Interviews

It can be quite risky admitting to a well-known musician that you’ve never heard of them. One, that revelation could be result in a tongue lashing by the artist. Two, the interview could come to an abrupt end, and three, my music journalistic credentials could be damaged all in the …

Steve Cole, the jazz artist, returns to his roots as a classically trained musician on his latest release Moonlight. “I started off as a classical musician. I love the sound of the orchestra, and some of the great relationships between arrangers and artists,” said Cole. Moonlight is a seamless combination …

Because it’s not about anything but individual choices and individual feelings of being together and experiencing something together and sharing love, which is incredible. – Anat Cohen [The following is an edited version of a longer conversation] With a refreshing effervescence, Anat Cohen continues to explore the boundaries of her …

  And now I think the scene is as good as it has ever been. As far as musicians, we have a lot of great musicians; musicians have come here from other places. I am very proud of the musicians here in this city. – Willie Pickens [The following is …

  To Jill Scott, artistry equals defiance. For her May taping of VH1 Storytellers, rather than using the sing-a-song-then-tell-the-back story-repeat 10x format that’s been in place for 17 seasons, she, as the show’s executive producer Bill Flannigan told the audience, did “something never done before.” The Grammy winning singer/poet turned …

  iRJ: In your bio it mentions “you dodged early pressures to become a prodigy”. How so? GC: I mean, I think the word prodigy is a silly word. I think I dodged early pressures to put myself out there as an artist. There were a few occasions where people …

  We have all at one time or the other heard the cliché “home is where the heart is”. The commonly used phrase as poignant as it is trite is a genius assertion because it invites us to search our heart to find our “home” and its open ended nature demands …

  If you are a fan of the late Luther Vandross, then chances are you are familiar with the singing voice of Chicago native Paulette McWilliams. You’ve heard her singing many times because she was Luther’s back up singer for over 20 years. The famous laugh on “Having a Party” …

  From residential and commercial interior design consultant of a private firm to Season 7’s “Design Star” winner to host of her own HGTV hit television series “Shop This Room” – Danielle Colding continues her rise to the top Self-professed interior designer, lover of fashion, collector of all things beautiful, …

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 …

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, …

  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 …