INTERVIEWS
- Considering the Composer’s Black Box: A Conversation with Ted Gordon
The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, but instead, it must be transformed from one form to another. One could posit a similar theory to apply to technological development. A great amount of literature has been produced expressing concern regarding the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the… Read more: Considering the Composer’s Black Box: A Conversation with Ted Gordon - Echoes of Chickadee Valley: A Conversation with Christopher Hoffman on ‘Rex’
When one thinks of the great artistic cataloging of North American bird paintings, John James Audubon’s name often first comes to mind. That connection makes sense given that his best-known work, the multi-volume The Birds of America (1827-1838), featured four hundred and thirty-five paintings covering four hundred and eighty-nine species. Painting that many birds was… Read more: Echoes of Chickadee Valley: A Conversation with Christopher Hoffman on ‘Rex’ - Finding Cues: A Conversation with Elias Stemeseder on ‘Studies in Prolation, for S-L plus Ensemble’
Often, great treasures can be found in mines already long before dug. This is certainly the case with the lautenwerk. A now rare European keyboard from the Baroque era, the lautenwerk combines the mechanics of a harpsichord with lute-like strings. A favorite of Johann Sebastian Bach, the instrument largely fell out of favor as the… Read more: Finding Cues: A Conversation with Elias Stemeseder on ‘Studies in Prolation, for S-L plus Ensemble’ - Crossroads: A Conversation with Either/Orchestra’s Russ Gershon on Èthiopiques and Nerses Nalbandian
Sometimes, the voice of an outsider provides a fresh perspective that adds richness to the status quo and pushes things in new directions. This was certainly the case with Ethiopian jazz. Over the last two decades, the music – sometimes referred to as Ethio-jazz – has proliferated via the internet, dissolving geographic boundaries around sounds… Read more: Crossroads: A Conversation with Either/Orchestra’s Russ Gershon on Èthiopiques and Nerses Nalbandian - Quest for Magic: A Conversation with Paul Winter on Earth Music and ‘Horn of Plenty’
The most common defense for insisting on genre classifications is that it “simplifies” discussions about music. According to Kelefa Sanneh, author of Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres (Penguin, 2021), “Devotion to a sound is essentially about community and belonging.” In this sense, one can see adherence to genre norms as… Read more: Quest for Magic: A Conversation with Paul Winter on Earth Music and ‘Horn of Plenty’ - Evolution of Seeds: A Conversation with Peter Evans on ‘Ars Ludicra’
The popular perception of time is linear. One thing leads to another and then to another. But the passage of time is better viewed as a cyclical path, with shadows of the past and hints of the future emerging throughout. As Marcus Aurelius notes in Book VI of Meditations, “Each thing is of like form… Read more: Evolution of Seeds: A Conversation with Peter Evans on ‘Ars Ludicra’ - Music as Movement: A Lost Conversation with Marilyn Mazur
On December 12, 2025, the world lost a truly innovative voice. When any accomplished artist passes, there is a natural inclination to list the other artists that person once called collaborators, as if to provide necessary context to the loss by reference to names perhaps better known. Certainly, one can write a piece about Marilyn… Read more: Music as Movement: A Lost Conversation with Marilyn Mazur - Living Proof of the Same Cell: A Conversation with Lucian Ban and Mat Maneri on ‘Cantica Profana’ and ‘The Athenaeum Concert’
Folk music is often broadly defined as being a music “of the people.” But what does that really mean? Of course, the generally understood definition implies that it is music not of the conservatory or the upper strata of society, but from the average person, one of the commoners. But the descriptor of the music… Read more: Living Proof of the Same Cell: A Conversation with Lucian Ban and Mat Maneri on ‘Cantica Profana’ and ‘The Athenaeum Concert’ - The Willpower of Notes: A Conversation with Eyvind Kang on ‘Riparian’
Over the last half-century, a growing number of artists and theorists have explored the concept of ecomusicology, a theoretical approach to music that emphasizes the relationship between man and nature as manifested through sound. Initially developed from the environmental movement of the 1960s and 1970s, ecomusicology focuses less on whether a particular sound comes from… Read more: The Willpower of Notes: A Conversation with Eyvind Kang on ‘Riparian’ - La Belle Ville: A Conversation with David Binney and Tommy Crane on ‘The Isle’
Music has always pulsed through Montréal’s DNA, from its origins to the present. Legend tells that when the city’s founder, Paul de Chomedey, sieur de Maisonneuve, battled loneliness in the then-frontier outpost by picking up a lute. Seventeenth-century missionaries spread faith through the territory by relying upon choral singing and notation. After the British conquered… Read more: La Belle Ville: A Conversation with David Binney and Tommy Crane on ‘The Isle’ - Touching the Purple Haze: A Conversation with Stanley Jordan on Reimagining Jimi Hendrix
Often, emphasis on genre improperly discards the lines of influence that transcend imposed stylistic segmentations. No artistic expression exists solely in isolation or in a neatly maintained silo. This is especially evident with Jimi Hendrix. Most would categorize the guitar great’s music as “rock.” In reality, his shadow – particularly his use of feedback, distortion,… Read more: Touching the Purple Haze: A Conversation with Stanley Jordan on Reimagining Jimi Hendrix - Looking to the Cosmos: A Conversation with Patricia Brennan on ‘Of the Near and Far’ (Part Two)
We continue our conversation with Patricia Brennan on ‘Of the Near and Far’ by delving deeper into her compositional process for the album, writing for strings, graphic scores, and more. You can read the first part of our conversation here. PG: This is your first time recording your work for strings, correct? PB: That’s right.… Read more: Looking to the Cosmos: A Conversation with Patricia Brennan on ‘Of the Near and Far’ (Part Two) - Looking to the Cosmos: A Conversation with Patricia Brennan on ‘Of the Near and Far’ (Part One)
