in its first five years have reached Baltimore.

John Nugent and Marc Iacona, co-owners of the Rochester event, are co-producing a similar festival at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

Attendance soared to an estimated 80,000 jazz fans last year at the critically acclaimed Rochester event, which will be the model for the new PAETEC Jazz Festival — named for the Perinton telecommunications company, the primary sponsor of the Aug. 9-11 Baltimore event.

“He likes what he’s seen and what’s been developed in the Rochester event,” Nugent said of Arunas A. Chesonis, the chairman and CEO of PAETEC who is a Baltimore native.

And it may not stop there: “We went to a bunch of different cities, most that we didn’t have any name recognition in PAETEC,” Chesonis said. “Our biggest issue is just to get people to recognize who we are. We found a city eager to embrace us, in a large market. If we can’t get that place rocking as the first pilot program, we have no business trying to get it going anywhere else, which is our intention.”

Baltimore’s Inner Harbor includes a 4,400-seat open-air shed. But much of the event will probably have the same feel as Rochester, with extensive use of music clubs and free outdoor concerts.

The Inner Harbor is operated by another company with local ties, the Baltimore-based management company Cordish Co. Earlier this week, Cordish said that it had agreed with Rochester officials to terminate its contract to run the High Falls Entertainment District. Mayor Robert Duffy confirmed Tuesday that the city and Cordish are parting ways in High Falls.

PAETEC was a small sponsor of previous years of the Rochester festival, and it was the rapid ascent of the event in the jazz world that convinced Chesonis to jump on board with Nugent and Iacona. There are no plans to increase sponsorship locally.

“They’re both good businessmen, very successful not just in Rochester but in a number of other events. They built Rochester from a small festival to a nine-day extravaganza. And Rochester is a wonderful town, but it’s a small market. There are a lot of markets out there with much greater potential.”

Big money at stake

At Wednesday’s news conference in Baltimore, promoters of the new jazz festival noted that last year’s Rochester International Jazz Festival generated $10 million locally.

“If we don’t make a $10 million impact in three days in Baltimore, we’d be very disappointed,” Nugent said, according to the Baltimore Sun. “But we’re looking to bring $20 million to the city.”

Iacona, president of Simcona Electronics, is also an investor in PAETEC and first began working out the details of the jazz partnership with the company five months ago.

No performers’ names were offered at Wednesday morning’s news conference in Baltimore’s City Hall. That is expected to happen in May.

Now in its sixth year, the June 8-16 Rochester International Jazz Festival will announce in April its lineup for the nine-day event, the bulk of which takes place in the East End Entertainment District.

Since 2000, Nugent has also produced the Stockholm Jazz Festival, whose 24th season is July 17-21. It drew 50,000 fans last year.

“We’ll have some big plans to announce for Rochester,” he said by phone from Baltimore on Wednesday. Those plans are expected to include expanding the festival beyond the East End District.

“Marc and I hopefully will be doing some good stuff around the country as well,” Nugent said.

Nugent, who has lived most recently in Toronto but holds dual citizenship, is also reinforcing his personal commitment to Rochester. He’s buying a house in Brighton and is expecting to close the deal on Friday.

“I’m excited to be in town and hopefully contribute to the local arts scene,” he said.

The original story is here.

Again, I couldn’t be happier at the success of the Rochester International Jazz Festival, or at its migration to Baltimore. I have family in the Baltimore area, and I’ve spent a fair amount of time at Inner Harbor. It’ll be a great site for a jazz festival.

I also think John Nugent’s decision to move here to Rochester is a strong sign of his committment to this town and to the RIJF.

PAETEC Jazz Festival to Premiere in Baltimore August 9-11, 2007
Baltimore-born Entrepreneur to Bring the Music Home!

Rochester, NY-January 31, 2007-Get ready Baltimore! The nation’s newest major jazz festival, PAETEC Jazz is coming your way, promising to heat up the music scene this summer for three music-packed days August 9-11.

Festival officials announced the new event at a news conference this morning at Baltimore’s City Hall hosted by newly elected Mayor Sheila Dixon.

“Considering the enduring history that jazz has in Baltimore, this is indeed a great day for the City,” said Mayor Sheila Dixon. “I’m proud to partner with the PAETEC Jazz Festival’s producers, John Nugent and Marc Iacona, and commend Arunas Chesonis of PAETEC, Inc. for helping showcase Baltimore through this great new event. We’re inviting jazz lovers from around the globe to experience a musical encounter unlike anything that’s ever happened in Baltimore. From Billie Holliday to Cab Calloway, jazz has set the musical tone for Baltimore for decades and the PAETEC Jazz Festival gives us yet another opportunity to highlight the offerings of our world class city.”

PAETEC Jazz Festival Baltimore, will be held in multiple indoor venues and outdoor stages set against the impressive backdrop of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and downtown area. A diverse program of more than 40 concerts will embrace all genres of creative improvised music and feature Grammy-winning headliners as well as some of the world’s finest emerging artists. Venues confirmed to date include Pier 6 and Power Plant Live! The complete artist lineup, schedule, and ticket sale information will be announced in May.

