Articles by Bob Kenselaar
Jazz House Kids: The House that Jazz Built
by Bob Kenselaar
When we think of jazz education, we might first think about what's developed at the college level and at music conservatories over the last fifty years or so, and then maybe consider how jazz instruction and jazz bands have flourished at the high school and middle school levels a little more recently. But beyond these settings, jazz education has advanced thanks to a select number of other, smaller, independent organizations that have had a strong impact on their local communities. ...
read moreDave Noland: Ripple
by Bob Kenselaar
Ripple is Dave Noland's second album as a leader, a self-produced endeavor that follows the tenor saxophonist's 2007 recording for the Jazz Excursion label, Nomad. With a mix of four original tunes and three standards, Ripple showcases Noland's considerable talents as a composer, arranger, and improviser. Originally from San Angelo, Texas, Noland has been active in a variety of musical contexts in the New York metro area pretty much since he arrived in 1999. Transferring from North Texas ...
read moreWalt Weiskopf: All About the Sound
by Bob Kenselaar
What is it that drives Walt Weiskopf? It's all about the music, all about the sound.He's reached a large audience in ten years of touring with Steely Dan. He's written a half dozen books on jazz improvisation techniques and methods, and he's taught at the Eastman School of Music, Temple University and New Jersey City University, where he now heads the jazz program. We find the real key to his work, though, in the huge catalog of recordings ...
read moreWinter Jazzfest 2016: ECM Records Stage
by Bob Kenselaar
Winter Jazzfest--ECM Records Stage The New School Tishman Auditorium New York, NY January 15 & 16, 2016 There's a very modern feel at the Tishman Auditorium at The New School University Center, the site for a two-night showcase for ECM Records at the 2016 Winter Jazzfest--with the Escher-esque stairs that you pass on the way in, the broad, open space of the stage, its huge screen backdrop, and the light blonde bamboo walls. You ...
read moreEd Palermo Big Band at the Iridium
by Bob Kenselaar
Ed Palermo Big Band Featuring Napoleon Murphy Brock Iridium New York, NY January 8, 2016 You can just about always count on a number of things in any show by the Ed Palermo Big Band: the music of Frank Zappa; inventive arrangements, richly crafted; tight, stellar playing by the ensemble; a nearly non-stop pace; and--maybe above all--a lively sense of humor. Not one to disappoint, the leader started off the first set of Friday's show ...
read moreRandy Brecker: Hittin' It with "RandyPOP!"
by Bob Kenselaar
In his 62 years playing music--starting trumpet at eight years old--Randy Brecker has played all kinds of music, but for many years now, he's mostly been known as a solid, top-flight, first-call jazz player, a modern post-bop soloist and bandleader who carries around his old '70s fusion-funk Brecker Brothers fame in his back pocket. So, with a new CD called RandyPOP!, you might think he's changing direction entirely to make a foray into the land of Katy Perry or Justin ...
read moreJon Batiste: Staying Human
by Bob Kenselaar
Jon Batiste was named the bandleader of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (related news). This interview was originally published in January 2013. Nearly everything about Jonathan Batiste is steeped in jny: New Orleans--from the way he talks, walks, and claps his hands to the way he plays the piano, composes, and leads his Stay Human Band. So, it's surprising to consider he's actually spent most of his adult life in New York City, having arrived in 2004 ...
read moreCava Menzies and Nick Phillips: Their Moment
by Bob Kenselaar
Every once in a while, a couple of jazz musicians who've never played with each other before find themselves together on a bandstand, and something special really clicks. They just jell musically as if they've been playing together all their lives. Pianist Cava Menzies and trumpeter Nick Phillips experienced such an encounter not long ago, when Phillips got a call to sub on a regular local gig that Menzies had in Berkley, California. “From that gig, Nick and ...
read moreMosaic Records: Making Jazz History
by Bob Kenselaar
No one is more astonished by the longevity of Mosaic Records than Michael Cuscuna, the veteran record producer and one-time disc jockey who founded the label together with Charlie Lourie, a former clarinetist who worked in both jazz and classical contexts before becoming an executive at CBS records, Blue Note, and elsewhere. Arguably the premier reissue label in jazz, Mosaic Records issued the first of its limited edition box set recordings in 1983. Originally available through mail order only--at a ...
read moreJim Hall: Live, Now and Then
by Bob Kenselaar
[ This interview was originally published on July 16, 2013. ] Widely acknowledged as one of the most influential guitarists in modern jazz, Jim Hall has had an extraordinary musical career that spans more than half a century. His style is marked not by soaring speed or virtuoso technique but by his explorative artistry in improvisation, his solos' beautiful melodic and harmonic construction and his warm and rich tone. His discography includes more than three dozen ...
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