For eons, humanity has looked up at the vastness of the night sky in wonder. The pinholes of light shining through the darkness evoke feelings of comfort and familiarity, even as things seem so distant and mysterious. The stars leave us facing some of the greatest existentialist inquiries: Who am I in the broader picture?… Read more: Looking to the Cosmos: A Conversation with Patricia Brennan on ‘Of the Near and Far’ (Part One) - Musical Tether: A Conversation with Sonya Belaya on ‘Dacha’
Music has a unique ability to convey emotions that transcend written or spoken language. Things lost in translation cannot be lost in sound. In the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Music is the universal language of mankind.” Because of music’s cross-cultural power, it is easy to minimize a particular work’s origins. After all, if music… Read more: Musical Tether: A Conversation with Sonya Belaya on ‘Dacha’ - Honoring the Feeling: A Conversation with Mocean Worker (Adam Dorn) and Joe Alterman on ‘Keep the Line Open’
Tribute albums have been an ubiquitous part of modern music. They generally fall into two categories. Some honor a specific recording, with artists hoping to put their own spin on a landmark work of years past, whether the George Benson covering the Beatles [The Other Side of Abbey Road (A&M, 1970)] or Nels Cline and… Read more: Honoring the Feeling: A Conversation with Mocean Worker (Adam Dorn) and Joe Alterman on ‘Keep the Line Open’ - Hearing the Future: A Conversation with Gary Bartz on ‘The Eternal Tenure of Sound: Damage Control’
As a vehicle to facilitate group improvisation – or collaborative creation in the moment, as some artists refer to it- musicians have long relied on the concept of a “head” piece. A precomposed melody, the head provides a set baseline for free creation. Often, these pieces have been standards, frequently reused songs penned by others. … Read more: Hearing the Future: A Conversation with Gary Bartz on ‘The Eternal Tenure of Sound: Damage Control’ - Folklore: A Conversation with Ben LaMar Gay
In a musical environment that too often propagates concepts of genre, one label in particular often stands out as problematic: “folk music.” What exactly is folk music? A cursory definition would state that the form is music “of the people.” In the abstract, this idea seems sensical. When Béla Bartók transcribed the works of Transylvanian… Read more: Folklore: A Conversation with Ben LaMar Gay - Keeping the Roots Growing: A Conversation with Kassa Overall
Here is a fun exercise for a reader’s consideration. Consider these two quotes: “[It is] just a bunch of notes thrown together without melody or soul—hardly what I’d call music” and “[It’s] not music… [it] doesn’t require musicianship….” What genre of music are they referring to? Here is a hint- the music grew organically through… Read more: Keeping the Roots Growing: A Conversation with Kassa Overall - Finding Deep Space: A Conversation with Nils Petter Molvær
Although instruments like the Teleharmonium plugged in as early as the late Nineteenth Century, it was not until the 1970s that electronic sounds would meet the depths of human improvisation-based music by the name of jazz. At the height of fusion, synthesizers added to the works of Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Weather Report, and others.… Read more: Finding Deep Space: A Conversation with Nils Petter Molvær - Hanging in the Clouds: A Conversation with Rob Mazurek and Chad Taylor on Chicago Underground Duo
There is a particular power in the creation that comes out of long-term artistic relationships. While there is an excitement in the novelty of working with new collaborators, often it is within the comfort of the familiar that artists are most able to expand and conquer new realms. It is within this space with a… Read more: Hanging in the Clouds: A Conversation with Rob Mazurek and Chad Taylor on Chicago Underground Duo - Flower in the Heart: A Conversation with Zoh Amba
Catholic saint Thérèse of Lisieux once stated, “If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness. There would be no wild flowers to make the meadows gay.” To some degree, we perceive something as beautiful because of its ability to step outside of the ordinary. But how do we do… Read more: Flower in the Heart: A Conversation with Zoh Amba - Bringing Back the Heartbeat: A Conversation with Theon Cross
In 1835, German instrument makers Wilhelm Wieprecht and Johann Moritz patented the first tuba as a brass instrument that could carry the bassline for a marching band. By the end of the century, it could be found in orchestras through scores by Richard Wagner, Hector Berlioz, and others. Jazz was also not immune to the… Read more: Bringing Back the Heartbeat: A Conversation with Theon Cross - Keeping the Tradition Contemporary: Christian McBride on his Big Band and the 2025 Newport Jazz Festival
Contemporary-tradition-mcbride-newport-2025 - Touching the Continuum: Sebastian Rios Previews New Jazz Underground at Newport
As nonsensical as it may seem in the abstract, sometimes ideological wars are a necessary step towards a renewed and invigorated community. This is certainly the case with the so-called “jazz wars” of the 1980s. After decades of further sonic expansion, one side came with a zealous desire to return the music to its roots.… Read more: Touching the Continuum: Sebastian Rios Previews New Jazz Underground at Newport - Flying to a New Land: Patrick Patterson and Steve Scipio Preview Cymande at the 2025 Newport Jazz Festival
Of the world’s roughly eleven thousand bird species, there is something particularly special about the dove family. Dating back to at least the Miocene epoch, twenty-three to twenty-five million years ago, across its history, the dove has developed a unique status as a symbolic creature. Many of these connections first emerged in the Biblical story… Read more: Flying to a New Land: Patrick Patterson and Steve Scipio Preview Cymande at the 2025 Newport Jazz Festival - Enchanted: Marcus Gilmore on Honoring Roy Haynes at Newport and Journeying to the New
