Posts in category P

Guitarist John Pizzarelli from the 2012 Jazz Cruise

Mar14
2013 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

This week I will be linking to some great video interviews from the JazzTimes YouTube page. There is so much more there than I’ll be posting this week, so be sure to check it out!

Today’s interviews are with singer/guitarist/bandleader John Pizzarelli and were conducted aboard the MS Westerdam during the Jazz Cruise 2012. In the three clips, Pizzarelli discusses his early years, including his first instrument, the first jazz album he loved, the first jazz concerts and his very first paying gig; part two covers his favorites from the Great American Songbook and beyond, his bucket list of artists with whom he’d like to play, and the genesis of the radio show he does with his wife, singer Jessica Molaskey; and finally he discusses the talks about performing on the Jazz Cruise. Interviews by Irene Lee.

—Peter Blasevick

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Oscar Peterson in exclusive interview from CBC’s Hot Air archive

Jan31
2013 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

More great jazz interviews this week from CBC-Radio Canada! The Bob Smith Hot Air archive is a treasure trove of approximately 50 interviews Smith recorded with some of the greatest stars of the day, from the world of jazz and beyond. Captured between 1950 and 1982, these interviews include conversations with Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Harry James, Oscar Peterson and Lena Horne, as well as Sammy Davis Jr., Bill Cosby, Harry Belafonte, Liza Minnelli and many others.

This edition of Giants of Jazz focuses on the beloved Canadian pianist Oscar Peterson (1925-2007). “OP,” as he is affectionately known, met with Hot Air host Bob Smith for a far-ranging discussion on topics including keeping a band on the road, Canadian content regulations and new directions in pop music. From the interview:

“It means a hell of a lot to a Canadian artist, to any artist, to know that you have a place at home where the people really know you and dig what you do, and then that gives you even more confidence to go out and display those same wares to foreigners, whether it be in the United States or Europe or Japan or wherever it is.”

Click here to listen to Oscar Peterson in exclusive interview from CBC’s Hot Air archive

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Q&A: Jean-Luc Ponty

Nov19
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

This week I’ll be posting interviews from the jazz website pioneers JazzOnline.com. Today’s interview is a quick 2010 Q&A session with virtuoso Jazz violinist and composer Jean-Luc Ponty in which he talks about first discovering Jazz, his creative influences, and why he doesn’t like to categorize his music. From the interview:

“I was studying classical violin at the Conservatory in Paris in 1958 and one of the students had two jazz albums which I borrowed. None of the students played jazz but a few liked to listen to it. One album was by the Modern Jazz Quartet and the other was Chet Baker with strings. I still remember. It was a smooth introduction to jazz for classical musicians and it worked like a magic spell on me.”

Click here to read Q&A: Jean-Luc Ponty

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About My Life In Music by Walter Page, as told to Frank Driggs

Sep17
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

Here is a long and interesting interview with the pioneering bassist Walter Page from inaugural issue of the 1958-1961 jazz journal The Jazz Review. Founded by Nat Hentoff, Martin Williams, and Hsio Wen Shih in New York in 1958, The Jazz Review was the premier journal of jazz in the United States. The interview starts:

“I learned to play bass horn before I learned string bass . . . in the neighborhood brass bands. There were three brothers next door to me who played bass horns . . . one played bass horn, one played baritone horn bass clef, the other played baritone treble clef. On the other side of the street there were two other brothers, Joe, who played cornet, and Frank, who played bass horn. I learned how to play bass horn from them and by the time I was in high school I was playing bass horn and bass drum in their band. ”

The link to the interview is the entire Jazz review issue in .pdf form hosted at the very useful JazzStudiesOnline.org. The interview starts on page 12, and the .pdf is a bit slow to open, so be patient, it’s worth it!

 Click here to read  About My Life In Music  by Walter Page, as told to Frank Driggs 

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Oscar Peterson in Conversation: Ruminations & Rebuttals, December 1979

Aug06
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

“I spoke with the great jazz pianist Oscar Peterson on a winter afternoon in 1979 at his Minneapolis hotel. He was in town to perform his own extended composition with the Minnesota Orchestra called “The Canadiana Suite,” a work originally released by Verve in 1964 as a trio recording. I believe now that Peterson had revived and rearranged this for performance because of his renewed interest in long-form pieces for jazz. These orchestral compositions would culminate in his 1981 album The Royal Wedding Suite, a celebration of the union of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. Although each suite shows Peterson’s abilities as a composer and an arranger, both are now largely forgotten.

“In spite of his concert with an orchestra being only hours away, Mr. Peterson was happy to discuss his own solo and small group performances. However, he was also quick to draw parallels between jazz forms and classical music. As we began, I pointed out which of his albums I liked best and asked him to comment on some of his newer Pablo Records releases. He was happy to speak in specifics about albums from his entire career. As we neared the end of the brief amount of time his agent had set aside for me, I used one of my mainstay questions of that time, his interest in Duke Ellington. I asked this specifically because of the major orchestral jazz piece that he was about to perform, and I compared it with some of Ellington’s extended works. This discussion on the Duke led to some intense reaction, as did my later use of the names Art Tatum and Keith Jarrett in the same sentence…”

Click here to read Oscar Peterson in Conversation: Ruminations & Rebuttals, December 1979

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Four Charlie Parker Interviews

Jun23
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

Here are four 1950s era Parker interviews released at one time or another on LP or CD that have been transcribed at the great Miles Davis website Miles Ahead:

  • May 1950, New York: with Marshall Stearns and John Maher
  • March 1951, New York: with Leonard Feather
  • June 1953, Boston: with John McLellan
  • January 1954, Boston: with John McLellan and Paul Desmond

They are all great, read ‘em up.

Click here to read Four Charlie Parker Interviews

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Charlie Parker interviewed by Paul Desmond

May15
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

This is a fantastic interview of Bird by the great Paul Desmond and John McLellan on station WHDH in Boston in early 1954 when Parker was booked at the Hi-Hat Club for a week (January 18-24). A gem.

Click here to read the text of Charlie Parker interviewed by Paul Desmond, or listen to the audio of the interview below:

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Bud Powell interview 1963

May02
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

Bud Powell interviewed in France while recuperating from tuberculosis at the Bouffemont Sanatorium January 15th and May 6th, 1963. The interviewer’s questions are in French, but Powell answers in English.

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Charlie Parker in Downbeat 1949: No Bop Roots In Jazz

Apr24
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

Most of Downbeat’s archive is behind their subscription wall, but they do post a few classic interviews for the lurkers (I will try to get them all linked here soon!).

No Bop Roots In Jazz: Parker by Michael Levin and John S. Wilson, dated 9th September, 1949 is culled from two different interviews with Bird and covers some of his thoughts on topics like Paul Hindemith, Dizzy, and the origins of bebop.

Click here to read No Bop Roots In Jazz: Parker

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Oscar Peterson & André Previn

Apr08
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

This December 1977 BBC Four interview of Oscar Peterson was conducted (pun intended) by André Previn  sitting piano side and covers just about anything you’d like to know about the great Canadian pianist. Peterson performs examples (as does Previn) and the two generally yuck it up for an hour. Previn is typically funny and Peterson is typically great.

Posted in Peterson, Oscar, Previn, André - Tagged , , , , , ,

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