The Buzz: The JJA Podcast

"Free jazz" as presented in a dozen films collected and presented by the Criterion Channel incorporate unusual ways of telling unusual musical stories, including portraits of Alice Coltrane and Milford Graves; Cecil Taylor, Bill Dixon, Archie Shepp and Paul Bley in Imagine the Sound , and evocative experimental films such as Dream City and Promises: Through Congress. Panelists Kevin Whit...

Are films about "free jazz," featured in a collection on the Criterion Channel, a genre -- and if so, what are their common traits? Panelists Kevin Whitehead (author of Play The Way You Feel: The Essential Guide to Jazz Stories on Film , jazz critic on Fresh Air with Terry Gross), Gretchen Carlson (author of Improvising the Score: Rethinking Modern Film Music Through Jazz) , and Don Palm...

Jason Miles discusses his book The Extraordinary Journey of Jason Miles: A musical biography with host Susan Brink.  Miles, a Grammy award winning producer, keyboardist, composer, arranger and synthesist has worked with the best: Miles Davis, Luther Vandross, Marcus Miller (who wrote the introduction), Mike and Randy Brecker, the list goes on. https://www.jasonmilesmusic.com/ Amazon link to book:...

Host Susan Brink speaks with Aidan Levy, author of the first comprehensive biography of the legendary musician and composer Sonny Rollins.  "Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins" at 784 pages is comprehensive, but very readable.  To learn more about Aidan Levy or purchase the book:   https://aidan-levy.com/ https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/aidan-levy/saxophone-...

Host Susan Brink speaks with author Rick Lopez, who has just self published "The Sam Rivers Sessionography: A Work In Progress".  With 768 pages and over 500 illustrations, this comprehensive and meticulously researched sessionography/biography was 25 years in the making. To purchase the book: https://www.gofundme.com/f/sam-rivers-sessionography Sam River's obituary, written by Nate...

Host Rick Mitchell  and Neil Tesser,  discuss the differences between professional and casual listening. Rick Mitchell is a longtime music journalist and radio programmer living in Portland Oregon. Neil Tesser is a Grammy Award–winning American journalist, radio host, music critic, and author.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Tesser Support for The JJA comes in part from the Jazz Foundation of...

Willard Jenkins discussed his new book "Ain't But a Few of Us: Black Music Writers Tell Their Story" with host Susan Brink. The title will be released on December 2, 2022 on Duke University Press. Willard Jenkins is an independent arts consultant, concerts and festivals artistic director/curator, producer, writer and editor under his Open Sky banner.  Willard Jenkins’ current activi...

Host Rick Mitchell discusses websites with Joe Maita of Jerry Jazz Musician and Dee Dee McNeil https://jerryjazzmusician.com/author/joe-maita/ https://tinyurl.com/bddz7rm2 Support for The JJA comes in part from the Jazz Foundation of America, providing emergency assistance, healthcare, and performance opportunities to performers, composers and others in need. Visit jazzfoundation.org . This podcas...

Veteran journalists on the real deal working in print and internet media.  Host Andrew Gilbert in a lively discussion with  Mike West  and Marcus J Moore Mr. Moore has been a contributing writer with The Nation and a contributing editor with Bandcamp Daily. His coverage of soul, jazz, rap, and rock can be found at The New York Times , Pitchfork, TIME , Entertainment Weekly , GQ , The Washington Po...

Wayne Winborne and Ashley Kahn continue their discussion.  Felix A. Grant Archivist Reuben Jackson on the ABC's of Archives. Support for The JJA comes in part from the Jazz Foundation of America, providing emergency assistance, healthcare, and performance opportunities to performers, composers and others in need. Visit jazzfoundation.org . This podcast is made possible with the support of Jaz...

Wayne Winborne and Ashley Kahn have an animated, in-depth discussion about jazz archives with host Susan Brink.  Winborne is the Executive Director of the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University - Newark.  Kahn is an author, educator, music journalist, and concert producer.   https://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/newark/visit-study/institute-jazz-studies https://tisch.nyu.edu/about/directory/c...

Host Rick Mitchell talks with Larry Blumenfeld, jazz writer for the Wall Street Journal, and Carolyn McClair, President of Carolyn McClair Public Relations and longtime festival and entertainment publicist. Support for The JJA comes in part from the Jazz Foundation of America, providing emergency assistance, healthcare, and performance opportunities to performers, composers and others in need. Vis...

Host Susan Brink talks with Richard Conde,  a NYC based photographer.. He currently serves as Senior Staff Photographer for the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, and is the official photographer for the Newport, Exit 0, and Jazz Mobile jazz festivals, as well as New York's famed Birdland Jazz Club.  Conde's much in-demand work which has been praised as "making the invisible visible&qu...

On the latest episode of The Buzz: The JJA Podcast, host Rick Mitchell talks with longtime jazz radio programmers Linda Yohn and Cheryl K Symister-Masterson and jazz radio promo-man Mark Rini on the joys and challenges of doing what they do. The good news is, the music -- new and old -- is being played and heard.  Support for The JJA comes in part from the Jazz Foundation of America, providing eme...

A Look at Jazz Criticism with host Rick Mitchell.  Guests: John Gennari, author of Blowin’ Hot and Cool: Jazz and Its Critics (University of Chicago Press, 2006) and  a Professor of English and Critical Race and Ethic Studies at the University of Vermont  and Giovanni Russonello, Jazz Critic for the NY Times. Support for The JJA comes in part from the Jazz Foundation of America, providing emergenc...

Broadcast veterans Neil Tesser and Mark Ruffin join host Rick Mitchell for a freewheeling analysis of what the results of the 2022 JJA Jazz Awards reveal about the current state of jazz, and jazz journalism.   Mark Ruffin is the program director of Sirius XM’s Real Jazz channel. Neil Tesser is a longtime print journalist and jazz radio programmer currently heard on KSDS in San Diego in the series...

Support for The JJA comes in part from the Jazz Foundation of America, providing emergency assistance, healthcare, and performance opportunities to performers, composers and others in need. Visit jazzfoundation.org . This podcast is made possible with the support of Jazz Road, a national initiative of South Arts, which is funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation with additional support from...

Jazz Journalist Association President Howard Mandel introduces The Buzz and speaks about the JJA's activities. Jazz Hero Award Associate Producer Susan Brink and Marcia Hocker discuss the Jazz Hero Award with Host Rick Mitchell. To Learn more about the JJA Awards, visit our website: jjajazzawards.org Support for The JJA comes in part from the Jazz Foundation of America, providing emergency as...