Episode 28-Zev Feldman: Guardian of Jazz Legacies
Strictly Jazz Sounds
Producing a historical recording requires enormous patience, investigative powers like an investigative journalist. The journey is long, emotional, and exciting when the recordings are discovered, and the final package completed. This is what Zev Feldman does. He is the producer for and co-president of Resonance Records, a record label that releases archival recordings that are previously unissued. The Resonance catalogue includes John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Wes Montgomery, Freddie Hubbard, among many other legendary musicians. In this episode, Zev Feldman and I discuss his insights...
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Episode 27-Erena Terakubo: The Little Woman with a Big Sound
Strictly Jazz Sounds
Alto saxophonist Erena Terakubo, from Sapporo, Japan, began her recording career early, releasing her first album when she was only 15 years old. Inspired by a saxophone-playing M&M doll, Erena developed an interest in music that led her to become a notable figure in contemporary jazz. Her journey inclu0des playing in big bands in Sapporo and preferring jazz over classical music. In this episode, Erena Terakubo exuberantly shares her early influences, including J Fusion and musicians like Charlie Parker and David Sanborn. She shares insights into her life in the United States, cultural...
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Episode 26-Chien Chien Lu and Richie Goods: A Real Team
Strictly Jazz Sounds
Taiwanese vibraphonist and percussionist Chien Chien Lu, along with Pittsburg, Pennsylvania native bassist Richie Goods, have crafted a sound that is both captivating and rhythmic. Their music draws from a rich tapestry of cultural influences including Taiwanese, American, and African-American traditions, especially within the jazz sub-culture. Chien Chien Lu and Richie Goods are dedicated to expanding their musical repertoire, creating a unique connection that resonates deeply with listeners. In the fall of 2024, Chien Chien Lu and Richie Goods visited Columbus, Ohio, where they met with...
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Episode 25-Clarence Penn: Jazz Makes Me a Better Person
Strictly Jazz Sounds
There's a not so polite saying about teaching music and music teachers that goes like this: If you can, play. If you can't, teach. That is what jazz legend Ellis Marsalis once said to a Detroit drummer who was considering becoming a music teacher. I'm talking about drummer, educator, producer and band leader Clarence Penn. Fortunately, Clarence did not take it to heart, eventually acquiring a master’s in music education from Rutgers University. It was also to the benefit of future musicians who became Clarence’s students. In this episode, Clarence Penn and I engage in deep reflection...
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Episode 24-Walter Smith III: Jazz Educator and Saxophone Virtuoso
Strictly Jazz Sounds
World-renowned saxophonist and Blue Note recording artist Walter Smith III is the model music educator and practitioner. This enormously talented saxophonist pursued music education as a profession as far back as high school. In this episode, Walter’s storied career follows the path beginning with performing at McDonald’s at age 7, to an exciting area of study at one of today’s premier high schools, Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) in Houston, Texas to leadership roles at Berklee College of Music, reflecting on experiences at the Thelonious Monk Institute...
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Episode 23-Kris Davis: Creative Processes and Mentorship in Jazz
Strictly Jazz Sounds
In this episode, I spend time with Grammy Award-winning pianist and Berklee College of Music professor of Jazz Kris Davis on 'Strictly Jazz Sounds.' We do a deep dive into her latest project, Run the Gauntlet, dedicated to six influential women jazz pianists, which drops on September 27, 2024. A common thread is woven throughout the hour, mentoring. As a recipient of it herself, Kris Davis discusses the importance of fostering the next generation of jazz musicians. She also provides a detail description of her fascinating composition process. Kris Davis and I spend time discussing her label,...
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Episode 22-Yuhan Su: The Imagination is in the Music
Strictly Jazz Sounds
Award winning vibraphonist Yuhan Su is another Gary Burton/Chick Corea-inspired musician, lured away from classical to the art form where improvisation reigns, jazz. This Taiwanese-born, New York based artist, left her homeland pursuing a jazz education at Berklee College of music, a frequently told story. Yuhan Su draws on her strengths to survive the intense transitions as a single woman migrating to the US to learn a completely different style of music, knowing no one, new to the language and cultures. And she plays the vibraphone, not an easy instrument to lug around given she’s...
