I was recently interviewed by JazzDIY, a soon-to-be-launched online trade journal for the 21st century jazz musician. You can follow them on Twitter at @JazzDIY and bookmark their site at JazzDIY.com. Actually, I should say “our” site, because right after this interview I agreed to serve as a contributing editor for JazzDIY. We launch on Oct. 17. To tide you over until then, here’s some bonus footage from my five-part video interview.

It’s over. Four days of solid music with many outstanding performances. Last night, the Undead Jazz Fest was in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which gave me a lovely excuse to ride from my home in Sunset Park to Williamsburg via the NYC Greenway’s Brooklyn Waterfront section.

I saw a lot of great music last night. And for the three nights before that. One thing I found myself thinking (and then tweeting) was this: “Jazzers: Smile. Talk to the audience. Acknowledge applause after songs. You don’t have to ham it up. Just let us know you know we’re there.”

I didn’t make it through the whole night last night. I discovered partway through that I was jazzed out. Here’s what I captured in photos and tweets.

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 4 – June 26, 2011

“Nice bike ride from Sunset Park to #undeadjazz in W’Burg, where Bizingas is making it happen”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 4 – June 26, 2011

“Kirk Knuffke wailing his ass off with Bizingas”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 4 – June 26, 2011

“Ches Smith and his ‘stache laying down some Levon Helm swamp funk on Brian Drye’s tune ‘Puffer’”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 4 – June 26, 2011

“Marika Hues is grooving to a packed and happy house at Cubano Social. And yes, that’s Peter Lorre.”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 4 – June 26, 2011

“Marika Hughes playing sparkling version of ‘No Dancing’ by Don Pullen/George Adams band”
“Marika Hughes playing a love song for Gil Scott-Heron (her biggest influence) and New York City.”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 4 – June 26, 2011

“The stage at Cameo. We’re either about to see Jon Irabagon … or Yes in 1973.”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 4 – June 26, 2011

“Jon Irabagon and Mike Pride at #undeadjazz”
“This club (Cameo) is lit like one of Peter Gabriel’s nightmares.”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 4 – June 26, 2011

“Classic Claudia: Moran, Gress, Hollenbeck, Speed, Reichman”
“The Claudia Quintet has a very interesting timbral blend. It’s sometimes challenging to know who’s playing which notes.”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 4 – June 26, 2011

“The Claudia Quintet is a very serious-looking band.”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 4 – June 26, 2011

“Hollenbeck is a mountain of intricate sound. That metaphor doesn’t really work, but you get the idea.”
“Hollenbeck really is a monster drummer.”
“Ok, this ‘Be Happy’ tune must be ironically titled. Kick-ass tune, but nothing about it says ‘happy.’”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 4 – June 26, 2011

“Just chatted with Oliver Lake. Now checking out Bobby Previte’s band with Darius Jones.”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 4 – June 26, 2011

“I was thinking about going home — feeling a bit jazzed out — but Previtte just pulled me back in.”

I got home from Day 2 at about 2 a.m. on June 25, and at 9 p.m. the same day I was back for more music, still in Brooklyn, but this time even closer to my house. I like this trend and would recommend that all future jazz festivals occur in Sunset Park.

Here’s my recap of the evening in photos and tweets. (You can follow my live tweets from the festival — and on other days, too — at http://twitter.com/jasondcrane and http://twitter.com/jazzsesh. This is a selection of the photos I took. The full album is here. And by the way, if you’re enjoying these recaps, The Jazz Session could use your help.

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 3 – June 25, 2011

“Sylvie Courvoisier and Mark Feldman: post-apocalyptic chamber music.”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 3 – June 25, 2011

“Matt Wilson’s drums, pre-magic”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 3 – June 25, 2011

“@mattwilsonjazz delivers his promised ‘erotic press rolls’”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 3 – June 25, 2011

“Skate park love with @mattwilsonjazz”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 3 – June 25, 2011

“Devotion”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 3 – June 25, 2011

“Matt Wilson is easily one of the deepest, most soulful musicians I’ve ever heard.”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 3 – June 25, 2011

“Darius Jones bringing the cosmic soul to Littlefield”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 3 – June 25, 2011

“Darius Jones Trio now sounding like the vanguard of the armies of Mordor”
“Adam Lane is a badass.”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 3 – June 25, 2011

“This is like the soundtrack to Shaft Vs. Cthulu”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 3 – June 25, 2011

“Darius just dedicated this tune to ‘Billy.’ Holiday? Hart? Drummond? Bragg? (I’m kinda hoping for the last one.)”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 3 – June 25, 2011