PAETEC Jazz Festival Baltimore was conceived by PAETEC Communications, Inc., Chairman and CEO Arunas A. Chesonis, the Baltimore-born entrepreneur whose telecommunications and information technology company has achieved remarkable growth since it was founded in 1998. PAETEC is headquartered in Rochester, NY, and has offices from coast to coast including in Baltimore and nearby Washington DC.

To produce PAETEC Jazz Festival Baltimore, Chesonis, 44, has tapped the rising star festival producer team of John Nugent and Marc Iacona, who have carefully nurtured two growing and highly successful festivals. The Rochester International Jazz Festival, now in its sixth year and attracting record audiences topping 80,000 in 2006, and the Stockholm Jazz Festival, now entering its 24th year, drawing more than 50,000 music fans, have brought significant positive recognition and economic impact to the host communities.

“Baltimore has always been an important market for PAETEC as well as being the home of one of the most beautiful waterfronts in the nation,” said Chesonis. “We’re honored to be a part of what should become an anticipated cultural event in Baltimore, and I personally look forward to hearing some amazing music while enjoying what this city has to offer.”

“We are very excited to bring PAETEC Jazz to the great city of Baltimore,” said Marc Iacona, Co-producer and Executive Director. “John and I are extremely impressed with Arunas’s vision and leadership in helping establish this important new event. Baltimore is a thriving urban center, alive with activity, and will be a spectacular setting for our diverse festival lineup. We look forward to delivering a top level event that will also have a positive economic impact on the region.”

Artistic Director John Nugent said, “Having produced festivals in different parts of the world, my focus and my joy is in putting together talent – creating a musical painting that meshes new musical ideas from emerging artists with music that is familiar and loved. That is what helps build a festival atmosphere that is electrifying. We have been fortunate to create that in Rochester and Stockholm, and now look forward to accomplishing the same high-level quality event for Baltimore. There is so much talent and so many broad creative styles of creative improvised music to choose from. When our new festival canvas comes together in Baltimore, it will be special.”

Sponsor Opportunities

A variety of sponsorship opportunities are available. For information visit www.paetecjazz.com or contact Marc Iacona at marc@paetecjazz.com.

News Alerts

Sign up to receive the latest PAETEC Jazz Baltimore news at www.paetecjazz.com.

About PAETEC Communications

PAETEC Communications, Inc., is an innovative supplier of communications solutions to medium and large businesses and institutions. With the belief that every customer has unique needs, PAETEC offers personalized solutions that include a comprehensive suite of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services delivered over its Private-IP MPLS network. With more than 1,100,000 access line equivalents in service, PAETEC serves more than 15,000 core business customers across the U.S. by offering a full line of telecommunications and Internet services, enterprise communications management software, security solutions, and managed services. The company was the recipient of the 2005 American Business Ethics Award for a mid-size company, presented by the Society of Financial Services Professionals. PAETEC is headquartered in Fairport, N.Y.

About the Producers

PAETEC Jazz Festival Baltimore is Sponsored by PAETEC Communications Inc and produced by John Nugent, Artistic Director, and Marc Iacona, Executive Director, principals in RIJF, LLC, based in Rochester, NY. The team also produces the critically acclaimed and growing Rochester International Jazz Festival, which will feature more than 600 musicians and more than 120 concerts during the nine day event June 8-16, 2007.

Nugent also produces The Stockholm Jazz Festival, which this year celebrates its 24th year July 17-21. As a performer, Nugent, a noted tenor sax player, has traveled the world with many jazz artists including Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Rosemary Clooney, Clark Terry, The Woody Herman Orchestra and The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra.

Iacona, a business and community leader, avid trumpeter and philanthropic supporter of the arts, is also President of Simcona Electronics Corporation, a leading electronics distributor based in Rochester New York with offices serving the eastern US, Canada and Asia.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/31/paetec-jazz-festival/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/31/rijf-producers-launch-new-festival/ http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/31/rijf-producers-launch-new-festival/#comments Wed, 31 Jan 2007 13:54:00 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/31/rijf-producers-launch-new-festival/ This morning, my inbox contained this message from the producers of the Rochester International Jazz Festival:

Media Advisory

For release January 31, 2007

Rochester International Jazz Festival Producers and Baltimore Mayor to Announce Major New Jazz Festival at Press Conference in Baltimore Wednesday

Rochester Companies to Play Key Role

WHAT

Announcement of a Jazz Festival in the Inner Harbor and areas of downtown Baltimore
in August 2007.

WHEN

Wednesday, January 31, 2007 – 9:30 A.M.

Mayor Sheila Dixon will unveil the Festival’s official name and logo, introduce the
event’s two producers and corporate sponsor. The festival’s producers, as well as the CEO of the corporate presenting partner, will be available following the press conference for interviews.

WHERE

Mayor’s Executive Conference Room – 2nd Floor of Baltimore’s City Hall, 100 N. Holliday Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202

WHO

• Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon
• John Nugent and Marc Iacona, Co-producers and Partners in the Rochester-based
  company, RIJF, LLC

• Rochester-based Corporate Presenting Partner

As you may already know, John Nugent produces the Stockholm Jazz Festival in Sweden. Now it looks like he’s adding another U.S. festival to his growing production company. That’s exciting news for jazz fans, and exciting news for Baltimore.

