JazzWatch #42 | Nicholas Payton

May 11, 2015 by jazzwatch in JazzWatch Blog Posts, JazzWatch Podcast and tagged album, bam, BAM Festival, band, bill stewart, black american music, CD, concert, conversation, discussion, elvin jones, Fender, improv, improvisation, Indie, interview, Italy, jazz, label, Letters, Live at Bohemian Caverns, long form, LP, manager, music, nashville, national music scene, New Orleans, new york, new york city, Nicholas Payton, npr, Numbers, pianist, piano, Pianoo, podcast, quartet, Ray Brown, Rhodes, Smalls, Smoke, Smoke Jazz Club, Soul Jazz, trio, trumpet, Vicente Archer, web series, webisode | Leave a comment

Multi-instrumentalist and trumpet master Nicholas Payton continues to spread the Black American Music tradition to audiences across the globe. His forthcoming double CD, “Letters” is a diverse representation of this tradition and he plans to have the project out this summer. As has become customary in concert, the forthcoming release features Payton on trumpet, piano and Rhodes piano, along with Vicente Archer’s bass and the drums of Bill Stewart. You’ll also hear Payton covering organ and vocal duties on “Letters.” In our interview, Payton speaks about his new process for composing, the recent BAM Festival held in his honor in Italy, his affinity for his home city of New Orleans and reflections on music masters and mentors such as Ray Brown and Elvin Jones. Hear samples of the forthcoming “Letters” project at soundcloud.com/NicholasPayton and find out more information at nicholaspayton.com.

http://www.facebook.com/jazzwatch

https://twitter.com/gbjazzwatch

https://www.youtube.com/user/GBJazzWatch

JazzWatch #41 | Cassandra Wilson

May 5, 2015 by jazzwatch in JazzWatch Blog Posts, JazzWatch Podcast and tagged Abby Lincoln, album, Alvin Fielder, Another Country, bam, band, Belly of the Sun, betty carter, billie holiday, black american music, Blood on the Fields, Blue Light Til Dawn, blue note, blues, Cassandra Wilson, CD, compared to what, concert, conversation, Country, Dave Holland, discussion, Fabrizio Sotti, Folk, Glamoured, Graham Haynes, Grammy Award Winning, Greg Osby, improv, improvisation, Indie, interview, Jackson, jazz, joni mitchell, label, lady day, lady sings the blues, Larissa Hale, Lexington, long form, Loverly, LP, manager, MBASE, Mississippi, music, nashville, national music scene, New Moon Daughter, New Orleans, new york, new york city, Nick Launay, npr, Ojah Media Group, pianist, piano, podcast, quartet, Red Guitar, Rhonda Richmond, Robin Eubanks, Silver Pony, Smalls, Smoke, Smoke Jazz Club, sony, Sony Legacy, Soul Jazz, Steve Coleman, Traveling Miles, trio, usc, vocalist, vocals, web series, webisode, Wilson, Wynton Marsalis, Yellow Scarf | Leave a comment

Grammy Award Winning vocalist Cassandra Wilson continues to inspire audiences in live performance and on her latest CD, “Coming Forth By Day.” Wilson’s distinctive aura, the synergy of her band and producer Nick Launay guide listeners through a moving devotion to the great Billie Holiday. The genre-less approach to noted Great American Songbook (GAS) classics that Holiday favored is firmly in the tradition of Wilson’s conception. She’s broken numerous barriers for the current generation of artists with regard to the types of tunes that can be covered beyond the standards, but when the material steers toward the classics found on “Coming Forth”, Wilson and company shape the arrangements in the moment and keep their ears in the present with an eye toward the future. In our conversation, Cassandra shares some insight into the making of the record, reflects on key members of her touring band and shares some wisdom with us that she gained along the way.

http://www.cassandrawilson.com

http://www.facebook.com/jazzwatch

https://twitter.com/gbjazzwatch

https://www.youtube.com/user/GBJazzWatch