“Elliot Sharp performing … or leading a meditation retreat.”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 3 – June 25, 2011

“Dean Bowman giving a solo gospel clinic in a darkened skate park. A sentence I never thought I’d type.”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 3 – June 25, 2011

“Dean Bowman now whistling more than one pitch at a time. Throat whistling?”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 3 – June 25, 2011

“30 seconds in and I already love this bouncing, joyful performance by Anthony Coleman”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 3 – June 25, 2011

“Satoshi Takeshi looks like he’s playing his drums in zero gravity”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 3 – June 25, 2011

“If Monk had written tunes while falling down a spiral staircase, they’d sound like Anthony Coleman’s music. Really digging it.”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 3 – June 25, 2011

“Electro-acoustic happy trance music from Mountains. Nice. Way too loud.”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 3 – June 25, 2011

“David S Ware starting with a declamatory sopranino call. Darius Jones listens from a few feet away.”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 3 – June 25, 2011

“The #UndeadJazz Fest: For Anyone Who’s Ever Wanted To See David S Ware Play Solo In A Skate Park By Candlelight.”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 3 – June 25, 2011

“You got your jazz in my dub! You got your dub in my jazz! Jamie Saft at Littlefield”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 3 – June 25, 2011

“RT @darylshawn Wasn’t expecting to see Larry Grenadier tonight (w/Jamie Saft and his beard) #undeadjazz / Me either. He sounds great.”
“On second thought, it’s not that surprising to see Larry Grenadier playing dub music. After all, he lives in Kingston.”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 3 – June 25, 2011

“Never heard – or heard of – drummer Craig Santiago. He’s the bomb. Dub drumming ain’t easy, but he makes it sound that way.”

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 3 – June 25, 2011

“Jeff Lederer now joining Jamie Saft’s New Zion Trio. Saft: ‘It’s in E-flat.’ Lederer: ‘Let’s do it.’”

This post is dated June 25, which is accurate because the show didn’t start until after midnight. But it was worth the wait. The format was a round robin. Dean Bowman sang solo, then was joined by Charlie Burnham. Then Dean left and Erik Friendlander played with Charlie. Then Charlie left … you get the idea. Here is one photo from each combination, in the order in which they appeared.

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 2 – June 25, 2011

Invocation: Dean Bowman, solo

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 2 – June 25, 2011

Charlie Burnham and Dean Bowman

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 2 – June 25, 2011

Erik Friedlander and Charlie Burnham

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 2 – June 25, 2011

Erik Friedlander and Elliot Sharp

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 2 – June 25, 2011

Chris Lightcap and Elliot Sharp

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 2 – June 25, 2011

Chris Lightcap and Brian Chase

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 2 – June 25, 2011

Brian Chase and Darius Jones

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 2 – June 25, 2011

Darius Jones and Jamie Saft

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 2 – June 25, 2011

Kirk Knuffke and Jamie Saft (I couldn’t fit them both in the shot because of where I was sitting.)

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 2 – June 25, 2011

Kirk Knuffke and Chris Speed

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 2 – June 25, 2011

Jim Black and Chris Speed

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 2 – June 25, 2011

Jim Black and Dave King

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 2 – June 25, 2011

Dave King and Marco Cappelli

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 2 – June 25, 2011

Chris Dingman and Marco Capelli

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 2 – June 25, 2011

Chris Dingman and Eivind Opsvik

From Undead Jazz Fest – Day 2 – June 25, 2011

Eivind Opsvik solo — The End!

Wow. Just … wow. Within the last few minutes, The Jazz Session hit one million downloads.

I’m just blown away. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

And if you’d like to keep the show going for another million downloads, please become a member.

Several artists who’ve appeared on The Jazz Session were nominated for Grammy awards this year. Congratulations to all the nominees.

Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group

• Vijay Iyer for Historicity (Listen to the interview)
• Danilo Perez for Providencia (Listen to the interview)

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album

• Darcy James Argue for Infernal Machines (Listen to the interview)

Best Latin Jazz Album

• Wayne Wallace for ¡BIEN BIEN! (Listen to the interview)

A complete list of Grammy nominees is available at Grammy.com.

The Jazz Session is launching a new membership campaign — “100 By 300″ — with the goal of reaching 100 members by the 300th show. For the cost of a couple cups of (admittedly expensive) coffee each month, you can keep The Jazz Session going for years to come. Visit the Join page and become a member for as little as $10 a month or $110 a year. Thank you for your support! And thanks especially to the people who have already joined.