I wrote yesterday about the benefits for Rochester of the jazz festival. It looks like Baltimore has already realized the potential of a major cultural event. I’m glad to see their mayor out in front. I was also glad to see Rochester Mayor Bob Duffy at the RIJF press conference last year. Our mantra should be: Remember Montreal!

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/31/rijf-producers-launch-new-festival/feed/ 1 http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/23/my-interview-with-harry-allen-at-all-about-jazz/ http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/23/my-interview-with-harry-allen-at-all-about-jazz/#comments Tue, 23 Jan 2007 13:32:14 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/23/my-interview-with-harry-allen-at-all-about-jazz/

Tenor saxophonist Harry Allen was born in Washington, D.C. in 1966, but he grew up in California and Rhode Island. His father was a drummer who played jazz records for Allen before kindergarten, and that early exposure set the course for his professional life. Unlike many saxophonists of his generation, Allen chose not to emulate John Coltrane’s sound, choosing a mellower path. The result? Decades of touring the world and recording albums. His latest album is called Hey, Look Me Over (Arbors, 2006). I talked with Harry Allen in December 2006, following Allen’s two-night stand with the Bob Sneider quartet at the Strathallan Hotel here in Rochester, NY.

You can read the full interview at All About Jazz.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/23/my-interview-with-harry-allen-at-all-about-jazz/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/22/all-about-jazz-my-interview-with-saxophonist-don-braden/ http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/22/all-about-jazz-my-interview-with-saxophonist-don-braden/#comments Mon, 22 Jan 2007 12:47:19 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/22/all-about-jazz-my-interview-with-saxophonist-don-braden/

Don Braden went to Harvard in 1981 to become a computer programmer and emerged as a new voice on the saxophone. For two decades he’s been making a name for himself in the modern jazz world, and he’s compiled an impressive resume, working with established masters like trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, vocalist Betty Carter, drummers Roy Haynes and Tony Williams; then-emerging-talents like trumpter Wynton Marsalis and the Harper Brothers; and as a leader and composer in his own right.

Braden’s new album, Workin’ (HighNote, 2006) is a showcase not only for his playing skills, but also for his talents as an audio engineer. Visit All About Jazz to read my interview with Don Braden.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/22/all-about-jazz-my-interview-with-saxophonist-don-braden/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/14/the-jazz-world-loses-two-greats-michael-brecker-and-alice-coltrane/ http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/14/the-jazz-world-loses-two-greats-michael-brecker-and-alice-coltrane/#comments Sun, 14 Jan 2007 22:40:10 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/14/the-jazz-world-loses-two-greats-michael-brecker-and-alice-coltrane/ Sometimes you turn on the computer and wish you hadn’t. A few minutes ago, I looked at the news ticker from All About Jazz and learned that both Michael Brecker and Alice Coltrane died this weekend. What a damned shame.

Even if you’re not a jazz fan, you’ve heard Michael Brecker. In addition to his unmatched jazz chops, he’s taken some of the most famous saxophone solos in pop and rock history, playing with everyone from Paul Simon (“Still Crazy After All These Years”) to James Taylor to Steely Dan to Joni Mitchell (including the brilliant live album Shadows And Light“).

In 1997 or 98, I took a master class with Michael Brecker at the Tokyo Blue Note. It wasn’t a master class in the usual sense — it was a room of about 40 people who spent an hour with our jaws hitting the floor as we watched Brecker run through a series of excercises and improv ideas. I don’t know if I left knowing how to play my horn better, but I certainly left with an even deeper respect for Brecker’s artistry.

I only got to see Michael Brecker once in concert. He was playing with Dave Liebman and Joe Lovano. The three of them had just made the album Gathering Of Spirits, and they captivated a roomfull of passionate fans during the International Association for Jazz Education conference in New York in 2004.

I love Michael Brecker’s playing, and I’m truly saddened to hear of his passing.

Alice Coltrane was the wife of saxophonist John Coltrane. In recent years, she’d been on the comeback trail, releasing Translinear Light in 2004 — her first new album in 26 years. She was a wonderful spirit and an inspiration for many, including her son, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane. You can see some good interview footage with Alice Coltrane on Brandford Marsalis’s DVD performance Coltrane’s A Love Supreme: Live.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/14/the-jazz-world-loses-two-greats-michael-brecker-and-alice-coltrane/feed/ 1 http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/12/omar-sosa-live-a-fip/ http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/12/omar-sosa-live-a-fip/#comments Fri, 12 Jan 2007 14:43:56 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/12/omar-sosa-live-a-fip/

My review of Omar Sosa’s new album Live à FIP is available at All About Jazz.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/12/omar-sosa-live-a-fip/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/08/aajs-best-interview-of-2006/ http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/08/aajs-best-interview-of-2006/#comments Mon, 08 Jan 2007 13:11:55 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/08/aajs-best-interview-of-2006/

All About Jazz Just released their list of the best AAJ interviews of 2006. The list is immediately suspect, of course, because two of the interviews they list are by me. Check out those two interviews — with Kenny Garrett and Joel Harrison, and then read the other fine selections, too. Thanks, AAJ!

