Posts in category B

2008 Jazz Police Interview with Randy Brecker

Mar22
2013 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

The JazzPolice website is filled with great content, including some interesting interviews. Here’s a 2008 discussion with trumpeter Randy Brecker. In the interview, conduvted by Joe Montague, the Jazz great reflects on a number of topics, including the delicate subject of his late brother Michael:

“It is hard for me to relate to Mike as an iconic figure in jazz, because to me he is still just my brother. It is hard for me to focus on how influential he was, even though I obviously know that he was. Foremost, I think of him as my brother. If I could get past that and look from afar like anyone else, I would say that he has to be one of the most influential jazz musicians, other than John Coltrane, because he had a real vision in mind, and he stuck to his artistic vision. He was one of the few guys, and I think partly because he had a big following, that was able to do musically pretty much whatever he wanted, and people didn’t try to channel him into doing something else. He will occupy a unique position in jazz history, and he certainly was one of the most popular saxophonists ever, but he could back it up, because the music had so much emotional depth,” says Brecker.

Click here to read 2008 Jazz Police Interview with Randy Brecker

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Michael Brecker at North Texas State University in 1984

Feb15
2013 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

Here is a really cool four part video interview with the late, great saxophonist Michael Brecker. It is kind of a hybrid interview/lecture that includes performances, and it has plenty of Michael discussing his influences and the like. He even sits behind the drums and plays a tune with the band!

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Eubie Blake On Piano Jazz

Feb06
2013 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

More interviews from NPR Piano Jazz this week! Though Marian McPartland no longer actively hosts the show (which has been running since the late 1970s), it still airs weekly with encore performances and in a new version hosted by Jon Weber.

Here is a real treat: a 1980 interview with James Hubert ”Eubie” Blake. He was the last of the known living original ragtime pianists when he appeared on the program in 1980 with host Marian McPartland. Here, the 93-year-old Blake recalls working in vaudeville, performing at the height of the Jim Crow era, writing “Charleston Rag” and even watching a performance by the great Russian pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Between all the great talking, the set list for the show runs:

  • “Betty Washboard Rag” (R. Kreve)
  • “Marian’s Waltz” (J.H. Blake)
  • “You’re Lucky to Me” (J.H. Blake, A. Razaf)
  • “Charleston Rag” (J.H. Blake)
  • “Dream Rag” (J.H. Blake)
  • “For the Last Time Call Me Sweetheart” (A. Johns)
  • “The Star Spangled Banner”
  • “Falling in Love With Someone” (V. Herbert, R. Young)
  • “Kiss Me Again” (V. Herbert, H. Blossom)
  • “St. Louis Blues” (W.C. Handy)
  • “I’m Just Wild About Harry” (E. Blake, N. Sissle)
  • “Gypsy Sweetheart” (V. Herbert, H. Smith)

Click here to listen to Eubie Blake on NPR Piano Jazz 1991

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Four Chick Corea Interviews with Les Tomkins plus Gary Burton!

Jan25
2013 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

Chick Corea keeps putting out great music; his latest duo recording with Gary Burton is testament to that! Here are four interviews with the pianist, all between 1972 and 1982. The final one, from 1982, is actually a joint interview with longtime collaborator Burton, and in it he discusses preparing for a tour together:

How much actual preparation do you need before embarking on a concert tour together?

The groundwork has already been laid in the past year since we’ve developed our way of working together. The only additional preparation we ever do is finding music to play; I compose, we find other compositions to do, and we work them into the repertoire by going over them once or twice, then finding where to drop the new piece into the performance. Except the next album project we have in mind is going to take quite a bit of preparation, actually, because I’m going to write a piece for Gary and myself with a string quartet as well. So the composing will be a process, and then us looking at the music, getting accustomed to it, and seeing how to make it work with the strings will be a full process in itself. I’m looking forward to that. The music will be sort of like a double concerto idea, where there’s two soloists and an orchestra that’s made up of four strings.

Click here to read Four Chick Corea Interviews with Les Tomkins plus Gary Burton!

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Three 1970s George Benson Interviews

Jan24
2013 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

Today I’m posting three interviews from the 1970s with the legendary guitarist George Benson: “My Present Group” from 1974, and “This Way and That” and “A Personality Thing”, both from 1978. Here from the last of the three interviews is Mr. Benson discussing his awareness of other singers and guitarists:

How would you describe your vocal concept? Are there certain singers whose approach particularly appeals to you?

Once I hear a great singer, I’m very aware of him. I heard Nat “King” Cole when I was a baby, and I never forgot him. I followed him throughout, all the way up until the time of his death, and beyond—I’m still listening at his records, trying to find out what it is about Nat “King” Cole that is so great. It’s a personality thing, though, you know; you can’t be Nat—you can only enjoy him. I don’t think there’s so much of the technical thing that you could really put your finger on. He was a natural singer—though there were some techniques that he used in his lower tones that are very valuable.