In making sense of the story of jazz, historians often craft a narrative that neatly divides into different generations and schools of thought. Revolutions in composition, improvisation, rhythm, and instrumentation each producing a distinctly novel area of music. While this perspective has some truth to it, the dividing lines between each era are often far… Read more: Enchanted: Marcus Gilmore on Honoring Roy Haynes at Newport and Journeying to the New - Taking the Journey: Rich Ruth Previews his 2025 Newport Jazz Festival Performance
The journeys in life can be just as important – if not more so – than the destinations. Music, inherently a mirror of our existence, is no different. In the words of Phillip Glass, “Every piece of music is a journey, a path that winds through the listener’s mind and spirit.” In the right hands,… Read more: Taking the Journey: Rich Ruth Previews his 2025 Newport Jazz Festival Performance - Feeling the Spirit: A Conversation with Tim Carman, Jimmy James, and Adam Scone on Parlor Greens at Newport
Before setting anchor at a fortress by the sea. Before fencing the sprawling field beneath a problematic hill. Before cramming into a small stonewalled park. The Newport Casino was where, in 1954, George Wein and the Lorrilards made possible the idea of a jazz festival in the Sailing Capital of the World. Built between 1879… Read more: Feeling the Spirit: A Conversation with Tim Carman, Jimmy James, and Adam Scone on Parlor Greens at Newport - Odyssey: Nubya Garcia Previews her 2025 Newport Jazz Festival Performance
In 1963, Gunther Schuller coined the term Third Stream to identify what he saw as “a new genre of music located about halfway between jazz and classical music.” Third Stream was more than merely tacking strings onto jazz pieces or improvising in otherwise classical scores. Instead, it was intended to be a musical style that… Read more: Odyssey: Nubya Garcia Previews her 2025 Newport Jazz Festival Performance - Always Listening: A Conversation with Deborah Ross, Executive Director of the Joyce and George Wein Foundation
In the history of improvised music, few figures have brought the music to new audiences as much as George Wein. While the producer did not create the concept of a music festival – they date back to ancient Greece – one can draw a clear dividing line between the time before George Wein and after.… Read more: Always Listening: A Conversation with Deborah Ross, Executive Director of the Joyce and George Wein Foundation - Migration of Knowledge: A Conversation with Gaia Wilmer and Ra Kalam Bob Moses
Zoösemiotics, the study of how animals use signals – including sounds – to convey information is an underappreciated field. Its value goes far beyond answering simple questions about what our pets try to convey to us. Instead, as biologist Marc Bekoff noted, “Animals speak to those who listen; their language is one of behavior, emotion,… Read more: Migration of Knowledge: A Conversation with Gaia Wilmer and Ra Kalam Bob Moses - For Those Who Need to Hear It: A Conversation with Chris Weller on Hanging Hearts
The great Cameroonian musician Manu Dibango once sagely noted that “Although music is business, [] you don’t start thinking about money from the initial stages when you are in music. First[,] propose to the people what they want[,] and if they like it, then the money comes later.” Far too often, the music business is… Read more: For Those Who Need to Hear It: A Conversation with Chris Weller on Hanging Hearts - Trusting Fate: A Conversation with Brandee Younger
Across cultures and ages, the harp has long been associated with peace and tranquility. Its light tones are painted as a ray of light shining down from the heavens. But there is so much more to the instrument. As George R.R. Martin provided in the literary antecedent to the show Game of Thrones, “a harp… Read more: Trusting Fate: A Conversation with Brandee Younger - Letting the Spirit In: A Conversation with Amina Claudine Myers on ‘Solace of the Mind’
In a music so heavily built around collective communication, there is something inherently special about a solo performance. Far too often, playing unaccompanied is perceived as a show of virtuosity. While true mastery is requisite for a solo performance to reach its full potential, the same can be said for any type of performance, from… Read more: Letting the Spirit In: A Conversation with Amina Claudine Myers on ‘Solace of the Mind’ - Giving Up Control: A Conversation with Ivo Perelman and Matthew Shipp on ‘Armageddon Flower’ (Part Two)
We continue our conversation with Ivo Perelman and Matthew Shipp on ‘Armageddon Flower’ (TAO Forms, 2025). You can read Part One here. PostGenre: As far as focusing on the heart, does that go back to getting out of the way, too? Obviously, you need mental and technical skills to be able to make the music… Read more: Giving Up Control: A Conversation with Ivo Perelman and Matthew Shipp on ‘Armageddon Flower’ (Part Two) - Giving Up Control: A Conversation with Ivo Perelman and Matthew Shipp on ‘Armageddon Flower’ (Part One)
In Lonely on the Mountain (Bantam, 1980), Western novelist Louis L’Amour wisely noted that “there will come a time when you believe everything is finished, that will be the beginning.” Instead, as Nicholas Copernicus’ heliocentric model posits, our universe is infinite; there is no real end. The concept of continuity is not truly foreign to… Read more: Giving Up Control: A Conversation with Ivo Perelman and Matthew Shipp on ‘Armageddon Flower’ (Part One) - Fighting the Algorithm: A Conversation with Ken Vandermark on his No Idea Festival Residency
A city that prides itself on being both outside of the status quo (“Keep It Weird”), and the Live Music Capital of the World, it should come as no surprise that Austin, Texas, has a fascinating avant-garde musical community. One central figure in that ecosystem has been Chris Cogburn. The percussionist – whose musical interests… Read more: Fighting the Algorithm: A Conversation with Ken Vandermark on his No Idea Festival Residency - Resonances: A Conversation with DM Hotep on Marshall Allen’s Ghost Horizons