I went with my sister to see Yosvany Terry’s band at The Jazz Gallery in Manhattan tonight. We both loved it. Here are the photos I took:

I attended the book signing in manhattan last nite (9/14) for the new book Saxophone Colossus: A Portrait of Sonny Rollins beautiful, great photos by john abbot, text by bob blumenthal.

i got a chance to ask sonny at the signing if there was a chance that he & ornette might arrange to perform together. sonny’s reply–”we’re looking into it “.
jazz gossip scoop of the year?

Thanks, Keith!

Let me say right off that this isn’t really a review. More of an impression of a very special episode of Sonny Rollins in concert. Also, I didn’t take any notes, so I can remember what I remember and that’s it. Caveat, uh, you. (UPDATE: See the comments section for song titles provided by an audience member with a much better memory.) (UPDATE 2: Peter Hum posted an article that includes the full set list. http://communities.canada.com/ottawacitizen/blogs/jazzblog/archive/2010/09/11/sonny-and-ornette-together-for-the-first-time.aspx)

The Beacon is a gorgeous venue. The sound was excellent and the ornate decorations lent the evening the feel of a big-city gala. I think that atmosphere was also helped by the fact that this was a big-city gala. The place was stuffed with famous jazz and arts folks. I sat between jazz writer Larry Blumenfeld and poet Steve Dalachinsky. Behind me was multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Batiste (of the New Orleans Batistes) and up several rows in front was saxophonist Jimmy Heath. Steve Dalachinsky and I both thought we saw the poet Yusef Komunyakaa, but we weren’t 100% sure. Anyway, the list goes on.

Sonny opened the show with the night’s “core” band: Russell Malone on guitar, Bob Cranshaw on bass, Kobie Watkins on drums (hear him on TJS #132) and Sammy Figueroa on congas. They played two tunes, the second of which was “Global Warming,” one of my favorite of Sonny’s calypso tunes. Then the parade of special guests began.

First up was trumpeter Roy Hargrove, looking modern and dapper in a tight black suit, fedora, white shirt, narrow black tie and big sneakers. Roy opened up with “I Can’t Get Started” on flugelhorn and then he and Sonny played a second tune together (no, I can’t remember which tune) that featured a lot of trading fours. In fact, probably too much trading fours. At one point Roy just started playing the head and they went out. All very good-natured and fun to watch.

The next guest was guitarist Jim Hall, with whom Sonny recorded some of his seminal albums when, as Sonny said in his introduction, “I was a very young boy.” Hall seemed fairly tentative on the guitar, even for someone famous for often understated playing. Sonny started an unaccompanied version of “In A Sentimental Mood” and Hall began to play along, quickly realizing that he and Sonny were nowhere near in tune. So Sonny added a repetitive tuning note to his solo, Hall tuned his guitar, the crowd laughed, and Hall picked up where Sonny left off, finishing with his own unaccompanied take on “In A Sentimental Mood.” There was also a second tune (nope, can’t remember it).

Following Hall’s set, the entire band left the stage, leaving Sonny there alone. He brought out bassist Christian McBride and someone he said “showed up unannounced” – drummer Roy Haynes. Can I just say that Roy Haynes is easily the baddest human being alive? He looked better than anybody in the Beacon – dressed to kill, walking cool, shades, a shiny suit and a great smile to the audience. The trio played a ballad that featured a typically high-energy solo from Roy. Then they went into a medium-tempo blues (a famous one, too, but I still can’t recall what it was). This dragged on a bit too long, and Sonny walked up to the mic while the rhythm section was playing and said, “I’ve been told there’s someone here who wants to say ‘happy birthday’ to me, and he’s got a horn. I wish he would come out right now.” Sonny kept soloing while all three musicians looked offstage, waiting.

Then Ornette Coleman walked out on stage. The place went, if I may use a technical term, batshit crazy. Everybody on their feet, yelling, screaming. Ornette soloed, then he and Sonny traded, which pushed Sonny into a more free place than at any other time during the show. It was wonderful. At that point, the band was Sonny Rollins, Ornette Coleman, Roy Haynes and Christian McBride. More than 240 years living up there on stage.

Everybody but Ornette came out for a rousing version of “St. Thomas” featuring strong solos and interplay between Sonny and Roy Hargrove. The fifth standing ovation and it was over.

I felt very, very lucky to be there.

Sonny Rollins turns 80 today. Sonny has been on The Jazz Session twice:

• Election Day 2008: http://thejazzsession.com/2008/11/04/the-jazz-session-49-sonny-rollins/
• April 2010: http://thejazzsession.com/2010/04/26/the-jazz-session-163-sonny-rollins/

Sonny will be at the Beacon Theatre in New York this Friday for a special 80th birthday concert with Jim Hall, Roy Hargrove, Christian McBride and more. More information at www.sonnyrollins.com. I’ll be there!

