Posts tagged bass

Esperanza Spalding: The Intimate Balance

Apr29
2013 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

Here is a September 2010 AllAboutJazz interview with the very talented bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding. In the piece she discusses jazz and classical, her album Chamber Music Society, and being a musician and singer both. From the interview:

AAJ : Where does Esperanza the singer start and the musician end?

ES: That’s a good question—I never saw it like that, I guess. It’s not organized in my mind at all, really. I’m just going for what needs to be done, whether that means singing in a track or not, or I don’t know… You caught me off guard! It doesn’t really go with the way that I’m operating with my music. I certainly feel like all the elements, singing and playing, they’re really part of the same motivation, which for me comes out of composition: that’s my main passion, and what I really think rules everything else. It all comes from there. 

Click here to read Esperanza Spalding: The Intimate Balance

—Peter Blasevick

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Jacob Collier: Multi-instrumentalist and music Genius

Apr23
2013 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

If you haven’t yet checked out Jacob Collier, do so. Right now.

In this 2012 interview with the Brazilian website Falafil, the singer, multi-instrumentalist, and all around prodigy discusses his famous videos, his family, the Royal Academy of Music, and other topics. From the interview:

You are a winning self-taught multi-instrumentalist. How and when you discovered your interest and natural talent for music?

I have been interested in and passionate about music every since I can remember. My mother inspired me from a very young age by playing her violin, and I often used to watch her conducting the chamber orchestra at the Royal Academy of Music. There were always instruments around my house, and I always loved to play, as well as to sing. I remember being given a Djembe drum when I was about eight, and loving it. I was introduced to Cubase software when I was about seven years old, and this enabled me to begin composing, arranging, and recording my music. I always loved to record singing in harmony, even at a young age.

Click here to read Jacob Collier: Multi-instrumentalist and music Genius

—Peter Blasevick

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Stanley Clarke: Path Maker

Apr16
2013 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

Trailblazing bassist Stanley Clarke is as influential today as he was during the heyday of Chick Corea’s Return To Forever in the 1970s. Here is a lengthy interview he gave to AllAboutJazz in 2011. From the interview:

“…as a musician, I was only interested in sounding good. It didn’t matter, even in some cases, how much we were getting paid. We were just out there really trying to sound good and living up to the tradition of jazz music, and the guys that came before us. Like for instance, I didn’t really realize how big Return to Forever was until the last reunion that we did a couple of years ago. It was huge; we could have played any of those places two or three times, and we didn’t, because we said we couldn’t do it. But that was a pretty important band, and all those individuals have their own history.

“The great thing about Chick Corea, myself and [drummer] Lenny White, and not so much with [guitarist] Al Di Meola, is that we can go back to those guys. Chick and I played with Art Blakey; I played with Dexter Gordon, and we both played with Stan Getz; Lenny White played with Jackie McLean and a lot of older jazz musicians, so we had that in common. So whether we knew that was big, it’s not something you thought about; if I would have thought about it at the time, I wouldn’t have been with those people, I wouldn’t have played the way I did. It’s kinda like an oxymoron in concept, to have those two things together; a guy that thinks he is so big and there he is, playing at nineteen with Dexter Gordon. You’re so scared you can’t think of anything [laughs].”

Click here to read Stanley Clarke: Path Maker

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John Clayton with Don Wolff in 2011

Apr11
2013 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

Grammy Award winning Jazz Bassist, Composer and Conductor John Clayton visited with Don Wolff in 2011, and they discussed his career, and also the importance of Jazz Education, an area that Mr. Clayton sees as very important and for which he places much emphasis. Here is the great bassist, composer, and arranger on Milt Hinton:

“Oh gosh, he was such an inspiration. He’s a guy who really, really saw to it that the bass family remained a family. He was always taking time out to give anybody who was interested his time…he really exemplified the “jazz mentor”.