In a 2021 interview, Henry Threadgill noted his belief that “[Marshall Allen] should have the highest award that can be bestowed on any artist for performing one-nighters at age 97. They should make up an award for such a person… he’s going unrecognized. It is a travesty. Can you imagine doing one-nighters at 97 years… Read more: Resonances: A Conversation with DM Hotep on Marshall Allen’s Ghost Horizons - Trying to Be Free: A Conversation with Curtis Hasselbring
Concepts of genre are odious as they defy human reality. Even the most ardent adherent to stylistic norms, if they are being honest, draws influence from elsewhere. While categorical boundaries may help in the marketplace, they fail to address the complexity of art or individual expression. One of the most blatant of these dividing lines… Read more: Trying to Be Free: A Conversation with Curtis Hasselbring - To Be Beyond: A Conversation with Tisziji Muñoz and Paul Shaffer on ‘Quantum Blues’
Scholarly analyses of the Blues tend to emphasize a specific style born of the African American experience, developed from spirituals, field hollers, and work songs. They focus on twelve-bar chord progressions with flatted notes and call and response. However, such narrowly defined conceptualizations of the Blues miss the music’s full significance. The great Blues masters… Read more: To Be Beyond: A Conversation with Tisziji Muñoz and Paul Shaffer on ‘Quantum Blues’ - Stretching the DNA: A Conversation with Amir ElSaffar and Lorenzo Bianchi Hoesch on ‘Inner Spaces’
With the Quran largely silent on the matter, there have long been debates on the role of music in Muslim life. Some scholars have cited verses from their holy book and hadiths, including some where Muhammad destroyed musical instruments, to argue for the prohibition of music as something that can mislead people away from the… Read more: Stretching the DNA: A Conversation with Amir ElSaffar and Lorenzo Bianchi Hoesch on ‘Inner Spaces’ - Trust: A Conversation with Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson
An artistic spark leads humanity to create wonders of beauty. Philosophers will debate the origins of this creative impetus. Some credit a higher, more divine power. But, regardless of its source, it is indisputable that there is a force that drives toward creation, one that transcends cultural norms, stylistic restrictions, and temporal limitations. Consider how… Read more: Trust: A Conversation with Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson - Fear, Resilience, and Reflection: A Conversation with Adam O’Farrill on ‘For These Streets’
Mired by poverty and the global rise of fascism, the 1930s is far too often seen as a wholly bleak era stuck after the Roaring ‘20s and leading into a tumultuous global war. But, in reality, the era was also full of bright spots of optimism enveloped in a world of morosity. One need look… Read more: Fear, Resilience, and Reflection: A Conversation with Adam O’Farrill on ‘For These Streets’ - Finding a Universal Consciousness: A Conversation with Ambrose Akinmusire
It is sometimes easy to compartmentalize the internal and the external world. One can perceive personal thoughts as entirely an expression of spirit, removed from their surroundings. However, there is no sturdy wall between inside and out, only a permeable membrane. One’s personality and emotions will inevitably be shaped by experiences encountered during their life,… Read more: Finding a Universal Consciousness: A Conversation with Ambrose Akinmusire - Dealing in Ideas: A Conversation with Seymour Wright on أحمد [Ahmed]
A popular saying holds that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” The quote is often attributed to Oscar Wilde, without evidence he uttered it. In reality, the Irish playwright was far less flattering to mimickers. Specifically, Wilde correctly called emulation “the homage which mediocrity pays to that which is not mediocre.” True creativity –… Read more: Dealing in Ideas: A Conversation with Seymour Wright on أحمد [Ahmed] - Transient Luminous Event: A Conversation with Dougie Bowne
Whether we wish to admit it or not, the human mind yearns for the familiar. The core of art’s genrefication lies in comparing new experiences with those of old. We often instinctively draw lines to place what we hear within the strictures of time, place, and cultural and ideological lineages. And while context is important,… Read more: Transient Luminous Event: A Conversation with Dougie Bowne - Outside the Academy: A Conversation with Jeff Parker on the ETA IVtet
From a tour of Central Park to trek through the rainforest to a voyage to outer space, the power of art to transport its audience to a location is well-documented. Equally important, however, is the role a particular place plays in shaping music itself. Could the rhythmic ingenuity of jazz come about in any way… Read more: Outside the Academy: A Conversation with Jeff Parker on the ETA IVtet - Slipping into Something: A Conversation with Nels Cline on the Consentrik Quartet
Wheels. Compact discs and vinyl records. Rings. A full moon. A plate. A Pizza. In our daily life, we are surrounded by circles. Even prehistoric generations saw the importance of the circle, carving them out of stone and timber and featuring the shape in petroglyphs and cave paintings. However, despite its constant presence, the circle… Read more: Slipping into Something: A Conversation with Nels Cline on the Consentrik Quartet - SPACE: A Conversation with Roscoe Mitchell
Confucius noted that “silence is a true friend who never betrays.” To many creators, silence takes on supreme importance. Without silence, sound has no relevance. Silence is more than just the absence of organized sound, it is something to be given reverence. This is certainly the case for multi-instrumentalist Roscoe Mitchell. Throughout several prior interviews,… Read more: SPACE: A Conversation with Roscoe Mitchell - Uncovering Forgotten Bridges: A Conversation with Ghazi Faisal Al-Mulaifi and Arturo O’Farrill
French author Victor Hugo once wrote in his native tongue, “La musique exprime ce qui ne peut pas être dit et sur lequel il est impossible de se taire.” Roughly translated, “Music expresses what cannot be said and about which it is impossible to remain silent.” Music is more than a collection of notes and… Read more: Uncovering Forgotten Bridges: A Conversation with Ghazi Faisal Al-Mulaifi and Arturo O’Farrill - Under the Influence of Music: A Conversation with George Porter, Jr. (Part Two)
