Interviews

Talk to any Atlantan of a certain age and they inevitably wax nostalgic about the mid-to-late 1990s – with good reason.  The city was simmering with soulful possibilities, creative verve overflowed and iconoclasts seemed to dwell on every block.   Jason Orr tapped into this energy and created the preeminent showcase …

In the beginning there was jazz. A deviation from the conservative pathway of European musical tropes, jazz was America’s original counterculture. Largely defined by the ingenuity of its artist, it found structure in a lack thereof, improvisation its blueprint. With such an inherent flexibility, jazz engaged many a strange bedfellow, …

Joe Locke is an award-winning vibraphone player who has played with a Who’s Who of jazz legends both past and contemporary, including Dizzy Gillespie, Pepper Adams, Mongo Santamaria, Grover Washington Jr., Dianne Reeves, Ron Carter, Randy Brecker, and many more. His varied tastes have also led him to sessions or …

Ashley Khan is a journalist, music historian, producer, and adjunct professor at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. In addition to contributions to the New York Times, Rolling Stone, Down Beat, Jazz Times, and Mojo, Khan has authored Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece …

Wallace Roney is a Philadelphia born trumpeter who is an in demand player who has had lots of ups and downs in his career. Although showing promise early on, his professional career didn’t really take off until he was almost 30-years old. Miles Davis has always been Wallace Roney’s most …

Robert Hurst has been one of the most in-demand bass players in Jazz for the past quarter century. And he has done extensive stints in the bands of Wynton Marsalis, Tony Williams, Branford Marsalis, Charles Lloyd, Chris Botti, and Diana Krall. Hurst also is an Associate Professor of Music at …

In 1977, a group of talented musicians were assembled to record Robben Ford’s album. There was a certain chemistry, and musical affinity, between keyboardist Russell Farrante, bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Ricky Lawson. While Ford’s record label wanted to record more pop and vocal-oriented albums; the group, known as Robben …

Jazz was the first music Randy Brecker heard in his home, and says “bebop is at the root of everything.” While growing up in Philadelphia, he was exposed to a plethora of musical styles. Brecker relocated to New York in 1966, during what he calls “an exciting time!” He was …

iRock Jazz writer, Willow Neilson, speaks with New Orleans pianist and vocalist Henry Butler, an accomplished musician as well as a celebrated photographer not having “sight.” Butler is lauded as one of the greatest living proponents of classic New Orleans piano styles. However, our conversation with him reveals his unique …

Kenny Garrett photo by Keith Major Kenny Garrett has been a prominent voice on the alto saxophone for over 30 years. He has developed his own musical identity through experiences such as: performing with the Duke Ellington Orchestra; Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers and Miles Davis. His latest album, …

Billy Hart, photo by Louis Byrd III Billy Hart is one of the wise elders of Jazz, or Modern American Classical music, as is his preferred title. He has not only performed and recorded with some of the great figures of the music, such as Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis. …

Hailing from Oakland, California, 25-year old Mara Hruby captured our hearts in 2010 with her EP release titled From Her Eyes. Her vintage style and soulful sounds soon became an internet firestorm as she captivated hearts all over the world. She paid tribute to those before her in her smash …