Click here to listen to John Clayton with Don Wolff in 2011

—Peter Blasevick

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Two 2010 Christian McBride interviews at NYU

Apr04
2013 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

More from Dr. David Schroeder at the NYU Steinhardt Jazz Studies Program today. Check out the short lived blog here. Here is a great two part interview with modern day great Christian McBride. The bassist spends time speaking about many all-time greats he has played with including Homer Mensch, Ron Carter, Illinois Jacquet, Hank Jones, Benny Carter, Joe Henderson, and Freddie Hubbard.

—Peter Blasevick

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2010 interview with Dave Holland at NYU

Apr03
2013 2 Comments Written by Peter Blasevick

I’ve been listening to some of these interesting interviews done in 2009 and 2010 by Dr. David Schroeder for the NYU Steinhardt Jazz Studies Program. Check out the short lived blog here. Today is a fun talk with bassist Dave Holland on how he came to join Miles Davis back in 1968.

—Peter Blasevick

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Three Christian McBride Interviews from the 2012 Newport Jazz Festival

Mar15
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!

In this three part interview from the 2012 Newport Jazz Festival, Bassist Christian McBride talks about 1) his big band as well as about his smaller group, Inside Straight; 2) His commitment to jazz and music education and why he is determined to give back to young musicians through appearances at schools and clinics, but also why he thinks it’s important to play different styles of music other than jazz, and 3) his early musical education and development, including his first instrument, his first paid gig and an unusual appearance on daytime TV by Miles Davis. Interview by Lee Mergner.

—Peter Blasevick

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Two Esperanza Spalding from the 2011 Newport Jazz Festival

Mar11
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, two interviews from the incredibly talented Esperanza Spalding at the 2011 Newport Jazz Festival. In the first segment, Spalding talks about her jazz and music education, about her teachers and mentors, and about her own experience as a teacher and mentor. In the second, Spalding talks about playing at Newport for the first time, the significance of the festival and the unique environment created by George Wein. Spalding also talks about why jazz and music festivals are important. Interview by Lee Mergner.

 

—Peter Blasevick

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Christian McBride – Always Evolving

Feb21
2013 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

More podcast interviews from JazzCorner.com today! JazzCorner is a portal for the official websites of hundreds of jazz musicians and organizations. There is a ton of great info you can get to from there, so check them out.

It hard to categorize bassist Christian McBride—he’s as adept on acoustic bass as well as electric and transitions easily from mainstream jazz to downright funk, always with rhythm, swing and poise. In this interview with producer Lois Gilbert, Christian takes us on his journey from his roots in Philadelphia to be one of the leading bassists of our time. McBride discusses much, including first coming to New York from his hometown of Philadelphia, the legendary James Brown, and a list of fellow bass players who have been supportive of him throughout his career.

Click here to listen to Christian McBride – Always Evolving

 

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Milt Hinton on NPR Piano Jazz 1991

Feb04
2013 Leave a Comment Written by Peter Blasevick

Some great NPR Piano Jazz interviews 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 an updated version hosted by Jon Weber.

Today’s interview is with the “Dean of Jazz Bass Players”, Milt Hinton. Hinton kicks off the program by rapping his considerable resume, as he comps himself with bouncing bass. It’s safe to say he’s one of few octogenarians able to do hip-hop, and probably the only one who can drop names like Cab (Calloway), Duke (Ellington), Louie (Armstrong) and Prez (Lester Young) into his rhyme.

He also turns in a thundering solo version of “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho.”

“Boy, that is really a show-stopping piece,” McPartland says.

“It’s a real exercise in calisthenics. Thank you,” Hinton replies.

The session closes on a duet of “How High the Moon” that conjures both Mozart and Charlie Parker. “The dean of bass players” slowly bows his double bass, giving a classical feel to the opening, then sheaths his bow for some pure bebop magic to end this installment of Piano Jazz.

Click here to listen to Milt Hinton on NPR Piano Jazz 1991

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