In the second half of our conversation with George Porter, Jr. we get deeper into the Meters, Earl King, Professor Longhair, The Wild Tchoupitoulas, sampling, and more. Part one is available here. PostGenre: Of course, with the Meters, you played bass and built most of your career around that instrument. Do you ever wish you had… Read more: Under the Influence of Music: A Conversation with George Porter, Jr. (Part Two) - Under the Influence of Music: A Conversation with George Porter, Jr. (Part One)
In his magnum opus, “Southern Nights,” the great Allen Toussaint sets not only the vivid imagery of natural beauty but leaves a lyrical thought deep of wonder: “Its precious beauty lies deep beyond the eye. Goes running through your soul. Like the stories told of old.” This line does more than portray the scenery of… Read more: Under the Influence of Music: A Conversation with George Porter, Jr. (Part One) - Unfolding: A Conversation with Lesley Mok and Phillip Golub on Dream Brigade
In an age where the romanticized façades and angered “hot takes” of social media dominate the interpersonal, meaningful relationships- platonic, professional, or otherwise – are a treasured rarity. Paradoxically, those connections are essential for societal improvement and the existence of a robust community. Why should one care about social change if they have no reason… Read more: Unfolding: A Conversation with Lesley Mok and Phillip Golub on Dream Brigade - Front-Row Seat: A Conversation with Jason Miles
By the early 1980s, artists had too much freedom to express themselves through sound. The consequences of avant-garde experimentalism were too esoteric. The fusing of jazz with rock was somehow too mainstream. No, we needed an art form that would still appeal to exactly slightly less than 1% of the market. No more no less.… Read more: Front-Row Seat: A Conversation with Jason Miles - Subliminal Input: A Conversation with Jon Irabagon on ‘Server Farm’
Computer scientist Alan Kay once noted, “Some people worry that artificial intelligence will make us feel inferior, but then, anybody in his right mind should have an inferiority complex every time he looks at a flower.” Despite consistently recurring alarmist narratives, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will never truly supplant humanity. While the emerging technology will present… Read more: Subliminal Input: A Conversation with Jon Irabagon on ‘Server Farm’ - Bloom: A Conversation with Ellen Fullman and Theresa Wong
Western music is built around concepts of melody and harmony – the idea that one form of sonic expression should come to the fore and the other to sit behind in support. But what if those concepts are not as important as we are led to believe? What if, instead, there is a dynamically evolving… Read more: Bloom: A Conversation with Ellen Fullman and Theresa Wong - Protecting the History: A Conversation with Ebo Taylor
Many define “jazz” as the meeting of African rhythms and European harmonies. In a sense, this narrative is accurate – if you remove the influence of the church, songs of the field, or cues from the homeland – the form would cease to exist. But, in another sense, this effort to identify broad sources subjugates… Read more: Protecting the History: A Conversation with Ebo Taylor - Sound Navigation: A Conversation with Ava Mendoza on ‘The Circular Train’
The process of mining – digging deep into the earth to find an essential material – dates back at least forty-three thousand years. However, the process was not modernized until the adoption of rail in the 1550s. Carts would accumulate the laborers’ findings and move them to the surface. Two centuries later, James Watt used… Read more: Sound Navigation: A Conversation with Ava Mendoza on ‘The Circular Train’ - Always There: A Conversation with George Burton
Far too often, people tend to compartmentalize and localize matters of concern. However, such an approach minimizes the true scale of what is before us. Only in perceiving the big picture of an issue can truly substantive and meaningful reform occur. As one example, slavery in America and its vestiges are frequently removed from the… Read more: Always There: A Conversation with George Burton - Going Beyond What We Know: A Conversation with Evan Parker and Matt Wright on Trance Map
In the late 1850s, two decades before Thomas Edison’s phonograph, French inventor Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville created the first sound recording device. In the generations since, the interrelation between recorded sound and new creation have continually been a matter of great controversy. When recorded music first emerged, many musicians became dismayed that it would end… Read more: Going Beyond What We Know: A Conversation with Evan Parker and Matt Wright on Trance Map - Dream House: A Conversation with Kalia Vandever
Western literature has long noted the disconnection between perception and reality. In 1175, French monk Alain de Lille “Do not hold everything gold that shines like gold.” Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare carried this thought through The Canterbury Tales (1387-1400) and The Merchant of Venice (1596-1598), respectively. Now, centuries later, the division of what seems… Read more: Dream House: A Conversation with Kalia Vandever - Normal Give or Take: A Conversation with Fred Frith (Part Two)
We continue our conversation with Fred Frith (read part one here) with a focus on his work with homemade instruments, specifically his duo with Sudh Tewari, Normal. PostGenre: A little earlier, you mentioned how you put aside the guitar for a few years in the early 1980s. What led to your stepping away from the… Read more: Normal Give or Take: A Conversation with Fred Frith (Part Two) - Normal Give or Take: A Conversation with Fred Frith (Part One)
When first learning about music, students are often taught to classify instruments by their sound. In the abstract, this basic exercise appears helpful. Woodwind reeds will inevitably produce a different tone than one can get on a brass mouthpiece. Tapping fingers on a string will likely not sound close to that produced by the same… Read more: Normal Give or Take: A Conversation with Fred Frith (Part One) - Keeping the Flame: A Conversation with Archival King Zev Feldman