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/08/aajs-best-interview-of-2006/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/01/saxophonist-harry-allen-on-the-jason-crane-show/ http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/01/saxophonist-harry-allen-on-the-jason-crane-show/#comments Mon, 01 Jan 2007 04:39:21 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/01/saxophonist-harry-allen-on-the-jason-crane-show/

Visit The Jason Crane Show for my latest interview. This episode’s guest is tenor saxophonist Harry Allen. Turned on to jazz as a kid by his father, Harry Allen set his sights on becoming a professional. Along the way, he took a different path from the many Coltrane disciples, and that has made all the difference. You can find out more about Harry at HarryAllenJazz.com.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2007/01/01/saxophonist-harry-allen-on-the-jason-crane-show/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/12/31/julius-larosa-and-why-i-love-live-radio/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/12/31/julius-larosa-and-why-i-love-live-radio/#comments Sun, 31 Dec 2006 18:22:42 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2006/12/31/julius-larosa-and-why-i-love-live-radio/

I’m sitting here listening to the Sunday Music Festa on Jazz90.1. My good friend Otto Bruno is interviewing singer Julius LaRosa right now, and reminding me why I love good, live radio. Otto and Julius are telling old show biz stories, playing great classic music, and just generally doing what radio was intended to do — bringing culture, humor, entertainment and information into our homes. For free.

You can find out more about Julius LaRosa at his official Web site.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/12/31/julius-larosa-and-why-i-love-live-radio/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/12/25/a-classic-christmas-tale-with-mel-torme/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/12/25/a-classic-christmas-tale-with-mel-torme/#comments Mon, 25 Dec 2006 14:57:35 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2006/12/25/a-classic-christmas-tale-with-mel-torme/

Mark Evanier’s wonderful blog News From Me is a must-read for me and thousands of others. Stories like this one about Mel Torme’s The Christmas Song are part of the reason why.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/12/25/a-classic-christmas-tale-with-mel-torme/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/12/25/is-a-charlie-brown-christmas-the-greatest-jazz-record-of-all-time/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/12/25/is-a-charlie-brown-christmas-the-greatest-jazz-record-of-all-time/#comments Mon, 25 Dec 2006 14:48:27 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2006/12/25/is-a-charlie-brown-christmas-the-greatest-jazz-record-of-all-time/

One reviewer thinks it may be.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/12/25/is-a-charlie-brown-christmas-the-greatest-jazz-record-of-all-time/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/12/18/my-grandpas-band/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/12/18/my-grandpas-band/#comments Mon, 18 Dec 2006 04:31:15 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2006/12/18/my-grandpas-band/

Here’s a photo taken of my grandfather, Bernie Flanders, on August 15, 1930. He was 17 years old, and he played clarinet and saxophone in this band. My grandfather is standing, fourth from the left. (Click on the photo for a larger image.)

My grandfather played a huge role in the person I became — particularly my love of jazz. Here’s more about that, excerpted from a larger piece I’m working on:

My grandparents have played a big part in my life. My grandfather was a saxophonist and clarinetist when he was younger. He played in a swing band with some guys from the GE plant where he worked. When I was growing up, my grandparents had one of those console stereos that was a piece of furniture. It looked like the bottom part of a hutch when it was closed up. It was painted white, and the speaker section along the front had a curtain covering it. To get to the controls, you opened the top of the console. Inside was a turntable and a receiver. My grandpa had a big collection of swing records – including an entire series of records by Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra. These records were made in the 1950s, when Gray decided to create an archive of classic swing tunes by recreating the arrangements of the famous big bands.

I learned every note on every one of these records. Unlike most kids in the late 70’s, who were memorizing the lyrics to “Detroit Rock City,” I was learning the horn parts to “Nightmare” and “String of Pearls” and “Take The A Train.” I also developed a real passion for Nat “King” Cole that continues to this day. My grandfather new most of the soloists from the records – particularly the sax and clarinet players. He and my grandma were also big Lawrence Welk fans, and they both knew the names of every musician and singer and dancer on the show.

My favorite album, and the one I learned the best, was Kenton In Hi-Fi. Kenton made this fantastic recording in 1956 for Capitol Records, and it features many of Stan’s biggest hits – “Artistry In Rhythm,” “Eager Beaver,” “Unison Riff,” and “Artistry Jumps,” to name a few. It also features the very gutsy tenor saxophonist Vido Musso, a ridiculous trumpet section led by Pete Candoli and Maynard Ferguson, and the drumming of the incomparable Mel Lewis. This record swings its ass off from start to finish, and it’s a huge piece of my musical upbringing.

I still love big band music, particularly when it gets cold. I’m not sure what the correlation is, but as the winter approaches, I pull out all my Ellington and Basie and drift back into the first half of the 20th century. I listen to swing music throughout the year, but the strong pull of nostalgia is only there in the winter.

* * *

Going back to music for a minute: I had a very strange musical upbringing. I listened to Nat Cole and Stan Kenton at a time when most kids were listening to disco and Kiss. As I got older, I stayed on my own course. I got some hand-me-down 8-track tapes when I was maybe seven years old. I can’t remember all of them, but my two favorites were a Kiss greatest hits collection (which I loved because Kiss was my cousin Todd’s favorite band, and thus my favorite band, too) and a collection of performances by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops. I can only recall one song from that collection – and orchestral version of Burt Bacharach’s “Do You Know The Way To San Jose?” What kind of kid listens to big band, cheese rock, and the Boston Pops? Did no one in family own a radio?