Organist Gene Ludwig passed away on July 14, 2010. I didn’t know him well, but he was a guest on The Jazz Session in August, 2009, and we spoke several times in person and by phone and email. Gene and his wife Pattye were extremely kind to me and to everyone with whom I saw them interact, particularly during Gene’s performance last year in Schenectady, NY. My thoughts are with Pattye and with their families at this time.

Gene’s Schenectady gig inspired a poem that appears in my book, Unexpected Sunlight. You can read the poem at jasoncrane.org.

The Jazz Session just hit 600,000 downloads! Thanks for all your support. If you’d like to help keep the show going, please consider donating using the button on the left side of this site.

Coming up on The Jazz Session over the next couple months: Jason Parker, Chris Kelsey, Harris Eisenstadt, Erik Deutsch, Chad Taylor, John Hollenbeck, Roger Kellaway, Sam Sadigursky, Brandon Seabrook, Lionel Loueke, Dave Rempis & Frank Rosaly, Frank Kimbrough, John Ellis, Orrin Evans, Joe Locke, Tyshawn Sorey, Fred Ho, …Erik Telford, Stanton Moore, Matt Lavelle … and more!

Crazy, right?

Many thanks to Chris Rich of the blog Brilliant Corners for including The Jazz Session right at the top of his site.

If you’re not familiar with Chris, you should be. He blogs frequently and fearlessly about jazz as an art form and as a business, and I always find his take on the music refreshing and original. Chris also goes out of his way to build a community of jazz fans, musicians and writers, and that’s important work.

Back in November, Chris asked me to participate in his occasional profile series. Here are the results.

So thanks, Chris. The jazz world is better with you in it.

UPDATE: This short post prompted some nasty comments, which is too bad. But it also prompted an interesting post from Chris Rich, which is good.

Congratulations to all the folks who won Grammy awards during the afternoon ceremony today, including the following former guests on The Jazz Session:

• Best Jazz Vocal Album: Kurt Elling, Dedicated To You (Listen to my interview with Kurt Elling)
• Best Improvised Jazz Solo: Terence Blanchard on “Dancin’ 4 Chicken” from the album Watts by Jeff “Tain” Watts (Listen to my interview with Terence Blanchard / Listen to my interview with Jeff “Tain” Watts)

Here’s the rest of the list of the awards given out thus far in the jazz category.

These lists are always a bit ridiculous to compile, given the near impossibility of rating art and the sheer number of CDs released each year. That said, I compiled the list below for the 2009 Village Voice Jazz Critics Poll.

TOP 10
Artist – Album (Label)

1. Fay Victor – The FreeSong Suite (Greene Avenue)
2. Vijay Iyer – Historicity (ACT)
3. Darius Jones – Man’ish Boy (AUM Fidelity)
4. The Fully Celebrated – Drunk On The Blood Of The Holy Ones (AUM Fidelity)
5. The Respect Sextet – Sirius Respect (Mode)
6. Ted Sirota’s Rebel Souls – Seize The Time (Naim)
7. Digital Primitives – Hum Crackle & Pop (Hopscotch)
8. Terence Blanchard – Choices (Concord)
9. Steve Lehman – Travail, Transformation & Flow (Pi Recordings)
10. Kat Edmonson – Take To The Sky (Convivium)

TOP 3 REISSUES

1. Art Pepper – The Art History Project (Widow’s Taste)
2. Tony Bennett & Bill Evans – The Complete Tony Bennett & Bill Evans Recordings on Fantasy (Concord)
3. — not voting for a 3rd —

BEST VOCAL ALBUM

Fay Victor – The FreeSong Suite (Greene Avenue)

BEST DEBUT CD

Darius Jones – Man’ish Boy (AUM Fidelity)

BEST LATIN JAZZ CD

– not voting —

You may remember that last year I recorded several interviews at the Tanglewood Jazz Festival in my hometown of Lenox, MA: Eddie Daniels, Jo Lawry and Spencer Day. This year I’m going back in a much bigger way. Here’s the press release that the Tanglewood Jazz Festival organizers put out today:

Tanglewood Jazz Festival and The Jazz Session Partner

For the first time, the Tanglewood Jazz Festival welcomes Jason Crane and The Jazz Session to the Jazz Shop Tent where Jason will conduct live interviews with artists, ticket holders and others that will be taped for broadcast on his popular interview program (thejazzsession.com).

