The following is an interview between jazz journalist Morgan Enos and saxophonist Gregory Groover Jr. His new album Old Knew – recorded with Joel Ross (vibraphone), Paul Cornish (piano), Harish Raghavan (bass), and Kendrick Scott (drums) – was released 7 [...]
The following is an interview between jazz journalist Morgan Enos and guitarist, bandleader, and composer Glenn Crytzer. His new project, The Songbook Sessions, is a 250-song anthology of standards and obscurities recorded live during the pandemic with his quartet: Mike [...]
Nicknames decorate the jazz landscape. Some were titles bestowed in admiration: ‘King’ Joe Oliver, Lester ‘Pres’ Young, ‘Duke’ Ellington, ‘Count’ Basie, Billie ‘Lady Day’ Holiday. Then there were the monickers affectionately rooted in physical appearance: Louis ‘Satchmo’ (contraction of ‘Satchelmouth’) [...]
The following is an interview between jazz journalist Morgan Enos and vibraphonist-composer Yuhan Su. Her new album OVER the MOONs features an eight-piece ensemble including Alex LoRe (alto saxophone, flute), Anna Webber (tenor saxophone, flute), Matt Mitchell (piano), Yingda Chen [...]
Two master clarinettists commanded the big band scene during the Swing Era. The first was Benny Goodman who’d been anointed ‘King Of Swing’ at the height of his fame by Time magazine in 1937. The second was Artie Shaw (see [...]
The following is an interview between jazz journalist Morgan Enos and vocalist-composer Sarah Elizabeth Charles. Her new album Dawn features Maya Keren (piano, Fender Rhodes, keyboards, additional vocals), Linda May Han Oh (bass), Savannah Harris (drums), Skye Steele (violin), and [...]
In my opinion, the most romantic track in all of jazz also has the word ‘dust’ in the title. Let me explain. It all began in the 1920s with a Midwesterner, Hoagy (short for ‘Hoagland’) Howard Carmichael, who financed his [...]
The following is an interview between jazz journalist Morgan Enos and saxophonist Alex Hitchcock. His new album Letters from Afar, recorded with Dave Adewumi (trumpet), Lex Korten (piano and Fender Rhodes), Harish Raghavan (bass) and Jongkuk Kim (drums), was released [...]
What do these tracks (spoiler alert: that’s a clue) have in common? Robert Johnson’s ‘Honky Tonk Train Blues,Louis Jordan’s ‘Choo-Choo Ch’Boogie’, Louis Armstrong’s ‘2:19 Blues’, Bessie Smith’s ‘Trouble In Mind’, Count Basie’s ‘9:20 Special’, Thelonious Monk’s ‘Little Rootie Tootie’, John [...]
The following is an interview between jazz journalist Morgan Enos and vocalist Margo Staniszewska (known professionally as Margo S). Her new album Ashes & Diamonds, recorded at The Bunker Studio in Brooklyn with David Kikoski, Stacy Dillard, Ricky Rodriguez, David [...]
Incidents occur and myths multiply. Some time ago, while reviewing the highly rewarding Don Byas Mosaic collection, I mentioned a memorable session when a high-powered group was booked to accompany a low-powered blues singer that, over the decades, has grown [...]
Shirley Horn, who blended fine jazz piano with spine-tingling ballad interpretation, was born in 1934 and started music studies aged four. But, because she spent a significant chunk of her career working clubs around her native Washington D.C., her career [...]
I was deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Jim McNeely last week, aged 76. A Grammy Award winner and 12-time nominee, he was, in my opinion, the most important and influential living figure in large ensemble jazz at [...]
The following is an interview between jazz journalist Morgan Enos and veteran saxophonist and NEA Jazz Master Gary Bartz. His new album Damage Control, with pianist Barney McAll and drummer Kassa Overall (NTU), was released 26 September via his own [...]
Donny McCaslin is a tenor saxophonist whose musical escapades have both embraced and sometimes repudiated contemporary notions of jazz — often simultaneously and with a deep understanding of what has come before and what lies ahead. Although he garnered widespread [...]
The following is an interview between jazz journalist Morgan Enos and vocalist Naama. Her new EP, ’Tis Autumn, featuring pianist Adam Birnbaum, bassist Dave Baron, and drummer Kush Abadey, will be released on 5 December via La Reserve Records. A [...]
Maria Reich is a German-Canadian improvising violinist whose artistic work merges virtuosic performance with compositional depth, interdisciplinary research, and international resonance. Her compositions have been commissioned by leading ensembles and festivals, including Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, Ensemble Reflektor and Goethe-Institut in Mexico. [...]
Massive confession: even though generations of jazz (and not a few distinguished classical) pianists have worshipped Art Tatum as the God of the Keyboard, I find that, after lengthy exposure to solo exhibitions of superhuman ability, Rococo ornamentation, repeated glissandi [...]
The following is an interview between jazz/classical journalist Morgan Enos and classical guitarist/educator Mak Grgić, on the occasion of his new album Slavic Sessions with Polish classical guitarist Mateusz Kowalski (released 22 August via Red Poppy/Frameworks), and his gamified music-learning [...]
Last week, this column tried to placate the ‘mini-beef’ (his words) of a slightly disgruntled critic who felt that using the word ‘dust’ disrespected all the jazz of the past. But he also added (and I quote) “There is currently [...]
The following is an interview between jazz journalist Morgan Enos and New York-based, Brazilian-born vocalist, composer, and educator Jamile. Her new album Pursuit of a Pulse will be released on 12 September via Cellar Music Group. The album features pianist Miki [...]
The following is an interview between jazz journalist Morgan Enos and vocalist and songwriter Caity Gyorgy, whose new album Caity Gyorgy With Strings: Arranged and Conducted by Mark Limacher was released on 22 August by La Reserve Records. Recorded in [...]
Charlotte Greve is a Brooklyn-based alto saxophonist, composer, and singer originally from Germany. She has released nine albums as a leader, two of which received the ECHO Jazz Prize. In 2022 she was awarded the German Jazz Prize’s “Artist of [...]
“I’m attempting to uncover generations of neglect by introducing individual gems and providing a touch of context to an audience who might have a predisposition to listening.” Len writes: Last week I received a message from our esteemed Editor. It [...]
