{"id":4217,"date":"2022-03-23T22:52:09","date_gmt":"2022-03-24T03:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=4217"},"modified":"2022-03-23T23:20:23","modified_gmt":"2022-03-24T04:20:23","slug":"peaks-valleys-michael-leonhart-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/peaks-valleys-michael-leonhart-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Peaks and Valleys: A Conversation with Michael Leonhart (Part Two)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>For the second part of our conversation with Michael Leonhart on <em>The Normyn Suites<\/em> (Sunnyside, 2022), we discuss Elvis Costello, the Avant-Garde, scoring <em>Red Dead Redemption II<\/em> (Rockstar, 2018), and how the beauty of &#8220;Catharsis&#8221; with Bill Frisell came to life. Check out part one <a href=\"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/peaks-valleys-michael-leonhart-i\/\">here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PostGenre: How did Elvis Costello get involved with <em>The Normyn Suites<\/em>? You worked together on <em>Hey Clockface<\/em> (Concord, 2020), correct?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Michael Leonhart: Yes, I contributed to his album. I was putting together <em>The Normyn Suites<\/em> after we worked together on <em>Hey Clockface<\/em> and thought he would sound great on two of the songs. So, I sent him the songs, asked him if he wanted to work on them, and warned him that they were different from anything else he had done musically. He was just fearless and went for it.&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper fourthree\" style=\"width:420px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_5FqEtWsRb9o\"><div id=\"lyte_5FqEtWsRb9o\" data-src=\"\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/5FqEtWsRb9o\/hqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/5FqEtWsRb9o\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/5FqEtWsRb9o\/0.jpg?resize=420%2C295&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"YouTube video thumbnail\" width=\"420\" height=\"295\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:420px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><strong>PG: Is it a different dynamic when Elvis is working on your album compared to when you were on his?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>ML: Honestly, not really. Even in his late 60s, Elvis has this teenager vibe in terms of being willing to go out there, be himself, and take risks. He\u2019s not a fan of multiple takes. That\u2019s the case regardless of whether it is his album or someone else\u2019s. Or, at least, that has been my experience. He was very cool to work with both times.&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PG: What was behind the decision to have two versions of \u201cShut Him Down\u201d, one with Joshua Redman and another with Chris Potter?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>ML: Well, it was back in July of 2020 and everyone was making those crazy videos with tiles on the screen. I was wary of doing yet another one. At the same time, I was checking in with the full roster of the orchestra, which is about 75 strong. We only get about 20 people on the stage but have to have several backups available in case someone can\u2019t make it. It was clear we couldn\u2019t put together a full band in any meaningful way. That inability to get together made a lot of us in the band very sad. Even though I was initially reluctant, I knew we had to do a video together. I love these guys and wanted to find a way to play together even if it was only by video.&nbsp;<\/p><p>When we were trying to finish the video, I had put out feelers to Chris Potter, Joshua Redman, Branford Marsalis, Kamasi Washington, and a few other guys to see if they could add to it as well. Chris sent in the bass clarinet solo that ended up on that version of the song. His solo was great and he videoed himself performing it. It was a shorter section, only 16 or 24 bars. I gave it to Daniel Carlson who was editing the video and thought the shorter solo was the perfect length for the video. While I would have loved a longer solo, it was just going to complicate things in terms of doing it by video and how quickly we would be able to put the whole thing together. So, we put Chris\u2019 brilliant bass clarinet into the video and released it.&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper fourthree\" style=\"width:420px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_3cbBuCX4MNw\"><div id=\"lyte_3cbBuCX4MNw\" data-src=\"\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/3cbBuCX4MNw\/hqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/3cbBuCX4MNw\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/3cbBuCX4MNw\/0.jpg?resize=420%2C295&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"YouTube video thumbnail\" width=\"420\" height=\"295\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:420px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>But I still wanted a longer solo. Josh [Redman] sent an audio recording of him &#8211; we didn\u2019t get video from him &#8211; and it was also great. So, I decided that I would let the video version with Chris\u2019 bass clarinet live on its own and also write a little more for the orchestra and put in a longer solo section for Josh. I sent Josh the longer version and that is what he recorded on. I started toying with the idea of combining both Chris\u2019 and Josh\u2019s solos on the same track but didn\u2019t want to start copying and pasting and have the song just become a collage. So, I decided to issue both versions on the album. I thought of it as an A-Side and a B-Side. The longer version is Josh\u2019s and the shorter one is Chris\u2019 accompanied with a video. And doing it that way ended up being pretty cool because I was able to effectively bookmark <em>The Normyn Suites<\/em> with the same song. There is a beautiful symmetry in ending and then starting back at the beginning.&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PG: Among the orchestra\u2019s members are artists with impressive avant-garde credentials. <a href=\"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/sara-schoenbeck-exploration\/\">Bassoonist Sara Schoenbeck<\/a>, for instance, has worked with Roscoe Mitchell, Henry Threadgill, and Wadada Leo Smith. You have also worked with Yoko Ono and Nels Cline. There does not seem to be anything overtly \u201cout\u201d about <em>The Normyn Suites<\/em>. Do you feel that influence is still there?