The Jazz Session

Trumpeter Jason Palmer is a busy man. He’s about to release a new quartet record, followed by an album funded by a grant from Chamber Music America. He’s also an educator, touring musician, and composer. In this interview, Palmer talks about his early days at Wally’s in Boston; what it meant to his career to have a working band with a regular gig for 15 years; why he loves to tea...

(Photo by Peter Ganushkin) In this archive interview from December 2009 (updated with a new intro), Cooper-Moore talks about his childhood days as the town musician; why he feels that playing music is far more than a profession; how and why he began creating his own instruments; and more. / / / I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians since 2007. I think it’s important wor...

Pianist Roberta Piket recorded an entire album of her husband Billy Mintz’s compositions as a surprise birthday gift for him. Now we’re all receiving a present, because Piket decided to release the record, which is called Domestic Harmony – Piket Plays Mintz (Thirteenth Note Records, 2019). In this interview, Piket talks about the recording process; Mintz’s reaction on hear...

The Jazz Session celebrates its 500th episode with NEA Jazz Master Sheila Jordan . In this interview, Jordan talks about how a nickel changed her life; her early years on 52nd Street with Charlie Parker; her work with Steve Swallow and the poetry of Robert Creeley; her approach to ballads and teaching; and more. A Special Note: Five hundred episodes. Twelve years. The Jazz Session is, if I do say...

Multi-instrumentalist Jane Bunnett and her band Maqueque have a new album called On Firm Ground/Tierra Firme (2019, Linus Entertainment). In this interview, Bunnett talks about the long and often difficult process of assembling a band of women from Cuba; the collaborative spirit that emerged from their shared struggle; the music on the new record; and more. / / / I’ve been recording conversa...

This week we’re stepping into the wayback machine for a 2009 interview with pianist Steve Kuhn about his album Mostly Coltrane (ECM, 2009). Kuhn worked with Coltrane for several weeks in the early 60s. In this interview, Kuhn talks about Coltrane, the Lenox School of Jazz, his composing methods, and the support he received early on from Bill Evans. He also discusses the sacrifices he made in...

John Medeski has many irons in the fire, one of which is his new project Mad Skillet, featuring guitarist Will Bernard, sousaphonist Kirk Joseph and drummer Terence Higgins (the latter two from the Dirty Dozen Brass Band ). In this interview, Medeski talks about the new album Mad Skillet ; how honesty fuels his music and his sound; and the many projects he’s working on at the moment. / / / I...

Gang of Three is the new album from Montreal-based pianist Andrés Vial . In this interview, Vial talks about the relationship between Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell and Elmo Hope that inspired the album; how he ended up in the studio with Dezron Douglas and Eric McPherson; creating an instrumental piece from the words of a poem; and more. / / / I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musici...

Taylor Ho Bynum just released The Ambiguity Manifesto (2019, Firehouse 12 Records), an album featuring his “9-tet.” In this interview, Taylor talks about his outstanding band; the evolution of his compositions in recent years; the many exciting projects he has coming up; and a lot more. (Here’s Taylor’s previous interview on The Jazz Session .) / / / I’ve been recordi...

Italian cellist Francesco Guerri has a new solo cello album on RareNoise Records called Su Mimmi non si spara! (“Don’t shoot Mimmi!”) In this interview, Guerri talks about the path from improvisation to composition; how a chance meeting brought him back to the cello in a new way; why he wants his music to reflect the truths of life; and more. I’ve been recording conversatio...

Drummer Dor Herskovits is on two new albums: Flying Elephants (with his own quintet) and Easy Listening (with the collective band Earprint). In this interview, Herskovits talks about the genesis of both bands; the use of humor in music; how his son’s impending birth inspired a song and a story; and more. I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians since 2007. I think it&#8217...

Trombonist Ryan Keberle and his band Catharsis released a new album this summer called The Hope I Hold (Greenleaf Music). The band features Camila Meza (interview 1 , 2 , 3 ), Jorge Roeder, Eric Doob, and Scott Robinson. In this interview, Keberle talks about the sociopolitical inspirations for the new record; the challenges of listening and ways to get better at it; and how he’s kept this b...

Guitarist Perry Smith releases his new album, Live In Brooklyn , on October 11, 2019. The album features Melissa Aldana ( interview ) on saxophone, Matt Aronoff on bass, and Jay Sawyer on drums. In this interview, Perry talks about the jam session as a form of community building; using his musical success for good causes; how his jam session became grant-funded; and his upcoming tour, which begins...

In May, saxophonist and vocalist Caroline Davis released an album called Alula on New Amsterdam Records. Later this week, she and Rob Clearfield will drop a new record called Anthems on Sunnyside. In this interview, Davis traces the path from The Sibley Guide To Birds to Alula ; talks about music cognition; and explains how being a global citizen has changed her approach to music. Big thanks to th...

It’s been 20 years since the release of Jane Monheit ‘s first album, Never Never Land . This week (September 19-21, 2019) Jane is at the Iridium in New York City to celebrate that anniversary. In this interview, we talk about the early days of her career; touring as a homeschooling mom; maintaining good vocal technique; and more. I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musici...

Saxophonist Noah Preminger ‘s new album is Zigsaw: Music Of Steve Lampert . In this interview, Preminger talks about the fascinating creative and recording processes that resulted in this new record; the many albums he’s released in recent years; his future touring and recording plans; and more. You’ll find a previous interview with Noah here , and one with composer Steve Lampert...

Welcome to the first summer hiatus episode of 2019! Earlier this year I was invited on the podcast Sound Logic to talk about the album Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. Here is that episode in its entirety. You can hear other episodes of Sound Logic and subscribe here: https://anchor.fm/soundlogic . And if you want to hear all the cool members-only episodes of The Jazz Session coming out this summer an...

This episode features a roll call of all the current members of The Jazz Session , plus bonus material from my interviews with Brittany Anjou , Claudia Acuña , and Carmen Staaf & Allison Miller . The summer hiatus is now upon us, which means members will be getting the majority of the content I produce in July and August. To hear the full bonus episode and all the summer shows, join today at h...

Ashley Daneman ‘s People Are Fragile (Flood Music, 2019) is one of the best albums of 2019. In this interview, Daneman talks about making an album that fearlessly explores darkness; the difficult but necessary choice between a musical career and motherhood; why she performs only for listening audiences; and much more. This is the final episode of season 11 of The Jazz Session . If you’...

Vocalist Claudia Acuña is back with Turning Pages , her first new album in a decade. In this interview, Acuña talks about being a musician and a mom; the process of releasing a record independently after years working with big labels; the honesty in her lyrics; and much more. I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians since 2007. I think it’s important work that deserves pub...

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Science Fair (Sunnyside Records, 2018) is the debut project from the team of drummer Allison Miller and pianist Carmen Staaf . In this interview, Miller and Staaf talk about the unlikely way they met; their shared love of swing, groove and dance; how they chose the other members of their band; and more. (Note: Carmen has been on the show before. Listen to her 2011 interview .) I’ve been reco...

Pianist and composer Brittany Anjou has a new album called Enami?o Reciprokataj (Origin Records, 2019). In this interview, Anjou talks about why her album is titled in Esperanto; the long process of bringing this music from idea to paper to stage to studio; the many diverse projects with which she’s involved; and more. I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians since 2007. I...

Twilight Time is the new album by guitarist Nick Millevoi and his Desertion Trio . The album features covers of both well known and obscure rock and doo wop songs from the 50s and 60s. In this interview, Millevoi talks about the origin of the trio and the idea for the record; the impact of David Lynch on the way we hear music from this era; and his upcoming touring schedule with Desertion Trio, Un...