Paul Brunson

Paul Carrick Brunson: Matchmaker or Love Coach?

  Whether you call him “Matchmaker” or “Love Coach,” “he’s blowing up big time” on OWN TV and on tour in a city near you “Paul is much more than a matchmaker, he’s a life coach.” -Oprah Winfrey “Every experience that is ever had is a culmination of our current …

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Sonny Rollins

Sonny Rollins: In Search of the Man in the Music

  “Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.” –Victor Hugo Saxophonist, bandleader and composer Theodore Walter “Sonny” Rollins was born on September 7, 1930, and grew up in Harlem, New York in a community that was known also as Sugar Hill, …

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Kris Bowers photo by Lauren Desberg

Kris Bowers: Success within Range

  Musicians are often lauded for their ability to display a certain level of technical range, which translates into the total amount of notes a specific instrument can produce. Others equate range as the capacity to exhibit vast dexterity, enter into varying terrains of styles and reach both niche and …

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Jimmy Heath - Heathbros_980

Jimmy and Albert “Tootie” Heath—a jazz perspective over six decades in the making Pt. I

Heath Brothers   On a recent Sunday morning, the iRock Jazz team caught up with two members of the legendary Heath Brothers, Jimmy and Albert “Tootie” Heath. Over a span of six decades or more, the brothers have collectively performed with a “Who’s Who” among world-renown jazz performers. The list …

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Heath Brothers

Jimmy and Albert “Tootie” Heath—a jazz perspective over six decades in the making Pt. II

IRJ: You all are in Chicago now. What brings you two to Chicago? JIMMY: We’re playing now at a place called the Jazz Showcase. We’re the Heath Brothers Quartet. My older brother passed away and I’m in the middle. I’m older than Tootie. We’ve been here for four days. We …

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Terri Lyne Carrington

The Passion of Terri Lyne Carrington

“Keep supporting Jazz. Its a great art form that should never be forgotten.” These are a few words from Terri, letting us know how much her passion is for Jazz; it still rises in her. Terri Lynne Carrington, a 2011 Grammy award winner for her CD, The Mosaic Project, has …

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Helen Sung

A Journey into Jazz with Helen Sung – Part I

  “I don’t consider myself to be the bravest person….I went through some pretty embarrassing moments, falling on my face and making mistakes. But there’s something about the music. Like I said before, it’s so alive.” – Helen Sung Helen Sung is a pianistic virtuoso whose musical beginnings have allowed …

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Helen Sung

A Journey into Jazz with Helen Sung – Part II

  “To me, jazz is still taught from the master to the apprentice. It’s not just communicating technical information or knowing theory or knowing which scales to play on which chords. To me, jazz encompasses life, too. It’s a world view. It’s an attitude.” – Helen Sung Women of jazz …

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Nona Hendryx

Nona Hendryx…An Undying Voice in the Music Pt. I

  Nona Hendryx…best known for her days with LaBelle and the Bluebelles and eventually with LaBelle has continued on her diverse journey in music and the arts. Her solo career yielded a Grammy Nomination for her album “The Heat,” which was released in 1985. Her biggest commercial success came in …

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Nona Hendryx

Nona Hendryx…An Undying Voice in the Music Pt. II

  The story behind writing her children’s book, The Brownies, Hendryx explains, is, “I was inspired by my nieces and nephews. I was looking for Christmas presents. I wanted them to learn about themselves and their culture. I wanted them to learn rather than play with toys. I would go …

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Roy Ayers

Rarified Ayers: Politics, Activism and Sunshine – Part I

Leonard Feather, the author of the encyclopedia of jazz, spoke to me and he said the first real American he ever met was Louis Armstrong. – Roy Ayers Growing up in Los Angeles, Roy Ayers marveled at the sounds of jazz masters Lionel Hampton, Billie Holliday, and Louis Armstrong. Today, …

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Rarified Ayers: Politics, Activism and Sunshine – Part II

Many of the guys that influenced me have faded away. Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, and John Coltrane; these are some of the great musicians that have been on this planet…. They never said a lot verbally, but they said a lot musically. – Roy Ayers Without question, Roy Ayers continues …

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