One explanation for my early musical taste is that I spent so much time in the Hagyard Building with my grandparents, who didn’t listen to the radio all that much. It’s odd that they didn’t, because listening to the radio has been my grandfather’s main passtime for the past 15 years or so. I don’t remember listening to the radio a lot with my parents, which again is odd because they both worked at a radio station. I think I really started listening to the radio after we moved to New York State. Or at least that’s when I remember riding in the car a lot with the radio on, catching up on some of the music I’d missed.

Not counting the Kiss 8-track, I didn’t own my first rock record until I was in high school. I fell in with a crowd that was into prog rock. The first rock tape I remember owning was a copy of Signals by Rush, a Canadian rock band that my friend Jeff calls the “best all-girl band of the 70’s.” Somewhere around my freshman year, this group of friends turned my on to Yes, Genesis, Rush, King Crimson, the Moody Blues, Pink Floyd, Asia, Jethro Tull – all your prog rock favorites. I still love those bands now, although my tastes have broadened considerably since high school.

The first record I ever spent my own money on was Chuck Mangione’s 1978 album An Evening Of Magic: Live At The Hollywood Bowl. I got the album on cassette (two cassettes, if I remember right) and wore the thing out. In addition to Chuck on flugelhorn and electric piano, the concert featured Chris Vadala on saxes and flutes, Grant Geissman on guitar, Charles Meeks on the bass, James Bradley, Jr. on the drums, and a full orchestra. Vadala tears it up on every track. This album set the stage for my approach to jazz for years to come.

* * *

About the Kenton record: When I was first listening to it as a kid, it never occurred to me that I might one day talk to members of the band. And I don’t mean that I never thought I could reach those heights. I mean it literally never occurred to me that the band existed in the real world, and that some people had jobs that allowed them to talk to musicians.

I probably heard that record for the first time when I was four or five, and I got to know it well a decade later in junior high. Fifteen years after that, I interviewed Maynard Ferguson, one of the trumpeters on Kenton In Hi-Fi, and a legend in his own right. I didn’t ask him about that particular record, although we did talk about Kenton. He was a funny, approachable, articulate man, and he was very generous with his time as a guest on my radio show.

Before I ever thought about interviewing famous musicians, I thought about becoming one. As a young child, I took classical guitar lessons, but I was never very good and I didn’t last long. Right before I went into 7th grade, my cousin-hero Todd sent me his clarinet, which he’d traded in for an electric bass. I started playing clarinet in junior high, switched to saxophone in high school, and decided that being a professional musician was the life for me. As it turned out, though, I got much closer to the top level of performers as an interviewer than I ever did as a performer.

I’m not really sure when it was that I realized that musicians were actual human beings. Isn’t that strange? When do we cross that line of perception and discover that recorded sound is produced by regular people? How do we do it? I don’t think anyone ever told me that all those records were made by people just like me. I guess one day I just put together all the images I’d seen on TV with the records I’d been listening to and made the connection. All these years later, there’s still an element of magic and awe involved in talking with someone who was on a milestone recording.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/12/18/my-grandpas-band/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/12/02/the-white-hots-have-a-new-cd/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/12/02/the-white-hots-have-a-new-cd/#comments Sun, 03 Dec 2006 00:17:24 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2006/12/02/the-white-hots-have-a-new-cd/

The White Hots are Rochester’s premier “chamber blues” band. If you’re in the area on December 11, this is one event not to miss:

The White Hots announce the release of Caught in the Act, our first CD with vocalist Tina Albright!

Come to our CD release party on Monday, December 11 from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. at the Little Theatre Café, 240 East Avenue.

All three of our CDs are also available at any of our gigs (we are at the Little Theater the first three Mondays in December) or via thewhitehots.com.

Caught in the Act is dedicated to Dennis Monroe, the amazing musical talent who was our friend and fellow Hot. Dennis passed away earlier this year.

We look forward to seeing you!

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/12/02/the-white-hots-have-a-new-cd/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/11/24/anita-oday-rip/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/11/24/anita-oday-rip/#comments Fri, 24 Nov 2006 14:44:30 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2006/11/24/anita-oday-rip/ One of my all-time favorite jazz singers is gone. Thanks for the music. You’ll be missed…

ANITA O’DAY
October 18, 1919-November 23, 2006

Jazz Vocal legend Anita O’Day passed this morning October 23, 2006 at 6:17AM in West Los Angeles. The cause of death was cardiac arrest according to her manager Robbie Cavalina.

Born Anita Belle Colton in Chicago, Illinois on October 18, 1919, O’Day got her start as a teen. She eventually changed her name to O’Day and in the late 1930′s began singing in a jazz club called the Off- Beat, a popular hangout for musicians like band leader and drummer Gene Krupa. In 1941 she joined Krupa’s band, and a few weeks later Krupa hired trumpeter Roy Eldridge. O’Day and Eldridge had great chemistry on stage and their duet “Let Me Off Uptown” became a million-dollar-seller, boosting the popularity of the Krupa band. Also that year, “Down Beat” magazine named O’Day “New Star of the Year” and, in 1942, she was selected as one of the top five big band singers.

