Nov 29, 2022
On Straight No Chaser this week, we feature two promising young female vocalists and their most recent releases. Both Samara Joy McLendon and Tawanda Suessbrich-Joaquim have professionally dropped their last names. Both were winners of the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Competition, in 2019 and 2021, respectively (...
Nov 13, 2022
Back in the early 70’s, drummer Mike Clark and bassist Paul Jackson were best friends, living in East Oakland, playing flatbed gigs at Black Panther rallies and generally raising hell. Cooking was not their forte, so the barbecue joint next door became a hangout. Mrs. Jones (of Everett and Jones) asked them to write...
Nov 12, 2022
Bobby Watson continues to carry the Hard Bop torch well into the 21st century. And he sounds as vibrant as ever on his latest release, Back Home in Kansas City (Smoke Sessions Records), which was released last month. He’s joined by some familiar faces – his longtime rhythm section of bassist Curtis Lundy and drummer...
Nov 7, 2022
Marshall Gilkes keeps one foot firmly in the world of jazz, and another in the classical world. On any given night in New York, you might find the trombonist playing with the New York Philharmonic, filling in a Big Band brass section, or soloing with a salsa band. He is in demand as part of the Maria Schneider Orchestra...
Oct 24, 2022
I enjoyed having author Sammy Stein on the podcast so much (check out Podcast 810), when I learned she had a new book out, I had to have her back.
The Wonder of Jazz: Music That Changed the World is slim in size but not in scope, as she takes both the jazz newbie and the aficinado on a tour of jazz past, present and...