Fred Moten on the Odyssey of Improvisation
Interview
A State Department Tour of Palestine
Alto saxophonist Michael Hashim recounts his experiences touring with a group led by drummer Stefan Schatz under the auspices of the US State Department in the Palestinian enclaves. The interview touches on the reasons for the tour, the difficulities of traveling under the tight security regime, and the musical points of accord and dialogue the group was able to achieve nonetheless with Palestinian musicans playing their own native instruments.
William Lowe Interviews Olu Dara
William Lowe interviews Olu Dara at the Studio Museum in Harlem, April 24, 2007.
Itiberê Zwarg on Improvisation
The Brazilian composer, bandleader, and bassist offers his views of improvisation and talks about his experiences with the legendary Hermeto Pascoal.
Jimmy Heath: "I Walked With Giants" (II)
In this video, saxophonist and composer Jimmy Heath talks with colleague Salim Washington about his new autobiography. In I Walked with Giants (Temple University Press, 2010), Heath creates a "dialogue" with musicians he has known and family members. This discussion expands on Heath's account of his life and career. He offers his thoughts on growing up in the big band era and the advent of bebop; on the experience and legacy of racial segregation; on the jazz tradition and the avant-garde; on the power of the music industry and what constitutes musical integrity and quality.
Conversation with Miya Masaoka and Vijay Iyer (II)
Part II of the discussion of Miya Masaoka's work with Ms. Masaoka and pianist Vijay Iyer. Click here for Part I.
Wait for the Chord: An Interview with Scott Hamilton
Tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton talks about his connections to an earlier, submerged mainstream jazz "tradition" of the 1940s and ‘50s and speaks eloquently of the music that inspired him.
Interview with Keiko Uenishi (aka o.blaat)
Miya Masaoka is a third generation Japanese American artist classically trained as a musician and composer. In her compositions and installations, she involves improvisation, interaction, spatialization, sensors, computers, and various media including video and film.
In this interview with fellow Japanese/American sound artist Keiko Uenishi I work outwards from the personal to consider the radical potential of internet-based sound and video improvisation to build community across ethnic and gender lines.
Improvisation, Correlation, and Vibration: An Interview with Steve Coleman
In this Berlin-New York phone interview, saxophonist Steve Coleman presents what Völtz calls his "philosophy of cosmic energy," and his ideas on improvisation, language, structure, freedom, and innovation, often making his points with the help of anecdotes about from his own career.
Sangha: Collaborative Improvisations on Community
Saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa and pianist Vijay Iyer have been frequent collaborators. In this conversation, they share their thoughts on the challenges of becoming South Asian jazz musicians: confronting their Indian-American families' attitudes toward the music, finding their own voice amidst the richness of Indian musical forms, engaging the South Asian American youth community in New York, dealing with various kinds of prejudice-all while trying to keep the creative edge in their music.
