Interview with Dr. Lonnie Smith

Dr. Lonnie Smith and his trio will perform July 7 at the 2013 Iowa City Jazz Festival. KCCK's Gordon Paulsen recently interviewed Smith about the show and his career.

You can hear Hunter’s music regularly on KCCK at www.kcck.org. Or, for a consistent dose of music from artists appearing at the Jazz Festival, check out the Iowa City Jazz Fest channel at www.iowachannel.org. It's a 24-7 music feed of jazz fest artists.

Interviews with Smith and the other headliners air regularly on the Jazz Fest Channel. Transcripts will also be posted here.

I’m Gordon Paulson and on the phone with me is one of America’s great Jazz organ players, one of the great organ players in the world, no doubt about it, Dr. Lonnie Smith. He will be returning to the Iowa City Jazz Festival this summer, and kind of a make-up concert, a make-good concert from his performance from the 2010 Iowa City Jazz Festival unfortunately was cancelled because of weather. There was an incredible rainstorm we had that evening. This time we are going to bring Dr. Lonnie Smith back to Iowa City and we’re one-hundred percent sure he will be able to perform with his fine band this time around. Dr. Lonnie Smith, thank you once again for speaking with me and welcome back to KCCK.

LONNIE: How you doing, Gordon? Nice talking to you.

We’re sure hoping the circumstances are a bit better this time. But I would just like to speak with you to what you’ve been up to here recently because you just got back from Europe. How was that?

LONNIE: It was fantastic. It was fantastic. They loved us so I enjoyed it. Once I got there I didn’t want to leave.

They really do appreciate and love their Jazz over in Europe. We’ve been enjoying all of those fine releases as of late on the Palmetto label. You’ve got a fairly new one out on Pilgrimage. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

LONNIE: Pilgrimage is a new label that I created and it’s doing quite well. I’m pretty proud of it during this time because I am able to still play the music and record the thing that I would like to do. So it’s going great.

And that’s called “The Healers” is that right?

LONNIE: Yeah, that’s correct.

Your bandmates from that recording, are they joining you in Iowa City for your performance?

LONNIE: Correct I have Jonathan Kreisberg and on that particular night I might have a different drummer. Every now and then I use a different drummer but they all play with me off and on throughout all this. It’s going to be great.

The trio setting still the one you prefer to perform and record with for the most part?

LONNIE: Sure. I love trio. I also love, and have done things with an orchestra and octet. I love different styles of music. When I play I feel this way, and sometimes when I feel this way I take the octet out. I’m working on a new CD, it’s called “In The Beginning” and it’s an octet on that particular CD. That’s not out yet. I’m basically playing some of the old music back from the blue note days, a lot of the original tunes that I’ve written that can’t be found. Young people haven’t gotten those, so that’s why I’m doing that. It’s called “In The Beginning” so you’ll be hearing some nice music done back in the blue note days. It will be out sometime, July or August.

We are looking forward to it. Thank you for your time and we will see you again in Iowa City.

LONNIE: Thank you Gordon it has been a pleasure.

Interview with Fred Hersch

Pianist Fred Hersch and his trio will perform July 7 at the 2013 Iowa City Jazz Festival. KCCK's Gordon Paulsen interviewed Hunter about the show and his career.

You can hear Hersch’s music regularly on KCCK at www.kcck.org. Or, for a consistent dose of music from artists appearing at the Jazz Festival, check out the Iowa City Jazz Fest channel at www.iowachannel.org. It's a 24-7 music feed of jazz fest artists.

Interviews with Hersch and the other headliners air regularly on the Jazz Fest Channel. Transcripts will also be posted here.

I’m Gordon Paulson and on the phone with me from his home in New York is pianist and composer Fred Hersch who will be bringing his trio to the 2013 Iowa City Jazz Festival. He will be performing on the mainstage at 6 pm on the final day of the festival on Sunday, July 7th. Fred, welcome.

FRED: Thank you very much. Thanks for having me.

Your most recent recording “Alive at the Vanguard” on Palmetto Records. And speaking of the village Vanguard, you achieved a milestone. You were the first artist in the 75 year history of the village Vanguard to play a weeklong engagement as a solo artist. That’s quite the heritage there because we’re talking about people like Bill Evans and so many others along the way. How did that all happen?