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Episode 21-Wayne Escoffery: Fostering Pride in Black American Music-Jazz
Strictly Jazz Sounds
Grammy-Award winning saxophonist Wayne Escoffery is my guest on the 21st episode of Strictly Jazz Sounds. What attracted me to Wayne was his prolific traveling, extensive performances and recordings with his own band (11 recordings), the Mingus Big Band (3 recordings, one a Grammy Award winner), the Black Art Jazz Collective (4 recordings), and as sideman with trumpeter Tom Harrell (7 recordings, co-producing 4) plus works with other notable jazz musicians. He is now a Harlem resident in the neighborhood where Sonny Rollins grew up, Sugar Hill, but he was born and spent his childhood years in...
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Episode 20-Roni Eytan: Jazz Harmonica Colossus
Strictly Jazz Sounds
Roni Eytan, a renowned Israeli-born, New York based jazz harmonica player, performs with a passion that differs from other harmonica artists. Perhaps it’s the region from which he derives-the Middle East and North Africa. His culture greatly influences his compositions and inspires his passions. Roni’s work is influenced by harmonica legend Toots Thielemans but only partially. The folk cultures that make up the regions and his spiritual influences mostly inspire his writing. Roni Eytan stopped by my studio to talk about his harmonica work and how he got interested in this...
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Episode 19-Alexandra Ridout: Her Journey Into Jazz
Strictly Jazz Sounds
Alexandra (Alex) Ridout is a young jazz trumpeter from the UK, now residing in New York City. In this episode of Strictly Jazz Sounds, she lays out her journey as a musician, comparing the experiences and educational backgrounds between the UK and the US. Ridout recalls her time at the Royal Academy of Music in London and Manhattan School of Music, emphasizing her family's influence, especially her jazz musician parents. Highlighting her musical achievements, the conversation includes her participation and victory in the BBC Youth Competition, winning at 17 years old. She talks about her...
info_outlineMarta Sanchez combines the technical of classical with the soul of jazz, presenting innovative and emotive compositions that stir the mind and fill the spirit. This Madrid, Spain native now resides in Brooklyn, NY, performing in New York clubs with the best New York has to offer. Marta is now among the elite performers in the jazz capital of the world.
Marta discovers a different music scene in New York City than Madrid, Spain. Armed with a strong and dynamic classical background, Marta combines these two genres to create a powerful sound. Her Influences include Ravel, Schaumburg, and Debussy among other classical composers. Marta’s chief contemporary influence is Guillermo Klein. In the jazz universe, Marta gains inspiration from jazz composers that include Wayne Shorter, her close friend Ambrose Akinmusire, and Andrew Hill.
Marta, though, finds herself in a world vastly different from her native Madrid. The music from her latest release, SPAAM-Spanish American Art Museum, reveals the struggles and tensions apparent in her life as well as the observations of vastly troubling systemic violence that affect people of color and immigrants. Marta is sensitive to the shootings-from law enforcement to mass shootings- that are plaguing our country today.
She struggles with the dystopian culture in which she now finds herself, attempting to make sense of the deep divisions that exist in the US. The brutality of this society and the political strife that invades every fabric of this nation’s politic finds their way into Marta Sanchez’s compositions. The fateful beating of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee stirred up anguish in her. Marta senses the challenges of leaving her Spanish culture, being an immigrant creates uncertainty about the culture in which she now resides. “How can this Happen in America?” Marta asks.
The most touching composition in the album, “Marivi”, casts a spotlight on a mother/daughter relationship that could only be imagined. The spellbinding vocals by Camilla Meza (who also doubles on guitar) and the trumpet work by Grammy nominee Ambrose Akinmusire tells a story of wistfulness by a daughter who could speak of her wishes only after her mother dies in Spain while in the early vestiges of Covid, with Marta trapped in New York by travel restrictions.
Marta was an in-demand artist at international jazz festivals throughout the world prior to the pandemic, performing her innovative and original music. Now that Covid restrictions have been relaxed, she is once again embarking on international travel to share her music to global audiences.
Marta’s discography with her quintet includes four albums, all have been received to critical acclaim from American press: “Partenika” (2015), “Danza Imposible” (2017), and “El Rayo de Luz” (2019) with the Spanish label Fresh Sound and SAAM (Spanish American Art Museum) with Whirlwind Recordings.