Far too often, history is perceived through a lens of minimizing the problems of the present. According to George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Or to Edmund Burke, “People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors.” But while the lessons learned from… Read more: Keeping the Flame: A Conversation with Archival King Zev Feldman - Slicing through Silence: A Conversation with Jessica Pavone
Pablo Picasso once noted that “Without great solitude, no serious work is possible.” In music, artists can converse in ways often words alone cannot. But there is also a great power in being alone. This power is known well by Jessica Pavone. Across her two decades of live performances and unaccompanied albums, the violist has… Read more: Slicing through Silence: A Conversation with Jessica Pavone - Beautiful Imperfections: A Conversation with Aaron Parks on ‘Little Big III’
As artificial intelligence increasingly disrupts our ordinary lives, there is an ongoing concern about how the new technology will impact music. In an industry in which its chief creators are already economically suppressed, it is all too easy to envision a future in which algorithms supplant artists. However, as anyone who has listened to significant… Read more: Beautiful Imperfections: A Conversation with Aaron Parks on ‘Little Big III’ - Jazz Master: A Conversation with Terry Gibbs (Part Two)
We continue our conversation with Terry Gibbs (read part one here), with a discussion of the intersection of Jewish music and jazz, Alice Coltrane, the meaning of music, and more. PostGenre: Jumping ahead a bit – though we will go back – there are stories of how Charlie Parker played at bar mitzvahs. You have… Read more: Jazz Master: A Conversation with Terry Gibbs (Part Two) - Jazz Master: A Conversation with Terry Gibbs (Part One)
Since 1982, the National Endowment for the Arts has bestowed its Jazz Master award to living legends of the music. The designation is considered by many to be the highest honor an American jazz musician can receive. Generally, the NEA has made wise choices when selecting new Masters. Sonny Rollins (1983), Ron Carter (1998), George… Read more: Jazz Master: A Conversation with Terry Gibbs (Part One) - Infinite Possibility: A Conversation with Nate Mercereau on ‘Excellent Traveler’
Poet T.S. Eliot once noted, “People exercise an unconscious selection in being influenced.” Although one can feel the impact left by another individual on them, it is often difficult to quantify or qualify the vastness of the mark they have left. It is no different for art, where aesthetic antecedents are sometimes clear in one’s… Read more: Infinite Possibility: A Conversation with Nate Mercereau on ‘Excellent Traveler’ - Quilting Sound: A Conversation with Travis Laplante on ‘The Golden Lock’
In a recently published piece titled “19 Critically Acclaimed Albums That Nobody Actually Listens To,” writer Victoria Omololu attempts to minimize incredible recordings with significant artistic merit. In the process, however, she reveals the author’s ignorance on the topic far more than anything of substance. This is particularly blatant in her description of Miles Davis’… Read more: Quilting Sound: A Conversation with Travis Laplante on ‘The Golden Lock’ - Drawing Energy from the Silence: A Conversation with Jason Kao Hwang on ‘Soliloquies’
In September of 1939, only weeks after Hitler invaded Poland, a 100,000 Imperial Japanese force converged upon the city of Changsha in the Hunan province of China. Ultimately, the Chinese kept their territory in part through guerilla tactics. However, it bore a heavy toll. After the smoke settled, 50,000 were dead, injured, and missing. Many… Read more: Drawing Energy from the Silence: A Conversation with Jason Kao Hwang on ‘Soliloquies’ - Most Like Myself: A Conversation with Brian Marsella on the iMAGiNARiUM
When viewed in the abstract, imagination is a very strange thing. A world that emphasizes logical reasoning would seemingly make no use of visions of the nonexistent. And yet, there is something special and powerful about the fantastical. The ability to play make-believe is a critical step in a child’s development. And as Albert Einstein… Read more: Most Like Myself: A Conversation with Brian Marsella on the iMAGiNARiUM - Spirit Walking: A Conversation with Luke Stewart
There is something mysterious about a river. As Eartha Kitt noted, “The river is constantly turning and bending and you never know where it’s going to go and where you’ll wind up.” Its inconsistency makes the water both frightening and liberating. For the many who have lost their lives in the current, generations have seen… Read more: Spirit Walking: A Conversation with Luke Stewart - No Isolation: A Conversation with Dave Holland (Part Two)
We continue our conversation (check out part one here) with NEA Jazz Master Dave Holland by digging into his solo works, bluegrass music, music from around the world, and more. PG: Since musical relationships are very important to you, it would be interesting to know more about your solo bass work on both Emerald Tears… Read more: No Isolation: A Conversation with Dave Holland (Part Two) - No Isolation: A Conversation with Dave Holland (Part One)
Ludwig van Beethoven once noted, “Music is the one incorporeal entrance into the higher world of knowledge which comprehends mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend.” Such knowledge includes a unified understanding of humanity in which we all, to some extent, influence one another. Given the brilliance of their output, it is often easy to assume… Read more: No Isolation: A Conversation with Dave Holland (Part One) - Finding the Common Denominators: A Conversation with Patricia Brennan on ‘Breaking Stretch’
Often, one of the first things a young child learns about a band is that it divides into sections. Horns lead the melodies and craft harmonies, while percussion and bass provide a rhythmic backdrop. However, this segregation of instrumental voices relies on a deeply flawed premise built upon oversimplification. Is a tongue hitting a reed… Read more: Finding the Common Denominators: A Conversation with Patricia Brennan on ‘Breaking Stretch’ - Thread of Humanity: A Conversation with Lucian Ban and Mat Maneri on ‘Transylvanian Dance’
