Here are the responses to the survey question, “If you could book one artist for The Jazz Session, who would it be?” These are in the order received, and there are certainly duplicates. If the person has already been a guest on the show, I’ve noted that in bold type with the show number after their name. And for everyone else: I’m workin’ on ‘em!

(Two notes: 1. This post has a “Continue Reading” link partway through. Click on that link for the full list. 2. If you’re reading this at thejazzsession.com, you’ll see an alphabetical list of all the past guests on the left side of the page. Click on any name to hear the interview.)

• Tom Harrell
• Kurt Rosenwinkel
• Pat Metheny
• Miles Davis! Hehe … seriously, though … I can’t think of anyone – and actually appreciate learning abuot new folks rather than just hearing from folks I already know!
• Julian Lage – TJS #94
• Jeremy Davenport
• I’m afraid I’ll say one who has already been done!
• Carla Bley
• John Scofield
• One? In a perfect world, Wayne Shorter. But you do such a great job with artists that deserve more recognition, such as Joe Fonda, Mario Pavone, Vinny Golia, John Hollenbeck, etc
  – Hollenbeck is booked!
  

• Maria Schneider.
• Charlie Haden
• some of the more modern jazz composers for larger groups, i.e. larger than a quartet
• Wayne Shorter!
• kurt rosenwinkel
• Wayne Shorter
• I’ll add two – Cecil Taylor (piano) and George Lewis (trombone)
• Ben Allison
• Ellery Eskelin
• robert glasper (TJS #99), dave holland
• Jeff “Tain” Watts – TJS #12
• I don’t think you’ve had Anat Cohen yet.
• Pat Metheny
• bassist Avishai Cohen
• Just one? Wayne Horvitz or Matt Jorgensen
• the librettist, pianist who wrote about the sports page and my attorney bernie. (Dave Frishberg)
• Done deal: Sam Rivers! :) – TJS #120
• Dr John
• Henry Threadgill – On the way!
• Dave Brubeck
• Victor Wooten
• Bobby McFerrin
• Dafnis Prieto
• Charles Lloyd
• Hmmmm, Greg Osby… Jason Moran (TJS #18). But avoid the surface and dig.
• The Bad Plus
• Jan Garbarek
• wynton Marsalis
• Hank Jones
• Eddie Gomez
• Jan Garbarek
• Paul Gonsalves!,..but from the Living,..Hilliard Greene,.Bass Player..
• Rudresh Mahanthappa
• Nicholas Payton
• I’d really like to have European jazz artists featured in the show. They are literary thousands of them out there and, unfortunately, all but missing at the moment in the show. I think it’d add a whole different (refeshing?) dimension to discussions about jazz and its future. Hey, it’s just a phone call, right? – TJS #3, 4, 24, 26, 32, 48, 54, 82, 89, 102, 103, 117. The preceding doesn’t include all the non-European, non-American guests from places like S. America, Japan, S. Africa, Australia, etc.
• Love being introduced to new artists, keep it up
• I think there’s a lot of mainstream stuff on the Jazz Session, which is fine, but it would be nice to see a little more on the fringes, which for me could just as well be Ruby Braff as it could Peter Brotzmann. But to answer your question, let’s say George Lewis.
• Are you short of leads? Joe Lovano? Martin Taylor’s funny. Can Bireli Lagrene speak english? Someone to talk about the scenes in Germany.
• Brian Jones
• David Binney
• david murray
• Ellington alumni Bassist John Lamb and Trombonist Buster Cooper in St. Petersburg FL
• Melody Gardot – she has an incredible story and sings like an angel
• bassist michael moore
• Charlie Parker, back from the grave. Just Kidding! How bout Erik Truffaz
• How about two: #1. Benny Maupin – loved Escondido from his last CD; #2. Buster Williams – kicked electric bassists out of a master class at Stanford but I still love him!
• Norah Jones
• Jacob William.
• Tough call – you do such a good job – Wayne Shorter, I suppose
• dead: mingus / alive: Massimo Sammi
• David Cutler
• William Parker
• Brian Blade, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Zsolt Kaltenecker, Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman, Nils Wogram (sorry these were actually six)
• Wil Blades (SF Bay Area organist), Dave Douglas, John Zorn
• Nina Simone – deceased
• Bobo Stenson
• Zakir Hussain
• Kurt Rosenwinkel
• Soweto Kinch
• Jeff Kashiwa
• Nikolaj Hess
• Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey
• Ahmad Jamal
• Rob Scheps
• Kenny Barron
• Alan Broadbent
• Frank Butrey
• Paul Motian (get him while you still can!)
• Marco Benevento
• Hard to say.The variety and quality of artists is quite good, and I have to catch up on some episodes I have missed!