Chicago Jazz Audio Experience

Chicago Jazz Magazine presents the December 2018 feature interview with guitar master Fareed Haque.

 

Chicago Jazz Magazine founder, Mike Jeffers, discuss Fareed's early years traveling with his parents and being exposed to cultures throughout the world, his brief stint at the University of North Texas, coming back to Chicago and sitting in at jazz and blues sessions throughout the city while attending Northwestern University, touring with Paquito D'Rivera, signing to Sting's record label, touring with his own group and much more.

 

Plus they discuss his new release with the Kaia String Quartet which is just out on Delmark Records entitled the New Latin American Music for Guitar and String Quartet.

 

We hope you enjoy the December 2018 feature interview with Fareed Haque.

 

Visit www.ChicagoJazzMagazine.com

Chicago Jazz Magazine presents the November 2018 feature interview with Blue Note recording artist Patricia Barber. Chicago Jazz Magazine founder, Mike Jeffers, talks with Patricia about her early years growing up in Chicago, Iowa and Nebraska, studying phycology in college and then following her passion for music and moving back to Chicago to start her career.

 

The discussion leads to her years at the famed Gold Star Sardine Bar in Chicago where she performed 6 nights a week to a packed house while building her name and developing her musical concepts. They discuss her recording contract with Premonition Records and selling over 120,000 copies of her album Modern Cool which lead to the follow up recording Nightclub that attracted the attention of Blue Note Records where she signed in 1999 and has been ever since.

 

Throughout the conversation Barber elaborates on starting out in Chicago, sticking to her core beliefs of playing in her own voice, turning down opportunities that would have compromised her creativity, her concepts and process for writing her original music, thoughts for up and coming musicians, her new recording coming out in 2019 and much more.

 

We hope you enjoy the November 2018 feature interview with Patricia Barber.

Visit www.ChicagoJazzMagazine.com to read the full interview

Chicago Jazz Magazine's feature interview for the October 2018 digital issue is with trumpeter Marquis Hill.

He is dropping a new recording entitled "Modern Flows Vol II" which he talks in length with the founder of Chicago Jazz Magazine Mike Jeffers. In addition they focus on Marquis and his music, his influences, growing up in Chicago, winning the Thelonious Monk competition, his touring and of course his composing and recording.

Get more information and read the full digital issue at http://www.chicagojazzmagazine.com

TALKING JAZZ with Mike Jeffers

The September 2018 Issue of Chicago Jazz Magazine features an indepth interview with drummer Kobie Watkins.

ABOUT KOBIE WATKINS

Growing up in Chicago Kobie was first influenced by watching his father (Alious C. Watkins) play drums in the church. Of course this lead him to get curious about drumming himself and he quickly graduated from playing pots and pans as a toddler to practicing rudiments on a snare drum. With guidance from his father, Kobie continued to grow as a musician and when it came time to decide on what to do after high school he decided to give Vandercook College of Music a try instead of enlisting in the army which was the original plan.

At Vandercook Kobie studied all forms and genres of the percussion family with Marc “Max” Jacoby (vibraphonist/ mallet) and Kevin Lepper (percussionist). While learning percussion and all other instruments, Kobie’s extra curricular time was spent playing jazz standards and trading solo's with alto saxophonist Dennis Winslett which helped to expand his playing and concepts on how drums interacted with other instruments.

Graduating from Vandercook with a Bachelors of Music Education in 1999, Kobie became a public school band / music teacher by day, by night he played gigs around the Chicago land area and throughout the United States. Kobie eventually became known as the “Swing Master”of Chicago. He was depicted in a front-page article in the Joliet, Illinois Herald titled “Teacher has Alter Ego as Jazz Musician.”

He decided to continue his education at Northwestern University where in 2003 he received a Masters of Music in Jazz Pedagogy while continuously performing on the Chicago jazz scene. It was around that time that he began performing with guitarist Bobby Broom in his trio which served as a major turning point in his playing career. Broom who had moved to Chicago from New York is an internationally known guitarist and had a weekly steady with his trio that provided Watkins the platform to hone his musical concepts and skills and take his playing to the next level. A few years later, again thanks to Broom who was Sonny Rollins guitarist at the time, Watkins was able to audition for the jazz legend which lead to him touring and recording with Rollins up until recently.

In addition Watkins has performed and recorded with musicians such as Branford Marsalis, Joe Lovano, Curtis Fuller, Bob Mintzer, Jim Hall, John Patitucci, Arturo Sandoval, George Coleman, Ira Sullivan, Sonny Fortune, Roy Haynes, Roy Hargrove, Kurt Elling, Fred Anderson, Chrstian McBride, Bobby Broom, Orbert Davis, Ken Chaney, Ron Perrillo, Bethany Pickens, Ryan Cohan and many others.

In this interview Watkins talks about growing up in Chicago, how he got started playing drums, what he has learned from the different performance opportunities he has had over the years and much more.

 

Visit www.chicagojazzmagazine.com to read the full September 2018 Issue

On this Episode of the Talking Jazz Podcast, Mike Jeffers talks with the founding member of Tower of Power, Emilio Castillo in advance of the bands performances at City Winery in Chicago. Emilio talks about his influences and how that helped him develop the concept behind the Tower of Power Sound. As they embark on their 50th Anniversary year they also just release a brand new recording callled "Soul Side of Town". Emilio talks about how the band keeps things fresh and creative and moving forward even after 50 years!

Visit www.TowerofPower.com for info on tour dates and the new recording.

On this Episode Mike Jeffers (founder of Chicago Jazz Magazine) talks by phone with four-time GRAMMY nominee and multi-platinum-selling musician Boney James ahead of his performance on July 20, 2018 at the Venue at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, IN.

They talk about how get got started playing saxophone, his influences, the new release "Honestly" and his performance with special guest Avery Sunshine on July 20, 2018.

Talking Jazz with Mike Jeffers, the founder of Chicago Jazz Magazine & Entertainment. Mike talks with musicians, club owners, festival organizers and more about how they got started, their influences, the music business, where they think jazz is going and more!