Podcast Archives - The Jazz Session

Vocalist Nnenna Freelon‘s new album, her first in a decade, is called Time Traveler. In this interview, Freelon talks about the loss of her husband, Phil, and how she used music to process grief; the importance of the relationships between the band members on the album; her upcoming podcast series; and much more.

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I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. I’m now living in a van and traveling the country, so I need your support more than ever. Please become a member today at thejazzsession.com/join. For $5 a month you’ll get a weekly bonus episode called Track of the Week, plus early access to every show. For $10 a month you get all that plus an extra monthly bonus show.

Theme music by The Respect Sextet

The post The Jazz Session #559: Nnenna Freelon appeared first on The Jazz Session.

Pianist and vocalist Lauren Lee‘s intimate new solo album is called The Queen Of Cups. In this interview, Lee talks about her unexpected (for her) decision to release a solo recording; the benefits of intuition; the stigma around scat singing; and much more.

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I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. I’m now living in a van and traveling the country, so I need your support more than ever. Please become a member today at thejazzsession.com/join. For $5 a month you’ll get a weekly bonus episode called Track of the Week, plus early access to every show. For $10 a month you get all that plus an extra monthly bonus show.

Theme music by The Respect Sextet

The post The Jazz Session #558: Lauren Lee appeared first on The Jazz Session.

Cellist Helen Gillet has a new album with woodwind player Jeff Coffin (interview) called Let It Shine. In this interview, Gillet talks about how the pair came together at her series in New Orleans; the process of creating the music for the recording; how parameters can lead to increased freedom; the idea of a lifelong teacher; and a lot more.

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I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. I’m now living in a van and traveling the country, so I need your support more than ever. Please become a member today at thejazzsession.com/join. For $5 a month you’ll get a weekly bonus episode called Track of the Week, plus early access to every show. For $10 a month you get all that plus an extra monthly bonus show.

Theme music by The Respect Sextet

The post The Jazz Session #557: Helen Gillet appeared first on The Jazz Session.

We dive into the vault this week for episode #47 from October 2008. Here’s what I wrote at the time:

Jason Crane interviews pianist and composer Satoko Fujii. Fujii has released four new recordings in 2008, her 50th birthday year. These records find her with her New York trio; on accordion in the avant-folk-jazz group of her husband, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura; in a quartet with some of Japan’s most talented improvising musicians; and in a second trio with both American and Japanese musicians. Far from slowing down in her middle years, Fujii seems to be pushing herself even more relentlessly, searching for new and exciting ways of expressing her musical ideas.

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I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. I’m now living in a van and traveling the country, so I need your support more than ever. Please become a member today at thejazzsession.com/join. For $5 a month you’ll get a weekly bonus episode called Track of the Week, plus early access to every show. For $10 a month you get all that plus an extra monthly bonus show.

Theme music by The Respect Sextet

The post The Jazz Session #556: Satoko Fujii (2008) appeared first on The Jazz Session.

Violinist Sana Nagano‘s new album is Smashing Humans. In this interview, Nagano talks about her fabulous band; how she went from giving up violin completely to playing it professionally; her journey from Tokyo to Oregon to Memphis to Boston to New York; and much more.

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I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. I’m now living in a van and traveling the country, so I need your support more than ever. Please become a member today at thejazzsession.com/join. For $5 a month you’ll get a weekly bonus episode called Track of the Week, plus early access to every show. For $10 a month you get all that plus an extra monthly bonus show.

Theme music by The Respect Sextet

The post The Jazz Session #555: Sana Nagano appeared first on The Jazz Session.

Argentinian vocalist Roxana Amed just released Ontology. In this interview, Amed talks about moving to Miami and finding her place; writing new lyrics to existing tunes; searching for meaning as both a musician and a person; and much more.

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I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. I’m now living in a van and traveling the country, so I need your support more than ever. Please become a member today at thejazzsession.com/join. For $5 a month you’ll get a weekly bonus episode called Track of the Week, plus early access to every show. For $10 a month you get all that plus an extra monthly bonus show.

Theme music by The Respect Sextet

The post The Jazz Session #554: Roxana Amed appeared first on The Jazz Session.

Saxophonist and flute player Alexa Tarantino has a new album on Posi-Tone Records called Firefly. In this interview, Tarantino talks about recording an album during the pandemic; starting a jazz camp in Rockport, MA; focusing her energies on educating others as well as performing; and much more.

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I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. I’m now living in a van and traveling the country, so I need your support more than ever. Please become a member today at thejazzsession.com/join. For $5 a month you’ll get a weekly bonus episode called Track of the Week, plus early access to every show. For $10 a month you get all that plus an extra monthly bonus show.

Theme music by The Respect Sextet

The post The Jazz Session #553: Alexa Tarantino appeared first on The Jazz Session.

I’m in Auburn, Alabama this week and we’re stepping into the TJS Time Machine to listen to an archival interview with organist Barbara Dennerlein from 2009. Here’s what I wrote about it at the time:

Jason Crane interviews organist Barbara Dennerlein about her pipe organ recording Spiritual Movement No. 2 (Bebab Records, 2008). The album was recorded at one of Germany’s most famous churches in front of a very appreciative audience. In this interview, recorded before a concert in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Dennerlein discusses jazz on the pipe organ; why organists should use their feet; and how she adapts to the challenge of seldom having her own instrument on stage.

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I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. I’m now living in a van and traveling the country, so I need your support more than ever. Please become a member today at thejazzsession.com/join. For $5 a month you’ll get a weekly bonus episode called Track of the Week, plus early access to every show. For $10 a month you get all that plus an extra monthly bonus show.

Theme music by The Respect Sextet

The post The Jazz Session #552: Barbara Dennerlein (2009) appeared first on The Jazz Session.

This week on The Jazz Session, take a trip back into the archives for this 2009 interview with pianist Marilyn Crispell, recorded at her home in Woodstock, NY. Here’s what I wrote about it at the time:

Jason Crane interviews pianist Marilyn Crispell about her album of solo piano pieces, Vignettes (ECM, 2008). Crispell made an early name for herself with Anthony Braxton, and she’s since amassed an impressive list of recordings that include composed and freely improvised pieces. In this interview, Crispell talks about the nature of improvisation, the particular challenges of solo playing, and the joys of Woodstock, NY.

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I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. I’m now living in a van and traveling the country, so I need your support more than ever. Please become a member today at thejazzsession.com/join. For $5 a month you’ll get a weekly bonus episode called Track of the Week, plus early access to every show. For $10 a month you get all that plus an extra monthly bonus show.

Theme music by The Respect Sextet

The post The Jazz Session #551: Marilyn Crispell (2009) appeared first on The Jazz Session.

Vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and multimedia artist Jen Shyu‘s new album comes out on April 23, 2021. It’s called Zero Grasses — Ritual For The Losses (Pi Recordings). In this interview, Shyu talks about writing music in the aftermath of the loss of her father; working with students to chronicle their experience of the pandemic; the mentors she admires; and much more.

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I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. I’m now living in a van and traveling the country, so I need your support more than ever. Please become a member today at thejazzsession.com/join. For $5 a month you’ll get a weekly bonus episode called Track of the Week, plus early access to every show. For $10 a month you get all that plus an extra monthly bonus show.

Theme music by The Respect Sextet

The post The Jazz Session #550: Jen Shyu appeared first on The Jazz Session.