What’s more, The Jazz Session just announced a new partnership with Allabout jazz.com that will feature the broadcasts on its home page. Allaboutjazz.com is the leading and longest running jazz music website, attracting both enthusiasts and industry professionals while reaching nearly one million unique visitors per month.

“Jason Crane and I have worked together for several years and closely aligning our two properties makes perfect sense as we move forward,” said Allaboutjazz founder and publisher, Michael Ricci. “AAJ already publishes weekly interviews and including The Jazz Session on our roster will raise the entertainment value at the website and further add to our already impressive coverage of jazz.”

Crane said “on The Jazz Session, we focus on the music and the stories behind the music and we let the musicians do most of the talking.” Crane has taped interviews for later broadcast at the Tanglewood Jazz Festival in the past, but this is the first time he will have a dedicated spot in the Jazz Shop Tent and the public is invited to listen in.

“I’m thrilled to be returning to the Tanglewood Jazz Festival,” said Crane. “This is a top-notch festival in one of the most beautiful settings on the East Coast. It’s a very intimate festival, too, which is perfect for getting to know — and interact with — the artists.”

The Jazz Shop Tent is located near the Hawthorne Tent where the Jazz Café artists perform. Jason will be there throughout the day conducting interviews and there will be a small seating area for people to observe.

“I’m really looking forward to having The Jazz Session with us throughout the weekend,” said Dawn Singh, Senior Project Coordinator of the jazz festival. “Jason is a real professional, he’s great to work with, has enormous expertise and is well regarded by the musicians. It’s an excellent partnership all the way around.”

The Tanglewood Jazz Festival kicks off on Friday, September 4, at 6:30 with alto saxophonist, Benny Reid, followed at 8:00 by “An Evening with Paquito d’Rivera.” For more info, go to tanglewoodjazzfestival.org.

For tickets and information, visit the Tanglewood Web site. And here’s the link to my coverage of last year’s festival.

I’m thrilled to announce the launch of a new partnership with All About Jazz, the world’s most visited jazz Web site. AAJ founder Michael Ricci and I have been working together for several years now, with AAJ hosting transcriptions of the interviews that appear on The Jazz Session.

Now we’ve decided to combine forces. That means The Jazz Session will be featured on the home page at allaboutjazz.com. We’ll also be working together to visit festivals on behalf the new TJS/AAJ partnership, starting this summer with the Tanglewood Jazz Festival and others. The idea is to conduct interviews right in front of the crowds who come to see the artists. Then we’ll bring these interviews to you after the festivals.

We’re also launching a widget for The Jazz Session that will allow you to display the latest episode right on your blog or Web site. I’ll be mentioning the blogs and sites that do this on episodes of the show, and also linking to them from this site. So if you decide to link to The Jazz Session, please let me know at jason@thejazzsession.com.

For more information on the new partnership, and for instructions on adding the widget to your site, please read the press release.

The Jazz Session hits 200,000 downloads

On the very same day that The Jazz Session announced its new partnership with All About Jazz, the show hit 200,000 downloads. I’m so proud of the show and grateful to all of you for supporting it. This is a true labor of love for me, and I hope it shows in the interviews.

On the very same day that The Jazz Session announced its new partnership with All About Jazz, the show hit 200,000 downloads. I’m so proud of the show and grateful to all of you for supporting it. This is a true labor of love for me, and I hope it shows in the interviews.

And trust me — this is just the beginning. TJS and AAJ have big plans for the future, so stay tuned and tell a friend.

Thanks again for making The Jazz Session a success!

I was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, as were my mother and grandfather and many of my other relatives. I call Lenox, MA, home, but Pittsfield is close to my heart, too. That’s why I was happy to see this story in the Berkshire Eagle:

Fostering city jazz
By Benning W. De La Mater, Berkshire Eagle Staff
Friday, May 15

PITTSFIELD — The local jazz scene just got a boost from its friends.

The people behind the Pittsfield City Jazz Festival have formed a new, nonprofit organization with the goal of growing jazz education and offering more live jazz performances.

Berkshires Jazz, Inc., will kick off its founding on July 2 with a concert at the First United Methodist Church featuring the American Jazz Repertory Orchestra.

Edward Bride, president of the organization, said the goal is to give birth to a new generation of jazz fans.

“Jazz is America’s only indigenous art form, and we don’t want it to disappear,” he said. “It allows for freedom of expression, group thinking and collaboration. It gives students a foundation of music that appreciates improvisation.”

You can read the rest of the article at the Berkshire Eagle site.

