The Jazz Session

Show #9 from the 2007 Rochester International Jazz Festival. Featuring reviews, news, interviews and more! On this edition: Live sound samples from The Jens Winther European Quartet , Cowboy Mouth , The Soul Rebels and Avishai Cohen . Then, the grand finale: Greg , Seth , Ken and Jason get together for one massive roundtable discussion about the festival. Enjoy — and see you next year! Be su...

Jason Crane interviews Andy Milne and John Moon of Dapp Theory at the 2007 Rochester International Jazz Festival. Andy Milne formed Dapp Theory several years ago to fuse many musical worlds, including hip hop, spoken word, and jazz improvisation. The original group recorded Y’all Just Don’t Know (Concord, 2003). Since then, the personnel roster has changed, but the visionary outlook an...

Jason Crane interviews clarinetist Don Byron at the 2007 Rochester International Jazz Festival. Byron performed two sets with his Ivey Divey trio featuring pianist Jason Moran and drummer Billy Hart. Byron has covered a lot of ground in his musical career, from the Ivey Divey project (honoring Lester Young) to the music of Junior Walker, Raymond Scott and Mickey Katz. Byron talks about Lester Youn...

Jason Crane interviews pianist Jason Moran at the 2007 Rochester International Jazz Festival. Moran came to play with two bands — his own Bandwagon and Don Byron’s Ivey Divey trio. Moran’s most recent CD is Artist In Residence (Blue Note, 2006), an album composed mostly of Moran’s commissioned works. Moran talks about philosopher Adrian Piper, pianist Jaki Byard, and his ne...

Show #8 from the 2007 Rochester International Jazz Festival. Featuring reviews, news, interviews and more! On this edition: Live sound samples from James Moody , an interview with guitarist Mel Henderson of Paradigm Shift, and a sneak preview of a soon-to-be-released album from a major name in jazz. Be sure to visit the following sites for more RIJF coverage: Fretful Porpentine Jazz@Rochester Cup...

Jason Crane interviews drummer Matt Wilson between his sets at the 2007 Rochester International Jazz Festival. Wilson played two shows with his Arts & Crafts band featuring Dennis Irwin on bass, Gary Versace on organ and piano, and Michael Rodriquez on trumpet (sitting in for Terrell Stafford). The band’s new album is Scenic Route (Palmetto, 2007). Wilson is one of the most in-demand dr...

Show #7 from the 2007 Rochester International Jazz Festival. Featuring reviews, news, interviews and more! On this edition: Live sound samples from the Webster Schroeder High School Jazz Band , a wonderful story about vibraphonist Joe Locke , and some wacky behind-the-scenes antics from the members of Matt Wilson’s Arts & Crafts . Be sure to visit the following sites for more RIJF cover...

Show #6 from the 2007 Rochester International Jazz Festival. Featuring reviews, news, interviews and more! On this edition: Live sound samples from Trio Beyond with John Scofield, Jack DeJohnette and Larry Goldings , interviews with festival attendees, and conversations with pianist Dino Losito and drummer Mike Melito . Be sure to visit the following sites for more RIJF coverage: Fretful Porpentin...

Show #5 from the 2007 Rochester International Jazz Festival. Featuring reviews, news, interviews and more! On this edition: Live sound samples from Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks and Mamadou Diabate , interviews with festival attendees, and a feature on the Swedish electronica group Midaircondo . Be sure to visit the following sites for more RIJF coverage: Fretful Porpentine Jazz@Rochester Cup O&#...

Jason Crane interviews trombonist Robin Eubanks before his set at the 2007 Rochester International Jazz Festival. Eubanks is in Rochester with his band EB3, which features Eubanks on acoustic and electric trombone, loops and percussion pads, and keyboard bass; Michelle Rosewoman (subbing for Orrin Evans) on keyboards and keyboard bass; and Kenwood Dennard on drums and keyboard bass. Eubanks is als...