Artists inevitably bring their own perspectives and biases into their interpretation of any work. It is impossible to completely divorce current work from the tinctures of one’s background. A great example is the work of Béla Bartók. Often considered one of the most important composers of the Twentieth Century, Bartók was a founding father of… Read more: Thread of Humanity: A Conversation with Lucian Ban and Mat Maneri on ‘Transylvanian Dance’ - Laboratory: A Conversation with Danilo Pérez and John Patitucci on the Legacy of Wayne Shorter
There is a tendency to mythologize someone like Wayne Shorter, who seems larger than life. Or to put the subject on a pedestal with the label “great” without providing a sufficient and accurate discussion of why they truly are so. It becomes all too easy for people with little understanding of the facts to jump… Read more: Laboratory: A Conversation with Danilo Pérez and John Patitucci on the Legacy of Wayne Shorter - Collision and Coexistence: A Conversation with Nicole Mitchell on ‘Bamako*Chicago Sound System’
Judeo-Christian theology tells the story of the Tower of Babel to explain the existence of different languages and cultures. In the Book of Genesis, a united humanity aimed to build a tower to the heavens until God struck them down and forced the people to have different tongues to confuse them and scatter them around… Read more: Collision and Coexistence: A Conversation with Nicole Mitchell on ‘Bamako*Chicago Sound System’ - Tradition Fuels the Future: A Conversation with Artistic Director Christian McBride on the Newport Jazz Festival at Seventy
The Newport Jazz Festival has survived seven decades primarily due to how forward-looking it has been. The event has generally recognized talent above notoriety. If you present high-quality artistry, people will support it. Many of the greats tied to the Newport legacy made their most important appearances when they were underrecognized or overlooked. Before placing… Read more: Tradition Fuels the Future: A Conversation with Artistic Director Christian McBride on the Newport Jazz Festival at Seventy - Room For It All: Braxton Cook Previews ‘Newport at 70’
As the legendary Newport Jazz Festival turns seventy years old, it is all too easy to look back at the ages passed and the brilliant artists who made their way to the City by the Sea. However, sole nostalgia does little to push the music forward. That is not to say that lessons should not… Read more: Room For It All: Braxton Cook Previews ‘Newport at 70’ - Forever: Stanley Clarke Previews N•4EVER’s Performance at the 2024 Newport Jazz Festival (Part Two)
We continue our conversation with NEA Jazz Master Stanley Clarke. You can read part one here. PostGenre: You were one of the first people to fully take the electric bass from the background rhythm section to being featured as a melodic instrument. Do you have a sense of why musicians did not do that previously?… Read more: Forever: Stanley Clarke Previews N•4EVER’s Performance at the 2024 Newport Jazz Festival (Part Two) - Forever: Stanley Clarke Previews N•4EVER’s Performance at the 2024 Newport Jazz Festival (Part One)
After first being mass-produced by Fender in the 1950s, the electric bass, for many years, found a home in only the rhythm section. Its full power, to some extent, was obfuscated from view. Then came Stanley Clarke. Across his work with Return to Forever, the seminal fusion band he co-founded with Chick Corea, and records… Read more: Forever: Stanley Clarke Previews N•4EVER’s Performance at the 2024 Newport Jazz Festival (Part One) - Fearless: A Conversation with Donny McCaslin on David Bowie, Elvis Costello, and the Newport Jazz Festival
According to a 2015 Nielsen report, “jazz” makes up a paltry 1.3% of total music consumption in the United States. This dire statistic suggests that the art form’s reach is relegated to its small clique of loyal followers. Fortunately, the value of art lies not in its commercial properties. Far more relevant than dollar signs… Read more: Fearless: A Conversation with Donny McCaslin on David Bowie, Elvis Costello, and the Newport Jazz Festival - Trumpet Evolution: Riley Mulherkar Previews his 2024 Newport Jazz Festival Leader Debut
In his speech to the Royal Academy on April 30, 1953, Winston Churchill remarked, “Without tradition, art is a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Without innovation, it is a corpse.” The key is to find ways to let history lead you without being haunted by the ghosts of the past. This concept is frequently… Read more: Trumpet Evolution: Riley Mulherkar Previews his 2024 Newport Jazz Festival Leader Debut - Truly Magical Place: Jaleel Shaw Previews his 2024 Newport Jazz Festival Leader Debut
The Newport Jazz Festival’s history of saxophonists is vast, including heroes like John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, and Ornette Coleman. What are less discussed are the incredible sidemen at the event over the years. Often, recognition comes only to those who lead their own groups at the Festival. One could argue an exception exists in Paul… Read more: Truly Magical Place: Jaleel Shaw Previews his 2024 Newport Jazz Festival Leader Debut - Prepared Piano with a Brazilian Identity: Amaro Freitas Previews his 2024 Newport Jazz Performance
Biologist and naturalist E.O. Wilson once noted, “Destroying rainforest for economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal.” Nature, particularly in a region as biodiverse as a rainforest, provides such enrapturing beauty that man could only hope to recreate. Nevertheless, the destruction of such natural habitats continues unabated. In the case… Read more: Prepared Piano with a Brazilian Identity: Amaro Freitas Previews his 2024 Newport Jazz Performance - At Heart: A Conversation with Fred Wesley on his Incredible Career and a Preview of his 2024 Newport Jazz Festival Performance