I recorded my interview with Barbara Dennerlein at last year’s Pittsfield CityJazz Festival. This year the festival features guitarist Frank Vignola and some pianist named Brubeck*. With any luck, they’ll be on future episodes of The Jazz Session. Congrats to the folks at Berkshires Jazz in Pittsfield for supporting this great music!

*Yes, I know who Dave Brubeck is.

Saxophonist and clarinetist Art Pepper is one of my musical heroes. In 2007, I interviewed Art’s widow, Laurie, about his life and music. Laurie recently sent along this clip of some previously unreleased music by Art, part of her ongoing series of music from the Pepper vaults.

Download the whole tune (free!) at artpepper.net. Tune is previously unreleased track from forthcoming album. Recorded in 1964. Clips are from “Straight Life: The Stories of Art Pepper” a (work in progress) movie based on the book, “Straight Life” by Art & Laurie Pepper. Most of the photography & all effects by Laurie Pepper. The actors: James Intveld, Art; Lisa Joffrey, Diane; Tracy Middendorf, Laurie. The musicians: Art Pepper, alto sax; Frank Strazzeri, piano; Hersh Hamel, bass; Bill Goodwin, drums.

You can listen to my 2007 interview with Laurie Pepper on The Jazz Session #34.

Adam Niewood posted this on Facebook today:

We are all deeply saddened by the loss of Gerry Niewood, Coleman Mellett, all the passengers and crew on flight 3407, and the poor innocent man who died in his own home. It is tragic and surreal.

The outpouring of phone calls, emails, text-messages etc is truly overwhelming. All I can say is, it’s too bad Gerry isn’t around to witness the impact he made on all of you.

I plan on getting back to all of you personally – but please understand the need to hunker-down with my family. I’m sure you all understand… There were over 1000 emails yesterday – the phone rings every minute. The voice-mail boxes full. …overwhelming.

That said – Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, funny stories/anecdotes… etc. None of it goes overlooked or unappreciated.

I do not want anyone to feel badly or second guess reaching out – if you haven’t heard back – It’s simply b/c I’m trying to deal with the list of wierd things… For example – trying to get my father’s car out of the Airport parking without a claim ticket..? No one thinks they will have to drive through 2 parking lots full of at least 4000 cars looking for their Dad’s car…

This is all so hard to process – lots of pieces to pick up.

The memorial service is being planned (in addition a separate performance with music) – although nothing finalized as yet. News will go out as soon as we know more.

Thank you all for your support.

Sincerely on behalf of the whole Niewood family…

- Your friend, Adam…

Many readers have left moving personal stories about Gerry Niewood in the comments section of my previous post. I encourage you to read them and learn more about this wonderful musician and human being.

Gap Mangione passed along this video featuring Chuck Mangione, Gerry Niewood, Chip Jackson and Joe Labarbera in the mid-70s in Monterey, CA. My thanks and sincere condolences go out to Gap and the Mangione family.

Saxophonist and flutist Gerry Niewood died in the plane crash in Buffalo last night. He was a wonderful player whose saxophone was heard most famously with Chuck Mangione and on the Concert In Central Park album by Simon & Garfunkel.

Niewood was one of the first horn players I ever knew by name because Paul Simon yells out his name after a solo on that live album. I’ve always been a huge Chuck Mangione fan, too, and own all the LPs that Chuck and Gerry made together, many of them recorded in their native Rochester.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Gerry Niewood in 2004 at Jazz90.1. He was very gracious, humble and funny. I interviewed his son Adam in the fall of last year. He’s also a very talented saxophonist, and he talked quite a bit about Gerry during the interview.

LISTEN to the interview with Adam Niewood. He starts talking about his dad halfway through.

My condolences go out to Adam and the entire Niewood family. What a sad, sad day.

UPDATE: Here are some of the many press stories about Gerry’s passing:

• Buffalo crash silences saxophonist Gerry Niewood
• Two Jazz Musicians On Board
• Buffalo crash silences Gerry Niewood, Rochester native and saxophonist (From the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)
• Gerry Niewood, Glen Ridge Jazz Musician, Perishes In Plane Crash

Multi-instrumentalist David “Fathead” Newman died on Tuesday. He was a charter member of Ray Charles’s band and forever associated with Charles. I interviewed David on the day Ray Charles died, and it was a very emotional experience. Now Fathead is gone, too. He was a musician’s musician, and by all accounts and my own experience, a first-rate human being.

Here’s a link to an obituary.

Blogger David Hill has posted a very nice review of The Jazz Session on his blog, Hot House. Thanks, David!