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>ML: I see avant-garde ideas and sounds like a color. As with any painting, some colors fit the artwork and others do not but may be perfect for another one. When I was younger, I would try to throw all kinds of different ideas into my music. It wasn\u2019t to prove something, but simply because those were the sounds in my head. But now I&#8217;m trying to be a little more minimalist and more focused.&nbsp;<\/p><p>That\u2019s not to say there aren\u2019t moments on <em>The Normyn Suites<\/em> that are not influenced by the avant-garde. I feel it is particularly present on \u201cAnger\u201d, for instance. For a while, I thought that maybe the song was too angular and jagged. But the more I reflected on it, the more it seemed perfect for expressing its intended emotion. It truly expresses anger.&nbsp;<\/p><p>The entirety of <em>The Normyn Suites <\/em>is very lyrical, so the avant-garde didn\u2019t often creep in. But I\u2019m not afraid to use it when it is right. I love having experience with things like avant-garde music that I can draw upon to add to the music where it seems like it fits best. For instance, there is a track on [Nels Cline\u2019s] <em>Lovers <\/em>(Blue Note, 2016), called \u201cSo Hard it Hurts\/Touching.\u201d It is a song written by Annette Peacock and has a marimba and Nel\u2019s brother Alex on chains. It is very abstract. I loved orchestrating it for clarinets and bike chains. I can\u2019t explain why, but it felt the same as writing horns for Steely Dan. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper fourthree\" style=\"width:420px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_wCYGDuMcefY\"><div id=\"lyte_wCYGDuMcefY\" data-src=\"\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/wCYGDuMcefY\/hqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/wCYGDuMcefY\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/wCYGDuMcefY\/0.jpg?resize=420%2C295&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"YouTube video thumbnail\" width=\"420\" height=\"295\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:420px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>It is all about what feels right in the moment for the narrative you are trying to make. And, in that sense, it is not too different from film. Steven Soderbergh directed both Ocean\u2019s Eleven (2001, Warner Bros.) and Sex, Lies and Videotape (Mirimax, 1989). How does the same person make two films that are so different? It\u2019s because both films focus on storytelling, and some elements fit better with one story than the other.&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PG: Do you feel your experience scoring projects like <em>Red Dead Redemption II<\/em> (Rockstar, 2018) influenced your composing for <em>The Normyn Suites<\/em> in terms of providing an overarching narrative on the album?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>ML: Absolutely. Scoring is closer to this album than the avant-garde because there is a theme here. When you score, the hardest part is putting yourself second to the story and the director. With the best film scores, the composer is a painter. But he\u2019s painting someone\u2019s house, not the Sistine Chapel. If you think you\u2019re painting a masterpiece on its own, you\u2019re not doing the music the proper service. You have to be ready to put yourself second to what the film needs, to what the house needs, and that may be painting a wall white.<\/p><p>With <em>The Normyn Suites<\/em>, the story wasn\u2019t about solos and soloists. I needed to walk away and look at what I was trying to express; grieving, love, and loss. In that sense, composing for the album was very similar to scoring. Some moments called for musical restraint. There was one where I wrote a long horn part and it was incredibly cool. I was sad to do so, but I needed to let it go. It ultimately just didn\u2019t fit the narrative. Composing for the album was a matter of putting that narrative first.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper fourthree\" style=\"width:420px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_u9YH9rrPgFU\"><div id=\"lyte_u9YH9rrPgFU\" data-src=\"\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/u9YH9rrPgFU\/hqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/u9YH9rrPgFU\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/u9YH9rrPgFU\/0.jpg?resize=420%2C295&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"YouTube video thumbnail\" width=\"420\" height=\"295\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:420px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Writing for <em>Red Dead Redemption<\/em> was a trip. I had to put multiple layers together at once. It\u2019s really crazy. Eight to sixteen tracks can be shut off or shut down, depending on which way the character turns. At times it was challenging and frustrating. But if you are patient, there is a lot to be learned from composing for a project like that.&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PG: \u201cCatharsis\u201d is an incredible piece. How did it come together and did you always plan for Bill Frisell to be a part of it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>ML: I\u2019ve known Frisell on and off for several years. I don\u2019t think he and I were in the same room, but we worked together on a Vinicius Cantuaria album [<em>Vinicius<\/em> (Transparent,2001)] over 20 years ago. When we were recording the album, Frisell left the studio as I was coming in and we struck up a conversation. Bill is just a wonderful human being. We have a friendship; we are not incredibly close but did keep in touch.&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper fourthree\" style=\"width:420px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_CQr55FlC1ac\"><div id=\"lyte_CQr55FlC1ac\" data-src=\"\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/CQr55FlC1ac\/hqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/CQr55FlC1ac\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/CQr55FlC1ac\/0.jpg?resize=420%2C295&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"YouTube video thumbnail\" width=\"420\" height=\"295\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:420px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>I saw Bill about six months after <em>Lovers<\/em> came out and he told me he loved the album. I was incredibly flattered. And I ended up asking him if he wanted to be a part of the new album that wound up being <em>The Normyn Suites<\/em>. I thought he would be perfect for the project. We started working out logistics for recording with him but he usually travels frequently and it was difficult to set up something.&nbsp; But this was mid-2019 and when COVID hit, suddenly Bill was free and agreed to record for it.