poet, interviewer, musician, traveler
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.
Leave a CommentI 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:
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Thanks to the wonderful blog BAGNews Notes for the link
(Thanks to poet and jazzer David Budbill for the links!)
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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.
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!
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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.
Leave a CommentFor 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.