Bassist Harish Raghavan has had a prolific career playing sideman to some of the biggest names in modern jazz music. Yet it took him over ten years since establishing himself in NYC to record under his own moniker. His debut album Calls for Action (which you can stream below), out now via Whirlwind Recordings, is a profound accomplishment, both refined and thought-provoking, … [Read more...]
Dan Weiss on ‘Utica Box’, his Career, and Music in General
Drummer and percussionist Dan Weiss released Utica Box last month on Sunnyside Records (read our review here) featuring Jacob Sacks on piano, and Thomas Morgan and Eivind Opsvik on bass. We caught up with Weiss to discuss the album, his career, musicians he admires, and what he's listening to these days. Read the interview below. Can you tell us more about your new album, … [Read more...]
Brian Lynch on ‘The Omni-American Book Club’, the State of Jazz Music, and his Advice for the Next Generation
At the very end of August, Grammy award-winning trumpeter Brian Lynch announced the impromptu release of his latest creation, The Omni-American Book Club, a big band album inspired by over 18 works of literature, including volumes by W.E.B. DuBois, Ralph Ellison, Isabel Wilkerson, Ta-Nehisi Coates, David Levering Lewis, Eric Hobsbawm, Nell Irvin Painter, and Amiri Baraka, and … [Read more...]
Trumpeter Russell Gunn Discusses his Latest Album, Ancient Dogon Knowledge, and his Quest for Truth
Pyramids, Russell Gunn's newest album with The Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra, came out last month on the Ropeadope label. We caught up with the trumpeter, composer, and bandleader to discuss the record, his artistic vision rooted in ancient Dogon knowledge, his musical identity and its ties to hip hop culture, as well as his quest for truth, meaning, and purpose. Read the interview … [Read more...]
Nextbop Interviews Hailey Niswanger of MAE.SUN
There is a new energy awakening among a select few jazz musicians, whether explicit as in Marquis Hill’s latest EP Meditation Tape or implicit as in the album covers to Kamasi Washington’s The Epic and Dr. Lonnie Smith’s All In My Mind. Add to the ranks of this enlightened jazz elite, if we shall be so bold as to coin the term, the young stalwart saxophonist Hailey Niswanger … [Read more...]