<\/p><p>I started working with Bill and had him record his solo from home. He\u2019s very sweet and we took a few days to make sure he got his sound setup right and then recorded. I was a little worried about the possibility that Frisell would play something beautiful but which wouldn\u2019t match what I needed for the album\u2019s narrative. It would have put me in the tough situation of choosing between a beautiful Frisell solo or the narrative. As I was saying a minute ago, the narrative has to control. So, it would have been hard to pass up on whatever beautiful thing he came up with if it didn\u2019t fit the album. But Bill\u2019s performance was ultimately perfect for the track. I felt funny even doubting he\u2019d come through. What he came up with was just so lyrical and vulnerable. Childlike yet sophisticated.&nbsp;<\/p><p>Another piece that blows me away is &#8220;The Dunes of Cahoon Hollow.&#8221; I\u2019ve long wanted to use a choir with an orchestra. It\u2019s hard to make that work on stage. I love the sound of a wordless choir, going back to music by Max Roach with Abbey Lincoln or back to Mahalia Jackson. Once the piece started coming together, it greatly moved me. It was a very special track to make. Everything was so cinematic.&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Michael Leonhart Orchestra\u2019s <em>The Normyn Suites <\/em>will be available on March 25th on Sunnyside Records. It can be purchased on <a href=\"https:\/\/michaelleonhart.bandcamp.com\/album\/the-normyn-suites\">Bandcamp<\/a>. Or, if you want to support PostGenre while buying the album, it is available in our <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3qHXimb\">Amazon Affiliate Store.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>More information about Leonhart can be found on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michaelleonhart.org\/\">his website.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Photo Credit: Frank Jerke<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For the second part of our conversation with Michael Leonhart on The Normyn Suites (Sunnyside, 2022), we discuss Elvis Costello, the Avant-Garde, scoring Red Dead Redemption II (Rockstar, 2018), and how the beauty of &#8220;Catharsis&#8221; with Bill Frisell came to life. Check out part one here. PostGenre: How did Elvis Costello get involved with The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"iawp_total_views":21,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[582],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/LEONHART-BERLIN-NO1-2017-BY-FRANK-JERKE-small.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peRkRR-161","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4168,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/peaks-valleys-michael-leonhart-i\/","url_meta":{"origin":4217,"position":0},"title":"Peaks and Valleys: A Conversation with Michael Leonhart (Part One)","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"March 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Sometimes the most complicated things in life are those that appear deceptively simple. We all understand, at a surface level, our emotions. We learn, from an early age, what it means to be happy, sad, or angry. But the reality is that these sensations are often far more complex than\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Interviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Interviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/interviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/PhotoSep0412343AM1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/PhotoSep0412343AM1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/PhotoSep0412343AM1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/PhotoSep0412343AM1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9252,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/fearless-donny-mccaslin\/","url_meta":{"origin":4217,"position":1},"title":"Fearless: A Conversation with Donny McCaslin on David Bowie, Elvis Costello, and the Newport Jazz Festival","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"July 18, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"According to a 2015 Nielsen report, \u201cjazz\u201d makes up a paltry 1.3% of total music consumption in the United States. This dire statistic suggests that the art form\u2019s reach is relegated to its small clique of loyal followers. Fortunately, the value of art lies not in its commercial properties. Far\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Interviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Interviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/interviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/img_8970-1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/img_8970-1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/img_8970-1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/img_8970-1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4235,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/prophets-bogie-i\/","url_meta":{"origin":4217,"position":2},"title":"Out Into the World: A Conversation with Stuart Bogie (Part One)","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"March 27, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The big band concept has existed for well over a century. Throughout that time, dance has always been an essential part of the music. In the 1910s, artists used the format to support polka and waltzes. Thirty years later, the big band was the essence of the rage of swing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Interviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Interviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/interviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/cover-art-e1648692341190.jpg?fit=751%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/cover-art-e1648692341190.jpg?fit=751%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/cover-art-e1648692341190.jpg?fit=751%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/cover-art-e1648692341190.jpg?fit=751%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9209,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/christian-mcbride-newport-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":4217,"position":3},"title":"Tradition Fuels the Future: A Conversation with Artistic Director Christian McBride on the Newport Jazz Festival at Seventy","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"July 29, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"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. 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