The Jazz Session

Guitarist Anthony Wilson’s new CD is Campo Belo (Goat Hill Recordings, 2011). In this interview, Wilson talks about his ongoing travels to Brazil; his new music for a quartet of custom-built guitars; and why rhythm changes can be beautiful. Learn more at www.anthonywilsonmusic.com . Tracks used in this episode: Campo Belo; March to March; Edu; After The Flood; Patrimonio; Valsacatu.

Saxophonist Billy Harper appears on Cast The First Stone , the latest CD from The Cookers. In this interview, part of The Jazz Session’s “Cookers Mondays” series, Harper talks about his involvement with the band; recounts the story of his first night in NYC in the late 1960s; and tells about how persistence paid off when it came to sitting in with one of the most famous drummers...

Chris Washburne and the SYOTOS Band’s most recent album is Fields of Moons (Jazzheads, 2010). In this interview, Washburne talks about his introduction to the New York salsa scene; why SYOTOS chose to record softer music on the new album; and an amazing story about Tito Puente. Learn more at www.chriswashburne.com . Tracks used in this episode: Fields Of Moons; Seas Of Slumber; Obsesion; Poi...

Sean Smith’s new CD is called Trust . In this interview, Smith talks about the idea of trust among musicians; recalls Bill Finnegan’s teachings; and talks about the potentially career-ending injury that gave him a new lease on life and music. Learn more at www.seansmithjazz.com . Tracks used in this episoed: Betting Blind; Homemade Japanese Folk Song; Wayne’s World; Lawn Ornament...

Composer Maria Schneider’s most recent CD is Sky Blue (ArtistShare). Now Schneider has turned her attention to the classical world, composing music for soprano and orchestra. In this interview, Schneider talks about how a meeting with soprano Dawn Upshaw led to this new direction in her music; how she waded through oceans of poetry to find the text she wanted for her new pieces; and how a ch...

Drummer Adam Cruz has released his first CD as a leader, Milestone (Sunnyside, 2011), featuring his own compositions. In this interview, Cruz talks about finding his own voice as a composer; the challenges associated with leading a band; and the impact of his father on his life as a musician. Learn more at www.adamcruz.net . Tracks used in this episode: Secret Life; Emje; Crepuscular; The Gadfly;...

Pianist Matthew Shipp and saxophonist Darius Jones have a new duo CD called Cosmic Lieder (AUM Fidelity, 2011). In this wide-ranging interview, Shipp and Jones discuss intergenerational collaboration; the “x factor” that caused Shipp to ask Jones to work together; and how Jones views Shipp’s musical language and career. Learn more at www.matthewshipp.com and www.myspace.com/black...

Saxophonist Noah Preminger’s new CD is Before The Rain (Palmetto, 2011). In this interview, Preminger talks about his musical upbringing; why he spend a lot of time planning the order of the songs in a performance; and the important of being respectful. Learn more at www.noahpreminger.com . Tracks used in this episode: Where or When; Quickening; Before The Rain; Abreaction; Until The Real Th...

Guitarist Adam Rogers’ most recent album is Sight (Criss Cross, 2009). In this interview, Rogers talks about the band he put together for his recent run at the Village Vanguard; why he enjoys using a broad range of guitar sounds — and guitars; and how he melds the music he writes with the need for improvisational space. Learn more at www.adamrogersmusic.com . Tracks used in this episod...

Vocalist Fay Victor explores her Trinidadian roots in the company of Other Dimensions In Music on Kaiso Stories (Silkheart, 2011). In this interview, Victor talks about the chance meeting that led to the new CD; how she melded the calypso music of Trinidad with the experimental jazz she’s known for; and the many projects with which she’s currently involved. Learn more at www.fayvictor....

Drummer Marc Miralta’s most recent CD is Dreams (Fresh Sound, 2007). In this interview, recorded while Miralta was in New York to play with Alexis Cuadrado, Miralta talks about his lifelong love of jazz; how he became known for his flamenco/jazz hybrid music; and why a life as an artist was a natural choice in his family. Learn more at www.marcmiralta.com . Tracks used in this episode: Dream...

Pianist Bruce Barth’s latest record is Live At Smalls (Smalls Live, 2011) with Vicente Archer and Rudy Royston. In this interview, Barth talks about the equal partnership and openness he looks for in his bandmates; what he learned from his early work with Stanley Turrentine and Terence Blanchard; and the difficulties of studying at a jazz school in a place where there isn’t a jazz scen...