Congratulations to Kate McGarry, whose new CD, If Less Is More … Nothing Is Everything (Palmetto, 2008) was nominated for a Grammy. Listen to Kate talk about the album on The Jazz Session #51: Kate McGarry. Kate was also on the show in 2007: The Jazz Session #33: Kate McGarry.

Saxophonist Joe Romano passed away last week. Greg Bell of Jazz@Rochester has a remembrance. Be sure to read the comments below the post from drummer Mike Melito, guitarist Bob Sneider and others.

Joe Romano with trumpeter Chuck Mangione

Rochester’s newspaper, The Democrat and Chronicle, also ran a story remembering Joe.

Hi friends,

One of the beautiful things about having an online show is that I’m not bound by the restrictions that accompanied the radio version of my show. And so, I’m going to use this forum just this once to ask you to help get out the vote for Barack Obama. THERE IS STILL TIME for you to make a difference.

The easiest thing to do is to make calls from your own home. To get started, visit the Obama training page.

You can watch some short training videos there, or just click the GET STARTED link to start making calls. You’ll get a simple script that’s very easy to use. I just made 40 calls to supporters in the Philadelphia area to give them their polling locations and to remind them to vote.

Most of you know my politics, and you know that I’m a progressive. I don’t think Barack Obama is the perfect candidate. But I DO think he’s the far better choice — not simply the lesser of two evils, but actually someone I can support with enthusiasm and a clear conscience. And given that the next president is likely to appoint as many as three Supreme Court justices, we can’t afford to be complacent.

So please, take 30 minutes or an hour TODAY and make some calls for the Obama campaign.

And then CELEBRATE ON ELECTION DAY by listening to my interview with saxophone legend SONNY ROLLINS. I’ll be talking with Sonny at 5 p.m. on Election Day, and I’ll post the show that same evening.

That’s right: OBAMA/ROLLINS in ’08! (The Obama/Rollins logo is courtesy of my good friend Jeff Vrabel.)

Make some calls, enjoy some jazz, and take back our country!

Thank you very much.

Peace and love,

Jason

p.s. — If you need a little boost of inspiration, here it is:

Today is saxophonist Joel Frahm’s birthday. Happy birthday, Joel!

Let’s all celebrate by checking out Joel’s appearance on The Jazz Session, recorded in August 2007 when Joel released his CD We Used To Dance.

LISTEN TO THE SHOW

And here they are playing trombonist James Hirschfeld’s “Fitty Billion” at the same gig:

Please check out their music (and buy some CDs) at respectsextet.com. Thanks!

Lee Ingalls writes the jazz blog The New Low Down. Lee had this to say about The Jazz Session this week:

This is long overdue, but I feel the need to plug The Jazz Session, a fine jazz blog with a great jazz podcast to boot. If I were ever to do a jazz podcast, I’d hope it could be half as good as the podcast that host Jason Crane does every week. Crane brings both knowledge and a genuine enthusiasm to the proceedings and generally keeps the conversation from degrading into arcane shop talk for experts. I’m still working my way through the archives, but recent interviews with Aaron Parks and Eddie Daniels have both been a treat.

Better git it in your feed reader.

Thanks, Lee!

Poet and jazz fan Hayden Carruth died this week. He wrote a lot about jazz in both poems and prose. Here’s an example, courtesy of George Thomas, host of Jazz In The Evening on Vermont Public Radio:

The Fantastic Names of Jazz

Zoot Sims, Joshua Redman,
Billie Holiday, Pete Fountain,
Fate Marable, Ivie Anderson,
Meade Lux Lewis, Mezz Mezzrow,
Manzie Johnson, Marcus Roberts,
Omer Simeon, Miff Mole, Sister
Rosetta Tharpe, Freddie Slack,
Thelonious Monk, Charlie Teagarden,
Max Roach, Paul Celestin, Muggsy
Spanier, Boomie Richman, Panama
Francis, Abdullah Ibrahim, Piano
Red, Champion Jack Dupree,
Cow Cow Davenport, Shirley Horn,
Cedar Walton, Sweets Edison,
Jaki Byard, John Heard, Joy Harjo,
Pinetop Smith, Tricky Sam
Nanton, Major Holley, Stuff Smith,
Bix Beiderbecke, Bunny Berigan,
Mr. Cleanhead Vinson, Ruby Braff,
Cootie Williams, Cab Calloway,
Lockjaw Davis, Chippie Hill,
And of course Jelly Roll Morton.