After her stint with, Krupa, O’Day joined Stan Kenton’s band. She left the band after a year and returned to Krupa. Singer Jackie Cain remembers the first time she saw O’Day with the Krupa band. “I was really impressed,” she recalls, “She (O’Day) sang with a jazz feel, and that was kind of fresh and new at the time.” Later, O’Day joined Stan Kenton’s band with whom she cut an album that featured the hit tune “And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine”

In the late’40s, O’Day struck out on her own. She teamed up with drummer John Poole, with whom she played for the next 32 years. Her album “Anita”, which she recorded on producer Norman Granz’s new Verve label, elevated her career to new heights. She began performing in festivals and concerts with such illustrious musicians as Louis Armstrong, Dinah Washington, Georg Shearing and Thelonious Monk. O’Day also appeared in the documentary filmed at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1958 called “Jazz on a Summer Day”, which made her an international star.

Throughout the ’60s Anita continued to tour and record while addicted to heroin and in 1969 she nearly died from an overdose. O’Day eventually beat her addiction and returned to work. In 1981 she published her autobiography “High Times, Hard Times” which, among other things, talked candidly about her drug addiction.

Her final recording was “Indestructible Anita O’Day” and featured Eddie Locke, Chip Jackson, Roswell Rudd, Lafayette Harris, Tommy Morimoto and the great Joe Wider. A documentary, “ANITA O’DAY-THE LIFE OF A JAZZ SINGER” will be released in 2007.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/11/24/anita-oday-rip/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/11/21/meet-john-mayers-sax-player-on-the-jason-crane-show/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/11/21/meet-john-mayers-sax-player-on-the-jason-crane-show/#comments Tue, 21 Nov 2006 05:27:01 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2006/11/21/meet-john-mayers-sax-player-on-the-jason-crane-show/

Check out Show #17: Bob Reynolds – Saying A Lot for an interview with Reynolds, who’s made a name for himself with Jonah Smith and Nellie McKay. Starting in January 2007, Bob will be on the road with John Mayer.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/11/21/meet-john-mayers-sax-player-on-the-jason-crane-show/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/11/18/rutner-wierenga-wierenga-rutner/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/11/18/rutner-wierenga-wierenga-rutner/#comments Sun, 19 Nov 2006 01:09:01 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2006/11/18/rutner-wierenga-wierenga-rutner/

Here’s a message from my good friend Josh Rutner:

Mark it on your calendars! Josh Rutner and Red Wierenga will be bringing the Respect Aesthetic back to Java’s Cafe in Rochester, after several years away. Here’s the short take:

• WHO: Josh Rutner (saxophone), Red Wierenga (piano) + a possible appearance by Respect’s drummer, Ted Poor!
• WHEN: Friday, November 24th 2006 – 9:00 PM
• WHERE: Java’s Cafe; 16 Gibbs Street, off East Avenue, Rochester
• WHY: It’s been a while; we should see each other again!
• HOW MUCH: No cover; tips would be greatly appreciated.

Josh and Red will be playing some great Respect Sextet gems, a bunch of new originals (and unoriginals, of course,) as well as a sampling from Respect’s
new project: SIRIUS RESPECT, THE MUSIC OF SUN RA & KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN

We hope to see you back at the ol’ stomping grounds! Also, don’t forget that The Respect Sextet proper will be playing their annual “RESPECT THE HOLIDAYS” show at the Bop Shop on Tuesday, the 19th of December at 8PM!

Thanks,
Josh

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/11/18/rutner-wierenga-wierenga-rutner/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/10/04/rochester-1973-buddy-rich/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/10/04/rochester-1973-buddy-rich/#comments Thu, 05 Oct 2006 00:24:06 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2006/10/04/rochester-1973-buddy-rich/ Another good friend, Chuck Ingersoll, sent this along:

Chuck was at this gig, and remembers this about it:

This vid of Buddy Rich at the Top of the Plaza. I was there during this engagement, but I can’t recall if it was the nite they filmed. Buddy at one point ended a set about 9:45. Said he was going to go watch Kojak and would be back after. We all laughed, thinking he’d be back in 20 mins. However, he came back around 11:10 and told us all about Kojak.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/10/04/rochester-1973-buddy-rich/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/10/03/jazzrochester/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/10/03/jazzrochester/#comments Wed, 04 Oct 2006 00:00:29 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2006/10/03/jazzrochester/ Local jazz fan Gregory Bell has started a new blog about all things jazz in Rochester. He very kindly mentions yours truly, too, but his blog would be worth a look even if he didn’t. Check it out, and tell him Jason sent you.

Jazz@Rochester

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/10/03/jazzrochester/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/10/03/david-binney-in-nyc/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/10/03/david-binney-in-nyc/#comments Tue, 03 Oct 2006 04:49:50 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2006/10/03/david-binney-in-nyc/

Saxophonist David Binney was recently my guest on The Jason Crane Show. If you’re in the New York City area, check out David and his fantastic band. Here are the details:

• WHO: David Binney (alto saxophone) / Craig Taborn (piano) / Thomas Morgan (bass) / Dan Weiss (drums)
• WHAT: A gig!
• WHEN: Tuesday, October 3rd, 10:15pm-1:30am
• WHERE: The 55 Bar, 55 Christopher St. at 7th Ave., NYC
• WHY: New CD “Cities and Desire” on Criss Cross out now. Featuring this group plus Mark Turner.
• HOW: Downloadable cd’s, live gigs, charts, solos and more at: davidbinney.com.

