Rob Shepherd

Broken Trance: A Conversation with Ches Smith on ‘Laugh Ash’

As Arnold Schoenberg once noted, “Intelligibility in music seems to be impossible without repetition.” Repetition is a shared facet of…

1 year ago

Harmony on Your Side: A Conversation with George Coleman (Part Two)

We continue our conversation with NEA Jazz Master George Coleman (read part one here) by continuing to discuss his time…

1 year ago

Harmony on Your Side: A Conversation with George Coleman (Part One)

Unfortunately, sometimes life gets in the way of interviews making it to print. This interview with the legendary George Coleman,…

1 year ago

Premiere: NEA Jazz Master Abdullah Ibrahim’s Single “Water from an Ancient Well” from ‘3’

Abdullah Ibrahim has spent most of his life using music to stand up to injustice. Born in Capetown in 1934,…

1 year ago

Complex Dream: A Conversation with Rubin Kodheli on his Music and Remembering Ryuichi Sakamoto

On March 28, 2023, the world lost one of its great composers, Ryuichi Sakamoto. Although emotionally powerful, Mr. Sakamoto’s work…

1 year ago

Marathon of Discovery: A Conversation with Winter Jazzfest Founder/Producer Brice Rosenbloom on the Festival at Twenty Years

For over a century, New York City has been the epicenter of jazz music. While many artists develop their craft…

1 year ago

Cloudward: A Conversation with Mary Halvorson

The Philosopher G.K. Chesterton once commented, "There are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds." Here on…

1 year ago

Mourning and Hope: A Conversation with Susan Alcorn

For centuries, music has served as an empowering call for the oppressed and alienated. The origins of Blues, jazz, and…

1 year ago

Dedication: A Conversation with Dr. Eddie Henderson

One would be hard-pressed to find a figure that better represents the evolution of modern improvisation-based music than Eddie Henderson.…

1 year ago

Rob Shepherd’s Favorite Albums of 2023

In terms of my music writing, 2023 started off frustratingly with a few interviews that fell through and one that…

1 year ago