There are few people funkier than Fred Wesley. As James Brown increasingly turned from Soul Brother Number One into the Godfather of Funk, Fred was there. Heck, he was even Brown’s bandleader, not once but twice, each with very different bands. The earlier incarnation grooved hard and released powerful songs like “Say It Loud (I’m… Read more: At Heart: A Conversation with Fred Wesley on his Incredible Career and a Preview of his 2024 Newport Jazz Festival Performance - In Its Own Backyard: A Conversation with Newport Festivals Foundation’s Music Education Manager Leland Baker on his Role and SUNDAY JAZZ
It is all too easy for a misguided person to view the Newport Festivals as events that attempt to be isolated from the outside world to some degree. The Festivals occur in a city many see as the backyard of the rich and powerful because of its summer cottages. The Jazz Festival was also co-founded… Read more: In Its Own Backyard: A Conversation with Newport Festivals Foundation’s Music Education Manager Leland Baker on his Role and SUNDAY JAZZ - Bringing Together: Rob Garza Previews Thievery Corporation’s 2024 Newport Jazz Festival Performance
Music has a unique ability to unite humanity. As Ella Fitzgerald once noted, “Music is the universal language…. it brings people together.” This power is particularly evident when artists are willing to take inspiration from diverse sources. An openness to different ideas, regardless of where they derive, permits the creation of something more substantive than… Read more: Bringing Together: Rob Garza Previews Thievery Corporation’s 2024 Newport Jazz Festival Performance - Melting Pot of Old and Young: A Conversation with Newport Festivals Security’s Ron Cudworth
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Newport Jazz Festival’s founding in 1954. But the history is not as linear as it may seem. One can divide the seven decades into five different eras. Yet, as a lifelong Newporter like Ron Cudworth can attest, there is still a throughline between them all. He’s seen… Read more: Melting Pot of Old and Young: A Conversation with Newport Festivals Security’s Ron Cudworth - Engagement: A Conversation with Lakecia Benjamin on ‘Phoenix Reimagined (Live)’
There is something special about a live recording compared to one edited in the studio. An increased openness to risk and chance creates a palpable energy that is difficult to recreate in a more controlled setting. This is particularly true for improvised music, where art is crafted in a fleeting moment. A great example can… Read more: Engagement: A Conversation with Lakecia Benjamin on ‘Phoenix Reimagined (Live)’ - Vessel: A Conversation with Deron Johnson on Miles Davis and ‘Free to Dance’
From where does music derive? Some would argue the artist is the sole cause of their own creations. But, to many, music comes from somewhere supreme and flows through them. Hence, Sonny Rollins’ statements that he is simply a conduit to a higher power. Or William Parker’s that “No individual invented any music; we just… Read more: Vessel: A Conversation with Deron Johnson on Miles Davis and ‘Free to Dance’ - Weaving: A Conversation with Janel Leppin
As an art form, weaving requires different threads to combine into one to create a sturdier whole cloth. How the threads are combined affects the characteristics of the end product. It is appropriate that cellist Janel Leppin is also a weaver by trade, as one can hear a direct application of the concepts from her… Read more: Weaving: A Conversation with Janel Leppin - Saving the Duck: A Conversation with Alfredo Colón on ‘Blood Burden’
Self-expression lies at the heart of all art. Creation that fails to reflect the artist’s spirit will never be able to connect with an audience perceiving it. As a result, dreams, hopes, and fears are all poured into the best art. But while every person has their own ideas and preferences, they do not exist… Read more: Saving the Duck: A Conversation with Alfredo Colón on ‘Blood Burden’ - Double Bill : A Conversation with Bill Frisell and Bill Morrison
Albert Einstein once remarked, “Art is standing with one hand extended into the universe and one hand extended into the world, and letting ourselves be a conduit for passing energy.” This perspective rings true regardless of the particular format taken by such art. However, a specific magic can emerge when two or more art forms… Read more: Double Bill : A Conversation with Bill Frisell and Bill Morrison - Freeing the Lion: A Conversation with James Blood Ulmer on Harmolodics and the Black Rock Trio
Great artists have honed a sound that is identifiable regardless of the environment surrounding them. The truly brilliant, however, are not satisfied with a mere voice. Instead, they create their own language entirely. This is best seen with Ornette Coleman and the invention of Harmolodics, a system that frees musical compositions from needing a tonal… Read more: Freeing the Lion: A Conversation with James Blood Ulmer on Harmolodics and the Black Rock Trio - Channel to the Future: A Conversation with Elliott Sharp on ‘Die Grösste Fuge’
Throughout the ages, some of the greatest composers have gifted to the world pieces not meant for their time. Often such artists are unappreciated until decades after their death. In other cases, the artist recieves recognition, but their controversial work is written off as some wild aberration. In both cases, however, time often proves the… Read more: Channel to the Future: A Conversation with Elliott Sharp on ‘Die Grösste Fuge’ - Bringing the Instrumental Back: A Conversation with Molly Miller on ‘The Ballad of Hotspur’
From the 1940s through the 1960s, even into part of the 1970s, instrumental music reigned supreme in the popular consciousness. The swing era brought the music of Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Glenn Miller to large audiences. Even as the end of World War II brought about rock and roll, many widely recognized groups still… Read more: Bringing the Instrumental Back: A Conversation with Molly Miller on ‘The Ballad of Hotspur’ - Physical Expression: A Conversation with Steph Richards on ‘Power Vibe’
Far too often, people perceive music as a solely auditory experience, something heard but which does not affect the rest of the listener’s body. The reality, however, is far more complex. One can physically feel the energy of acoustic waves. It is a large part of why the audibly impaired still appreciate music, even when… Read more: Physical Expression: A Conversation with Steph Richards on ‘Power Vibe’