Story Archives of 'Jazz'

Brian Blade has come a long way from the Zion Baptist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana where his father was a pastor. Brian and his brother came up playing music. Then Brian went on to study in New Orleans and it wasn’t long before the talented young drummer was playing with Ellis Marsalis and Joshua Redman.

Brian Blade has recorded with Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Daniel Lanois, and Emmylou Harris. Brian has also played with Bill Frisell and he’s a long time member of the Wayne Shorter Quartet, who he’ll be playing with in Boston this weekend.

Since 1998, Brian Blade has been stretching out his sound, composing and recording with Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band. Now on Mama Rosa, his fourth solo album, Brian stepped out from behind the drums to play guitar and sing. Brian Blade joins us on the line from Los Angeles to tell us about his long road from, or maybe back to, Shreveport and Mama Rosa.

Jazz 40 Fest at New England Conservatory

(Photo by bruno bollaert via Flickr/Creative Commons)

At 37 years old, Vijay Iyer is one of the new stars of jazz. Downbeat Magazine’s International Critics’ Poll named him the number one rising star jazz artist and composer in 2006 and 2007, and The Village Voice described him as "the most commanding pianist and composer to emerge in recent years."

Vijay is at Dartmouth’s Hopkins Center for the Arts this week. On Wednesday he’ll be participating in a panel discussion called "The Musical Brain." And his trio will perform at the Hop on Thursday. We asked him to join us on Word of Mouth for a preview of his visit to the Granite state. He joins us from The Argot Network in New York.

Watch a video of Vijay Iyer performing the track "Comin' Up" at the Bridgestone Music Festival:

(Photo by Prashant Bhargava)

It’s a twist to put the vibraphone out in front of bass and drums in a jazz trio, but The Wee Trio are an unusual bunch. The band covers songs by Thelonius Monk, Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, and pop star Sufjan Stevens along with original tunes on their new CD Capitol Diner Volume 1.

Vibraphonist James Westfall was the first vibes player to be admitted to study at the Thelonius Monk Institute. The audition was nerve-wracking - it required him to play Herbie Hancock's "The Sorcerer" and Wayne Shorter's "Fee Fi Fo Fum" while both Hancock and Shorter looked on as judges. He was accepted, and later resettled in New Orleans.

We caught up with vibraphonist James Westfall before he and bandmates Dan Loomis and Jared Schonig were scheduled to teach a music class in Brooklyn. They’re playing at the Lily Pad in Taunton, Mass. on Friday night. Click here for more info.

Saxophonist Don Davis and pianist Joe Deleault have teamed up to create their first album together. Joe was named "Best Original Performer of 2006" by the Hippo Press, and Don is known for his work with notable performers ranging from the Microscopic Septet to LL Cool J. They'll join us in studio to play some tunes and talk about their work.

**This interview was originally broadcast on January 17, 2007**

Miles Davis and his famous sextet cut the album Kind of Blue almost 50 years ago, and it remains one of the most significant jazz albums of all time. Author and music critic Ashley Kahn will take us back to 1959 and walk us through the creation of the seminal record. Ashley is the author Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece. The book, originally written in 2000, has just been re-released.