Brian Lynch celebrates some of his fellow trumpeters whom he feels deserve more notice on Unsung Heroes (Hollistic MusicWorks, 2010). In this interview, Lynch talks about his very real connection to the generations before him; why he feels a grounding in the tradition of jazz is important; and the idea that “bebop is the music of the future.” Learn more at brianlynchjazz.com . Tracks u...

Guitarist Nico Soffiato’s new album is Just Add Water (nBn Records, 2011). In this interview, Soffiato talks about his decision to become a guitarist rather than a philosopher; his thoughts on improvisation and structure in his music; and why he enjoys playing with new people. Learn more at www.reverbnation.com/nicosoffiato . Tracks used in this episode: Alexander; Tens Of Us; Just Add Water...

Bassist Ben Allison delivers an original and exciting take on tunes by everyone from Samuel Barber to Neil Young to Thelonious Monk on his new CD, Action-Refraction (Palmetto, 2011). In this interview, Allison talks about an iPhone app that changed the sound palette on his new record; two musicians who’ve joined him for the first time on this CD; and how he deals with the lyrical content of...

Fred Hersch is back with another solo piano recording, Alone At The Vanguard (Palmetto, 2011). In this interview, Hersch talks about finding the interior resources to play an entire week of solo piano at one of the world’s most famous jazz clubs; his new multimedia piece “My Coma Dreams” and the near-death saga that led to it; and why he feels he has a purpose to his life. Learn...

Accordion player Rob Curto takes us on a tour of Brazilian choro music. In this interview, Curto explains the origins of choro and demonstrates its rhythms; talks about his own introduction to the accordion and to the music of Brazil; and plays several choro tunes in performances available only in this episode. Learn more at robcurto.com . Tracks used in this episode: Biruta, Seu Ze E Os Pifs, 03...

Bassist Alexis Cuadrado has just released an ambitious nonet album, Noneto Iberico (bjurecords, 2011), inspired by the flamenco music of his native Spain. In this interview, Cuadrado talks about the genesis of the record; how having kids changed his focus as a musician; and how the Brooklyn Jazz Underground fosters creative music. Learn more at http://www.alexiscuadrado.com/ . Tracks used in this...

Saxophonist Sarah Manning brings her personal approach to the sound of the saxophone to her newest recording, Dandelion Clock (Posi-Tone, 2010). In this interview, Manning talks about how she focuses on sound in her playing; the way she assembled her band; and why she’s happy she took risks on this record. Learn more at sarahmanningmusic.com . Tracks used in this episode: The Peacocks; Marbl...

Drummer Scott McLemore and the ASA Trio just released a new album of the music of Thelonious Monk, a follow-up to last year’s daring take on Coltrane’s A Love Supreme . In this interview, McLemore tells the story of how he ended up playing jazz in Iceland; talks about the ASA Trio’s chemistry and origins; and explains how the band came to play the music of Monk and Coltrane. Lear...

Anthony Brown’s Asian American Orchestra uses instruments from around the world to put a unique spin on two Coltrane classics on their new album, India & Africa (Water Baby Records, 2010). In this interview, Brown gives an overview of the Asian-American jazz movement and its origins in Bay-area protests; discusses the challenges and opportunities of using non-Western instruments in a ja...

Nicholas Urie’s new album, My Garden (Red Piano Records, 2011), features his settings of the poems of Charles Bukowski. In this interview, Urie talks about his identification with Bukowski, who, like Urie, spent much of his life in Los Angeles; the challenges of setting Bukowski’s non-lyrical poems; and the even greater challenge of getting the rights to use Bukowski’s work in th...

The Jazz Session started four years ago today with episode #1 — an interview with saxophonist Grant Stewart . Four years, 243 episodes and 930,000 downloads later, The Jazz Session is still going strong. In the introduction to this show, I take a moment to thank all the people who’ve made it possible, before welcoming my guest… Grant Stewart returns to help celebrate the fourth a...

Saxophonist Ralph Bowen returns with Power Play (Posi-Tone, 2011), his third CD in as many years. In this interview, Bowen talks about why he enjoys writing his own music; the importance of his bandmates in creating the right studio environment; and the lessons he learned from his time with Horace Silver. Learn more at ralphbowen.com . Tracks used in this episode: K.D.’s Blues; Drumheller Va...

Music writer and musician Hank Shteamer talks about Mosaic’s new Henry Threadgill boxed set, The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air , for which Shteamer wrote the liner notes. In this interview, Shteamer talks about the two-decade period covered by the set; the amazing variety of Threadgill’s bands and compositions; Threadgill’s infectious hu...