Interviews

Al Hood is one of the world’s foremost experts on Clifford Brown. He was a researcher for Nick Catalano’s biography “Clifford Brown: The Life and Art of the Legendary Jazz Trumpeter” (Oxford), and is presently writing his own book on Brown’s music and legacy. Along with fellow trumpeters Brad Goode, Terell Stafford and Greg Gisbert, he will present the first annual Clifford Brown Jazz Trumpet Consortium in Wilmington, Delaware from June 15-18, 2015. Thomas Cunniffe spoke with Hood about Brown and the upcoming event.

Clare Fischer has been an influential jazz arranger for over 50 years. Now his son Brent is helping him preserve his legacy for the ages. Brent talks to Marissa Dodge about this labor of love, involving recording, archiving, and tag-team arranging his father’s music.

In 1958, the Dave Brubeck Quartet made a historic four-month tour of Europe and the Middle East for the US State Department. The tour was the subject of a PBS documentary, and the latest album by Brubeck’s sons Chris and Dan. Thomas Cunniffe chatted with Chris about the tour and his father’s legacy.

Saxophonist James Carter has been part of the New York jazz scene for over 20 years. His imaginative, risk-taking style has brought both fans and detractors, but the energetic spirit of his playing has brought some of those detractors over to his side. Carter discusses that and tells about the creation and recording of a new saxophone concerto with Jazz History Online’s Marissa Dodge.

Laurie Antonioli is the very definition of a jazz singer. As director of one of the Jazzschool Institute, Antonioli continues to expand the possibilities of jazz singing. In this exclusive interview, Antonioli talks with Jazz History Online’s Ellen Johnson about her influences and goals.

In the spring of 2010, vocal jazz fans were treated to a pair of amazing recordings: Vocabularies by Bobby McFerrin (arranged by Roger Treece) and The Music of Maria Schneider by Kerry Marsh and Julia Dollison. Marsh and Dollison are better known in educational circles than to the jazz public, but their recordings continue to astound listeners. In this exclusive Jazz History Online interview, Thomas Cunniffe talks to Marsh and Dollison about the Schneider album, their quartet Vertical Voices and the future of vocal jazz.

Theo Bleckmann is one of the most innovative jazz vocalists on the current scene. He has explored a wide range of music from Charles Ives to Kate Bush. In this exclusive interview with Jazz History Online’s Ellen Johnson, Bleckmann discusses his many collaborations and his use of electronics.