Tell him Jason Crane sent you!

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/10/03/david-binney-in-nyc/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/28/chris-washburne-on-the-jason-crane-show/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/28/chris-washburne-on-the-jason-crane-show/#comments Thu, 28 Sep 2006 15:02:46 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/28/chris-washburne-on-the-jason-crane-show/

Trombonist, composer, educator and activist Chris Washburne is my guest this week on The Jason Crane Show. Check it out at thejasoncraneshow.com.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/28/chris-washburne-on-the-jason-crane-show/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/26/another-day-another-review/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/26/another-day-another-review/#comments Wed, 27 Sep 2006 02:32:59 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/26/another-day-another-review/

Please visit All About Jazz for my review of the new album by guitarist Jordi Matas.

Thanks!

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/26/another-day-another-review/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/23/keith-jarrett-the-carnegie-hall-concert/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/23/keith-jarrett-the-carnegie-hall-concert/#comments Sat, 23 Sep 2006 13:05:32 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/23/keith-jarrett-the-carnegie-hall-concert/

My review of Keith Jarrett’s new album The Carnegie Hall Concert is now available at All About Jazz. Enjoy!

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/23/keith-jarrett-the-carnegie-hall-concert/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/22/branford-marsalis-braggtown/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/22/branford-marsalis-braggtown/#comments Fri, 22 Sep 2006 13:52:17 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/22/branford-marsalis-braggtown/

If you’ve got a minute or two, check out my review of the new Branford Marsalis album, Braggtown, at All About Jazz.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/22/branford-marsalis-braggtown/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/15/alto-saxophonist-david-binney-stops-by-the-jason-crane-show/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/15/alto-saxophonist-david-binney-stops-by-the-jason-crane-show/#comments Fri, 15 Sep 2006 05:15:05 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/15/alto-saxophonist-david-binney-stops-by-the-jason-crane-show/

This week, my guest on The Jason Crane Show is alto saxophonist and composer David Binney. David was here in Rochester this summer as part of Joel Harrison’s band. David has a new album out called Out Of Airplanes.

Please listen to the show and enter the contest mentioned at the end — you could win a copy of David’s new CD!

And while you’re on the Web, check out davidbinney.com.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/15/alto-saxophonist-david-binney-stops-by-the-jason-crane-show/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/11/my-interview-with-kenny-garrett-is-now-at-aaj/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/11/my-interview-with-kenny-garrett-is-now-at-aaj/#comments Mon, 11 Sep 2006 12:43:23 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/11/my-interview-with-kenny-garrett-is-now-at-aaj/

I interviewed saxophonist Kenny Garrett a couple weeks ago about new album, Beyond The Wall. That interview is now available at All About Jazz.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/11/my-interview-with-kenny-garrett-is-now-at-aaj/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/04/dewey-redman-rip/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/04/dewey-redman-rip/#comments Mon, 04 Sep 2006 04:18:04 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/04/dewey-redman-rip/

The great saxophonist Dewey Redman passed away on September 2. Here’s a tribute from All About Jazz.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/04/dewey-redman-rip/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/01/go-see-this-show/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/01/go-see-this-show/#comments Fri, 01 Sep 2006 04:44:23 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/01/go-see-this-show/

Ike Sturm Ensemble
Next Friday, September 8 – 8pm
Saint Peter’s Church, NYC
619 Lexington Ave (at 54th St.)
212-935-2200
$10 suggested donation
ikesturm.com

THE BAND:

• Ike Sturm – basses, compositions
• Matt Blanchard – tenor saxophone
• Eli Asher – trumpet
• Michael Williams – bass trumpet
• Misty Ann Sturm – voice
• Madeline Sturm – clarinet, bass clarinet
• Matt Curlee – piano
• Ryan Ferreira – guitar
• Ted Poor – drums

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/09/01/go-see-this-show/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/08/24/maynard-ferguson-rip/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/08/24/maynard-ferguson-rip/#comments Fri, 25 Aug 2006 02:43:13 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2006/08/24/maynard-ferguson-rip/

Famed trumpeter Maynard Ferguson died this week at the age of 78. Here’s the full story at All About Jazz.

This week on The Jason Crane Show, I’ll feature an archival interview with Maynard Ferguson.

