Jazz New England

I really like doing multiple interviews over time. This is my fifth interview with multi-reed player Greg Abate and the basic “who are you” and background questions are out of the way. This interview was recorded from a radio broadcast on WRIU in Kingston Rhode Island. He talks about his new album Road to Forever and … Continue reading "Greg Abate: A New Album and some Local Rhode Island Gigs"

Jazz is a pretty small niche in the music industry and free improvisation and new music, often considered as jazz in this country is a very small subset indeed. Damon Smith has found a way to excel and thrive in a very small puddle. As well as being a virtuoso bassist, his Balance Point Acoustics … Continue reading "Damon Smith Talks About Improvisation, Composition and his Move to Boston"

                    In November of 2016 I had the opportunity to have two interviews with the authors of A Treasury of Rhode Island Jazz and Swing Musicians, first on Tuesday morning on my WRIU radio show Jazz Explorer and again on that Thursday evening taping for the public … Continue reading "A Treasury of Rhode Island Jazz and Swing Musicians"

I had the pleasure in early October of this year to see the Francisco Pais Quintet play the Jamestown Arts Center. Although he has four albums out, his music is a new discovery to me even though he only lives across the bay in Newport, Rhode Island. The show was the first of a series … Continue reading "Francisco Pais: Melodic and Sophisticated Modern Jazz from Newport"

This is the second time that I’ve had the chance to talk to Wadada Leo Smith. A trumpeter and composer, an early member of the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) and a distinctive and powerful voice in jazz and creative music for over 50 years. Although his music is often described as … Continue reading "Wadada Leo Smith Talks About His Work and America’s National Parks"

Eric Hofbauer tends to release his work in bunches and in series. He has two new albums out this fall on his own Creative Nation label. The first is his fourth solo guitar album Ghost Frets, dedicated to his close friend and guitar collaborator Garrison Fewell who recently died of cancer. It is performed on … Continue reading "Eric Hofbauer: Two New New Albums and a Book"

The first time I saw the Tim Ray Trio perform was as a part of Greg Abate’s quartet at  Chan’s in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. They played a set as a trio before Greg came on. What I was impressed with the most was the way that they played together as a group, always listening and … Continue reading "Tim Ray returns to: Piano, Bass and Drums"

Like most people I listen to most off my music digitally now. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been putting my scattered CD collection together and listening to a lot of things that have been out of circulation for a while. I have been truly amazed by how many things that Christian McBride has … Continue reading "Christian McBride: Filling Many Roles as Musician, Broadcaster and Artistic Director for Newport Jazz Festival"

                                                Reed player Dave Liebman has a career spanning over 50 years. The discography on his website lists 512 albums as a leader and with others. Starting in New York City in … Continue reading "Dave Liebman talks about History, Teaching and his Expansions Group"