There are many great singers—some today—who are using valuable techniques. And I’m aware of them—just like I was of the guitar players. I’m aware of Django Rheinhardt, Charlie Christian, Kenny Burrell, Wes Montgomery, Tal Farlow—all those great players. I mean, because once you hear those guys . . . how could I call myself a player, and not know who the real players are when I hear them? They’re the guys who helped to shape my concept, and to give me the idea on which to base some of my ideas. I’m never afraid to mention another great artist; I’m not trying to show that I’m better than any other player—what I want to do is to be as dedicated to what I’m doing, or to be as real about it, as I think these artists are. Because it takes a certain amount of dedication, and knowledge, and gift to be what they are. And I’m the first guy to go to their concerts when I hear of them being any placeI run and hear them. It’s a great experience, plus I learn something.

Click here to read Three 1970s George Benson Interviews

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Chet Baker with Les Tomkins in 1979

Jan23
2013 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

Here is a great 1979 interview with Chet Baker from Les Tomkins and the JazzProfessional website. Chet talks about his reunion with Gerry Mulligan, his ear;ly years, and “Cool Jazz”. From the interview:

What originally caused you to take up the trumpet as your instrument?

My dad was a musician—he played guitar—and when I reached thirteen, his favourite musician was Jack Teagarden. So he brought home a trombone, but I was rather small for my age; I couldn’t make the positions, and the mouthpiece seemed so big. I messed around with it for a couple of weeks; then he took it away, and brought home a trumpet.

That seemed to be much more comfortable; I could get a sound—the smaller mouthpiece seemed to fit a lot better. I went to a little instrument training class for a year, and I played in the school marching band and the dance band.

When I was sixteen, I went in the army; for a year I played in an army band in Berlin, Germany. After discharge, I studied music at junior college, but at the end of a year–and–a–half I failed that—and I still play by ear. Although I can read, I don’t know the chords. I just hear them, you know, but if you ask me what the name of it is, I wouldn’t be able to tell you.

Click here to read Chet Baker with Les Tomkins in 1979

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Randy Brecker’s Uncut DownBeat Blindfold Test

Jan03
2013 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

Today is a 2008 Blindfold Test with with the trumpeter Randy Brecker. The famous co-leader of The Brecker Brothers, along with too many other recordings and gigs to mention, listens to a dozen cuts with Ted Panken, and then sums up the various trumpet players thusly:

All these records were very good. It’s a reality these days that it is harder to tell guys apart trumpetistically, because we all study out of the same books, and there’s a certain trumpetistic artistry that’s prevalent these days. So it’s harder to pick people apart, but that’s overshadowed by the musicianship on all these records, which was really excellent. That’s always my answer to the problem these days, when guys say, “Ah, too many guys sound alike.” I say the musicianship is so high it doesn’t matter.

Click here to read Randy Brecker’s Uncut DownBeat Blindfold Test

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An Interview with Dave Brubeck, July 23, 2007

Dec11
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

A week of piano interviews at TNYDP, and we must post one with the legendary Dave Brubeck who passed away late last week. This 2007 interview with Ted Panken that Ethan Iverson tweeted out the day Brubeck died is as good a tribute as any. A bit from the interview:

You started to play for money when you were in your early teens, and I’d imagine then you started learning about being a bandleader—which is also part of music. Bending people to your will, as it were.

You see, when we left Concord, California, I was well, and were moving to this huge cattle ranch, 45,000 acres, owned by H.C. Howard who owned Seabiscuit. Of course, he owned other ranches, and Seabiscuit wasn’t on this ranch. But when I moved there, I would still be improvising after school and playing the piano. The guy that came to pick up our laundry at the ranch and take it to Lodi, where Mondavi started, about 18 miles away… He’d take the laundry, and he heard me playing, and he said, “I could use you in my band.” I was 14 then, and he hired me, and we played on the Mokelumne River, outdoor dance floor that was all warped from the rain, and electric lightbulbs hanging from wires with the decorations. His name was John Ostabah. From Ostabah, I went to another band in Ione, California, that played all the foothill dances. Believe me, that was an experience. Very few people have had the experiences I had when I was very young. Because the towns of Jackson and Sutter Creek were wide-open. That means everything in California that was against the law, was not against the law in those mining towns.

Click here to read An Interview with Dave Brubeck, July 23, 2007

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Two Bob Berg Interviews from 1998

Dec05
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

I’m posting video interviews all this week from JazzVideoGuy Bret Primack. His channel on YouTube is fantastic and you could spend days there without coming up for air. Go visit if you haven’t already.

Here are two video clips from a 1998 interview with the great saxophonist Bob Berg. In the first clip, Bob talks about some of his recordings, playing standards, and his hometown of Brooklyn, among other topics. In the second clip, he chats about his favorite recordings from John Coltrane, Bela Bartok, Frank Sinatra, Art Blakey and Miles Davis.

— Peter Blasevick

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Art Blakey on Powerhouse Radio 1977

Nov26
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

Drummer week at TNYDP! Today, a cool radio interview with the great drummer and bandleader Art Blakey from the Atlantic City radio station WUSS (yup). From the page:

A true legend, and an unwavering evangelist for the traditional elements of jazz, Art Blakey talks from his soul about his magnificent career. King from Powerhouse Radio was lucky enough to chat with Art Blakey while Art was still performing. Art passed away in 1990 at the age of 71.

Click here to listen to Art Blakey on Powerhouse Radio 1977

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The mission of The Notes You Don't Play is to be the Web's first comprehensive library of jazz interviews. Click on an artist below to go to their collection, visit our about page for more information, or contact us to suggest interviews to include in the library. Read more...

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