Jazz’s best journalists ask questions and jazz’s best artists answer them.
When the world shut down last year, so did Alicia Olatuja. The St. Louis, Missouri-bred vocalist sat in her New Jersey apartment one day watching … Read More “Alicia Olatuja Breaks Through as New Kind of Vocal Coach”
In May, during Jazz Congress 2021—held online rather than at the conference’s usual location, Jazz at Lincoln Center in midtown Manhattan, because of the pandemic—a … Read More “Vocalists Celebrate Jon Hendricks’ Centennial”
Counting off a tune as she steps to the mic, Veronica Swift holds tempo in her stride. In the living room of a longtime collaborator, … Read More “Veronica Swift on Singing When Things Get Complicated”
Billy Hart doesn’t see jazz as being split between avant-garde and straight-ahead; for him, the big distinction is between acoustic and electric. And given the … Read More “Billy Hart Is Still Solid as a Rock”
Drummer, composer, and bandleader Nate Smith is reliving the mid-pandemic moment when he realized his life had to change. He’d been traveling frequently, recording in … Read More “Nate Smith Talks New York City and Kinfolk 2: See the Birds“
Nicholas Payton’s latest, Smoke Sessions, recorded at the end of May and released by … Smoke Sessions, caps a 14-month span of intense productivity since … Read More “Nicholas Payton Talks Lockdown, Instrument Juggling, and His New Album”
It takes a special kind of polymath to successfully fuse jazz and opera in 2021. A deep knowledge of jazz performance and composition is paramount, … Read More “Terence Blanchard on Writing Operas, Honoring Wayne Shorter, and More”
Five decades ago, John McLaughlin sensed something monumental was coming in music. “I knew things were going to change,” he said. “All the musicians felt … Read More “John McLaughlin Discusses Mahavishnu Orchestra, Liberation Time, and More”
Since her early days during the folk revival of the 1960s, Maria Muldaur has been immersed in American roots music of the past—the often quite … Read More “Maria Muldaur Has Got the South in Her Soul”
This rare interview with pianist Hans Groiner was recorded on April 8, 2021. JazzTimes: Do you follow the latest trends in jazz? What have you … Read More “An Exclusive Interview with Hans Groiner”