From Doctor Jazz (Copper Canyon Press)

Tonight at 9 p.m. ET, George will be featuring a jazz tribute to Hayden Carruth on his show. You can listen online.

As I mentioned, Hayden Carruth wrote quite a bit about jazz. Many of thsoe prose writings (and a poem or two) are collected in his book Sitting In: Selected Writings on Jazz, Blues, and Related Topics. That book is available at Amazon.com:

Congratulations to Doug Ramsey, who is the recipient of the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jazz Journalists Association.

You can hear Doug talk about his life in music on TJS Extra #2. And be sure to check out Rifftides, Doug’s fantastic jazz blog.

Congratulations, Doug!

This was in my inbox this morning from saxophonist Wayne Escoffery (who was a guest on The Jazz Session #7):

My Saxophone is Gone!

Hi all,

I hope you are all well. I unfortunately am not feeling so hot.
On Thursday Sept. 11, 2008 myself (jazz saxophonist Wayne Escoffery) and my wife (singer Carolyn Leonhart) jumped out of a white Lincoln livery cab in mid-town while carrying our two month old son (Vaughn) and accidentally left my saxophone in the trunk. I very much want it back and am offering a big reward. The saxophone is my prime instrument and has been at my side since I moved to NYC in 2000. I play this saxophone with such groups as the Charles Mingus Big Band, The Ben Riley Monk Legacy Septet, Tom Harrell’s Quintet, and my own band, Veneration. I have performed at most of the NYC Jazz venues including Jazz at Lincoln Center and have toured the world with this instrument.

My wife and I were married in 2004 and recently gave birth to our first child, a boy named Vaughn Jalen Escoffery. Like so many couples in NYC these days, we are adjusting to Manhattan life with a newborn. Unfortunately, I have been on tour for most of the 2 months since our son was born. Last week, I returned home for a 3 day break from a tour with trumpeter Tom Harrell. On Thursday, we – in a rush – hailed a white Lincoln gypsy cab in front of our Harlem apartment at 153rd and Saint Nicholas Place, packed our son and my horn to go downtown for some family time while I brought my saxophone in for some quick repairs. Two minutes after exiting the cab in midtown, we realized the unthinkable had happened! We had left my irreplaceable 1951 Super Balanced Action Tenor Saxophone in the trunk of the car–a car that had no company name or any identifying logos. The only details of note were that the car was an older white Lincoln and the driver was female.

Because no two horns are alike, the instrument a musician chooses to use becomes an indispensable part of his or her sound. It is impossible to re-create the horn, especially one that is as old as this particular saxophone. It’s value therefore is not only monetary, but artistic. My #9 NY Otto Link mouthpiece was also in the case.
This is the only instrument I have used for the past 8 years, and I have used the mouthpiece for as long as I can remember. The saxophone and piece are an indispensable part of my sound and now they are gone. But I truly hope and pray they might be returned.

We got the car at 153rd and Saint Nicholas Place and took it to 50th street and 7th ave. at 1pm on Thursday September 11th 2008. We have spent the last three days reaching out to drivers and dispatchers in our neighborhood in the hopes of locating the driver and retrieving the horn, but have had no luck. Please keep a lookout and any help you can offer is much appreciated – and will be rewarded!

Thank You,
Wayne

917-353-7733

wayne.escoffery@verizon.net

I wrote this after meeting Henry:

For Henry Grimes

Henry sits
in a plastic chair on
the balcony,
drinking water and watching
the lake.
Below the surface,
roiling motion.
Outside,
reflected sky.

Henry waits
to be surprised,
never knowing where
this note — here —
will take him.
Sometimes
he doesn’t find his way back
for a long time.

Henry talks
with his hands,
plucking and bowing his message,
going to the ritual and
inviting all to follow.

Henry talks.
Henry waits.
Henry sits.
Henry knows.

Jason Crane
13 September 2008

From Lois Gilbert at JazzCorner.com:

George Cables Healing Fund

As many of you know, George Cables received a liver and kidney transplant in early October 2007. His recovery is going very well, but of course, bills are mounting. We have set up the “George Cables Healing Fund” to help offset some of George’s expenses. The money will go directly to George with no operational costs (except what PayPal takes out) or administrative costs. George will also get a copy of every donation made, and you have an opportunity to write a short note with your donation.

To donate, visit GeorgeCables.com and click on “Healing Fund.”

If you prefer sending a check, please make it payable to:
GEORGE CABLES
c/o JazzCorner.com
245 West 25th St. #2F
New York, NY 10001

You can learn more about George Cables and his relationship with Art Pepper on The Jazz Session #34: Laurie Pepper on Art Pepper