There’s also a lot of great Maynard material at maynardferguson.com.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/08/24/maynard-ferguson-rip/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/08/14/episode-5-of-the-jason-crane-show-is-ready/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/08/14/episode-5-of-the-jason-crane-show-is-ready/#comments Tue, 15 Aug 2006 00:02:41 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2006/08/14/episode-5-of-the-jason-crane-show-is-ready/

This week’s show features a never-before-heard interview with trumpet legend Hugh Masekela. Check it out at thejasoncraneshow.com.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/08/14/episode-5-of-the-jason-crane-show-is-ready/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/08/09/moacir-santos-rip/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/08/09/moacir-santos-rip/#comments Wed, 09 Aug 2006 04:03:44 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2006/08/09/moacir-santos-rip/

Legendary Brazilian composer Moacir Santos died August 6. Do yourself a favor and pick up his recent 2-CD collection Ouro Negro. You can get it with the link below. Santos was a real genius, and a big favorite of mine when I hosted Traffic Jam and played “The Latin Set” each day. Here’s an obituary from All About Jazz.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/08/09/moacir-santos-rip/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/07/20/malachi-thompson-rip/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/07/20/malachi-thompson-rip/#comments Thu, 20 Jul 2006 04:27:21 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.org/2006/07/20/malachi-thompson-rip/

Jazz trumpeter and composer Malachi Thompson has died. Read a tribute to this musical pioneer.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/07/20/malachi-thompson-rip/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/07/07/aaj-your-2006-rijf-mixtape-is-now-at-all-about-jazz/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/07/07/aaj-your-2006-rijf-mixtape-is-now-at-all-about-jazz/#comments Fri, 07 Jul 2006 12:56:06 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.dreamhosters.com/?p=176 My review of the 2006 Rochester International Jazz Festival — written as a track list for a mixtape — is now at All About Jazz. Enjoy!

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/07/07/aaj-your-2006-rijf-mixtape-is-now-at-all-about-jazz/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/07/05/keeping-it-real/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/07/05/keeping-it-real/#comments Thu, 06 Jul 2006 03:10:24 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.dreamhosters.com/?p=172 I watched the documentary Miles Electric: A Different Kind of Blue tonight, having seen the first half two years ago at the Rochester International Jazz Festival. About 25 minutes in, percussionist and Miles sideman Mtume drops this:

You cannot create new music without access to new colors. Unfortunately, jazz — to me — stopped developing when the premier jazz creators did not want to accept the reality of electronics. Look man, when the piano, the tempered scale, was created — the 440 — that was the synthesizer of its time. I’m sure there were some harpsichord players walking around talking about “they’re not keeping it real.”

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/07/05/keeping-it-real/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/07/04/aaj-andre-canniere-review/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/07/04/aaj-andre-canniere-review/#comments Tue, 04 Jul 2006 14:24:12 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.dreamhosters.com/?p=170

My review of Andre Canniere’s new album As of Yet is now ready for your reading pleasure at All About Jazz.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/07/04/aaj-andre-canniere-review/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/06/28/rochester-through-doug-ramseys-eyes/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/06/28/rochester-through-doug-ramseys-eyes/#comments Thu, 29 Jun 2006 03:22:25 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.dreamhosters.com/?p=169 Author, blogger and jazzhead Doug Ramsey was in Rochester recently to write about The Commission Project’s annual Swing ‘n Jazz event.

While he was here, he also wrote two good pieces about Rochester as he saw it. The first piece is an overview of the city, and the second essay is a tourist’s-eye’view of the Flower City. I always enjoy reading about where I live as viewed through another’s eyes. If you feel the same, check out Doug’s essays. And then put his blog on your daily reading list.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/06/28/rochester-through-doug-ramseys-eyes/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/06/23/aaj-check-out-my-review-of-live-in-amsterdam-dvd-by-tineke-postma/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/06/23/aaj-check-out-my-review-of-live-in-amsterdam-dvd-by-tineke-postma/#comments Fri, 23 Jun 2006 13:00:44 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.dreamhosters.com/?p=168

Head over to All About Jazz for my review of Tineke Postma’s new concert DVD.

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/06/23/aaj-check-out-my-review-of-live-in-amsterdam-dvd-by-tineke-postma/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/06/22/hilton-ruizs-family-sues-over-jazz-pianists-death/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/06/22/hilton-ruizs-family-sues-over-jazz-pianists-death/#comments Thu, 22 Jun 2006 17:08:48 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.dreamhosters.com/?p=167 NEW ORLEANS (22 June 2006) — The family of jazz pianist Hilton Ruiz, who died June 6 in New Orleans, is suing Club Utopia, claiming Ruiz was attacked in the Bourbon Street dance club while the club’s bouncers “failed to intervene in any meaningful fashion.”

Filed by Ruiz’s daughter, Aida Ruiz, the negligence suit alleges the security workers didn’t even call an ambulance for Ruiz after the May 19 incident, but instead threw him out of the club.

Police said the incident first was investigated as an attack, but evidence indicated Ruiz sustained his injuries in a fall that left him unconscious. (He never regained consciousness.)

Utopia manager Fred Woodruff said he had not heard about the lawsuit.

From wire reports

]]> http://jasoncrane.org/2006/06/22/hilton-ruizs-family-sues-over-jazz-pianists-death/feed/ 0 http://jasoncrane.org/2006/06/19/the-respect-sextet-at-rijf/ http://jasoncrane.org/2006/06/19/the-respect-sextet-at-rijf/#comments Mon, 19 Jun 2006 15:40:07 +0000 Jason Crane http://jasoncrane.dreamhosters.com/?p=164 Here’s a little clip of the Respect Sextet playing “Time To Say Goodbye” at the 2006 Rochester International Jazz Festival. The clip runs about 2 minutes. Enjoy!

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