Show #4 from the 2007 Rochester International Jazz Festival. Featuring reviews, news, interviews and more! On this edition: Interviews with Dutch trumpeter Saskia Laroo , Swedish trumpeter Peter Asplund , and Canadian Afro-beat band Mr. Something Something . Plus music samples from all three artists. Be sure to visit the following sites for more RIJF coverage: Fretful Porpentine Jazz@Rochester Cup...

Show #3 from the Rochester International Jazz Festival. This show focuses on Nordic Jazz Now — bands from Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark who are performing all this week at the festival. RIJF Artistic Director John Nugent also produces the Stockholm Jazz Festival. In this episode: Vidar Brathen from the Norwegian Jazz Forum, Bengt Strokirk from Concerts Sweden, an interview with the mem...

Show #2 from the 2007 Rochester International Jazz Festival. Featuring reviews, news, interviews and more! On this edition: “Sounds of the Street.” Includes performance excerpts from Scott Goudie and The Shuffle Demons , plus interviews with trumpeter Mike Catone , Jazz90.1 DJ Gary O , and RIJF staffer Bob Madeira . Be sure to visit the following sites for more RIJF coverage: Fretful P...

Show #1 from the 2007 Rochester International Jazz Festival. Featuring reviews, news, interviews and more! On this edition: reviews of Raul Midon , Geri Allen with Jimmy Cobb , Peter Asplund , Steps Ahead , and Jon Ballantyne . Be sure to visit the following sites for more RIJF coverage: Fretful Porpentine Jazz@Rochester Cup O’ Books Will Yurman’s multimedia slideshows Please excuse th...

WXXI, one of Rochester’s public radio stations, mentioned The Jazz Session in a recent broadcast. The male voice you hear is that of Scott Fybush, who runs the indispensable NorthEast Radio Watch . Listen to the story: .

Jason Crane interviews vibraphonist and composer Cecilia Smith. Smith’s new project, Dark Triumph (CEA Music, 2005) chronicles the life of her aunt, Victoria Lancaster Smith, through spoken word, improvisation, orchestral arrangements, members of the Boys Choir of Harlem, and a jazz rhythm section. This ambitious album originated when Victoria Smith showed Cecilia Smith an 8-bar melody she&#...

TJS Extra looks at jazz from other angles. Think of it as a companion piece to The Jazz Session . On this edition, Jason Crane interviews jazz writer Doug Ramsey. Ramsey is a broadcast and print journalist with an extensive background in jazz writing. He is the author of several books, including Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond , for which he won an ASCAP Deems Taylor Award....

Jason Crane interviews vibraphonist Terry Gibbs. This week, ASCAP, one of the organizations that safeguards performers’ and composers’ rights, announced that it will add Gibbs to its Jazz Wall of Fame in a ceremony on June 1 at Lincoln Center. Gibbs is already recognized as an ASCAP Jazz Living Legend for a career that spans the bebop era to the present day. In honor of Gibbs’ award,...

TJS Extra looks at jazz from other angles. Think of it as a companion piece to The Jazz Session. This edition takes you behind the scenes of the Rochester International Jazz Festival. Jason Crane interviews festival producers John Nugent and Marc Iacona. With more than 600 artists, 200+ concerts and 18 venues, the RIJF has quickly become one of the leading jazz festivals in North America. Find out...

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...

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 Strickla...

Jason Crane interviews 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.” Find out more at Christine Jensen’s MySpace pag...

Jason Crane interviews drummer Pete Zimmer. Zimmer moved to New York several years ago after graduating from the New England Conservatory. He’s released three records on his own label, Tippin’ Records, the most recent of which is his new CD, Judgment (Tippin’ Records, 2006). The album features tenor saxophonists George Garzone and Joel Frahm. Find out more at PeteZimmer.com .

Jason Crane interviews saxophone and clarinet player Victor Goines. Goines has made quite a name for himself with such seminal groups as the Wynton Marsalis Septet and the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra. In addition to touring the world with the those bands, he’s also an accomplished leader in his own right, and the director of the jazz program at Juilliard in New York. Goines has a new CD cal...

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 a...