Podcast Archives - The Jazz Session

Drummer Jeff Cosgrove’s debut album, featuring his band Motian Sickness, is For The Love Of Sarah (Grizzley Music, 2011). In this interview, recorded in Shepherdstown, WV, on the “Jazz Or Bust” Tour, Cosgrove talks about making a life in music when you’re not in a major metropolitan area; how he decided on the bluegrass sound that characterizes Motian Sickness; his relationship with Paul Motian; and how he uses grants to bring major artists to Shepherdstown. Learn more at jeffcosgrovemusic.com and follow him on Twitter at @MotianSickness.

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Harris Eisenstadt’s two new records are Canada Day III (Songlines, 2012) and Canada Day Octet (482 Music, 2012). In this interview, Eisenstadt talks about expanding existing quintet music to octet form; the evolution of the Canada Day band and what its longevity allows him to do as a composer; and the life of a touring musician. Learn more at harriseisenstadt.com and follow him on Twittter at @HEisenstadt.

Concert Note: Eisenstadt has two CD release parties this weekend in NYC. The Canada Day III release event is on June 16, 2012, at Cornelia Street Cafe. The Canada Day Octet event is on June 17 at the Red Hook Jazz Festival.

Note: This is Eisenstadt’s second appearance on The Jazz Session. Listen to our 2010 conversation.

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Kernfeld on saxophone. (Photo: Pennsylvania Library Association)

Barry Kernfeld is the author of Pop Song Piracy: Disobedient Music Distribution since 1929 (University of Chicago Press, 2011); The Story of Fake Books: Bootlegging Songs to Musicians (Scarecrow, 2006); and What To Listen For In Jazz (Yale University Press, 1995). He may be most well known as the editor of both editions of the New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, a massive undertaking that sought to define the major players, instruments and theories of jazz around the world. In this interview, Kernfeld talks about his early years in San Francisco during the height of the rock explosion; his move to Cornell in the 70s and the unexpectedly progressive atmosphere he found there; how he came to edit the New Grove Dictionary of Jazz and the response to its first edition; and his subsequent investigations of song piracy and fake books. Learn more at www.personal.psu.edu/bdk4.

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Guitarist Vernon Reid’s new album with Jack Bruce, John Medeski and Cindy Blackman-Santana is called Spectrum Road (Palmetto Records, 2012). Reid is the founder of the band Living Colour and of the Black Rock Coalition. He’s a skilled improviser whose history with jazz goes back several decades to New York’s downtown music scene. He’s also the co-host, with comedian W. Kamau Bell, of the Field Negro Guide to Arts & Culture. In this interview, Reid talks about how John Coltrane’s “My Favorite Things” drew him into improvised music; the parallel development of improvisation in rock and jazz; the dangers of musical influence; and the decade-long conception and making of Spectrum Road. Learn more at facebook.com/vernonreid and follow him on Twitter at @vurnt22.

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Guitarist and vocalist Judith Kay has made a career for herself in Arden, an artists community near Wilmington, DE. In this interview, Kay talks about her love of Brazilian music; her time studying arranging with Manny Albam; why she decided to stay in Delaware; and why she feels it’s important to sing the melody the way the composer wrote it. Learn more at judithkay.com.

This interview was conducted as part of my “Jazz Or Bust” tour.

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Vocalist Nicky Schrire’s debut album is Freedom Flight (Circavision, 2012). In this interview, Schrire talks about the diverse and often daring songs she’s chosen for her debut; the impact on her life and music of Kate McGarry, Peter Eldridge and Bobby McFerrin; her South African upbringing and switch from saxophone to voice; and why she made the move to New York. Learn more at nickyschrire.com and follow her on Twitter at @NickySchrire.

CONCERT NOTE: Schrire’s New York CD release event is Wednesday, June 6 at 8:30 p.m. at Cornelia Street Cafe. For details on that and other upcoming shows, visit her site.

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Guitarist Miles Okazaki’s new album is Figurations (Sunnyside, 2012), recorded live at The Jazz Gallery in New York City. It’s the third and final album in the series that includes Mirror and Generations. In this interview, Okazaki talks about the series and the different aspects of his music he explored on each album; the Golden Mean and Fibonacci numbers and how they figure into his compositions; why it was important for him to record a live album; and how his artwork informs his music and vice versa. Learn more at milesokazaki.com and follow him on Twitter at @MilesOkazaki.

NOTE: This is Okazaki’s second appearance on The Jazz Session. Listen to our first conversation from 2009.

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Gregoire Maret has just released his debut album, Gregoire Maret (eOne Music, 2012). In this interview, Maret talks about the importance of connecting with his audience; how he built a career playing his unlikely instrument; and why it’s important for him to be known as a composer, not just as a harmonica player. Learn more at gregoiremaret.com.

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Drummer Tomas Fujiwara’s new album with his band The Hook Up is called The Air Is Different (482 Music, 2012). In this interview, Fujiwara talks about his grandfather (pictured on the album cover) and his grandfather’s influence on his life; the addition of bassist Trevor Dunn to the band; his varying methods of composition; and finding balance on the bandstand. Learn more at tomasfujiwara.com and follow him on Twitter at @TomasFujiwara.

NOTE: This is Tomas Fujiwara’s second appearance on The Jazz Session. Listen to his 2010 appearance.

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Anticipation (Capri Records, 2012) is the new CD by drummer Colin Stranahan, pianist Glenn Zaleski and bassist Rick Rosato. In this interview, conducted before the trio’s recent live show at Small’s in NYC, the three talk about their mutual appreciation of one another; the shared taste in music that animates their collaboration; and their individual paths into jazz. Learn more at myspace.com/wwwcolinstranahancom, glennzaleski.com and myspace.com/rickrosato.

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