FRED: It happened sort of as a fluke. I was playing with my trio there, I believe in 2005, and it was -might have been opening night, Tuesday-. Drew Gress was playing bass for me at the time and he was stuck in California and he couldn’t get back. His plane was delayed so I called John Hébert, who is now my current bassist, and he was also in California. So I said to the two of them, whoever can get back first should come down to the club and play the gig. But there was nobody there, no bassist for the first set. So just as the owner, Lorraine Gordon who just turned 91 I think, just as she was walking in the club with the manager- I kind of cornered the manager, Jed Eisenman to get up and play a solo set-. So I was walking onto the stage as she was coming into the club so she couldn’t say no. And I played a solo set and their reaction was really, really positive. And the following year I had a solo album coming out called “Fred Hersch in Amsterdam: Live at the Bimhuis” so I said how about we coordinate the release of that solo album with a week of solo piano at the Vanguard and she said yes. So it became quite a big event, it sold out and all that kind of stuff. And I’ve done it once since, and that became my solo record “Alone at the Vanguard”. So I’ve played there two solo weeks and numerable trio weeks, quintet weeks, and of course, in the old days as a side band with Joe Henderson, Art Farmer, and Sam Jones. In fact I have my picture on the wall of the club next to Mingo’s, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Bill Evans, and Coal Train. Not that I believe I’m in that esteemed company but it’s an incredible honor to feel like I’m really part of the history of, probably, the greatest Jazz club in the world.

Talk a little bit about what you are planning and what you have in store for the Jazz Festival, who will you be bringing with you, I assume these are people you play with on a fairly regular basis.

FRED: Yeah, I’m bringing the A-Team, my current trio which is John Héber on bass and Eric Mcpherson on drums. We have two CD’s out, one is the two CD set “Live at the Vanguard” and previous to that we did a solo, then we did a studio album called “Whirl”. I’ve been playing with these guys consistently for the last four or five years and I’ve been thoroughly enjoying it. I think it’s a very special trio. Typically we play some original music, of course, some reworkings of standards and things from the jazz repertoire; Monk, Ornette Coleman, and Wayne Shorter, people like that. It’s kind of a drawing from those three bodies of material; original, standards, and jazz compositions by others. We’ve played many festivals and numerous club engagements. I think it’s a very dynamic group and pretty unique. Sometimes when I get on the road I can’t always get both of them lined up so I still play with Drew Gress, who I’ve played with for many years as well as various other people who I have that can sub if I need to. But I always try to bring these guys wherever I go and hope that our schedules line up. I was attracted to both John and Eric by the way they approach their instrument in terms of sound. Also both of them are extremely experienced in playing all kinds of jazz, things that are tune based and tunes that are not tune based. Eric really approaches the drumset with a percussionist perspective and uses very interesting implements sometimes. John has a great ear for harmony but also has a looseness that is very refreshing. They both like the play a whole range of material that we’ve created as a band. I think, for me, I don’t really have to say much. I just pick the set everybody knows what to do. There’s a lot of surprise and a lot of really great feeling between the three of us that, you can’t quite put your finger on it, but it somehow works. I’m far from a dictator, these guys make their own contributions. A lot of these pieces that we’ve played now for some time has taken on their own life. It’s always a good time on stage, it’s a great vibe, and I think they’re really supportive but also they really add to the mix in a lot of unexpected ways which is exactly what you want when you’re playing with people for a long period of time.

Fred Hersch will bring his A-Teram, the same trio that appears on his most recent recording “Live at the Vanguard” on Palmetto Records on Sunday, the final day of the 3 day Iowa City Jazz Festival, Sunday, July 7th at 6 pm on the mainstage in downtown Iowa City.

FRED: Yeah, fantastic. I’m looking forward to that myself.

Interview with Charlie Hunter

Guitarist Charlie Hunter and drummer Scott Amendola will perform July 6 at the 2013 Iowa City Jazz Festival. KCCK's Gordon Paulsen interviewed Hunter about the show and his career.

You can hear Hunter’s music regularly on KCCK at www.kcck.org. Or, for a consistent dose of music from artists appearing at the Jazz Festival, check out the Iowa City Jazz Fest channel at www.iowachannel.org. It's a 24-7 music feed of jazz fest artists.

Interviews with Hunter and the other headliners air regularly on the Jazz Fest Channel. Transcripts will also be posted here.

I’m Gordon Paulson and on the phone with me from New Jersey is guitar wizard, composer, and group leader Charlie Hunter who will be returning to Eastern Iowa to perform at the Iowa City Jazz Festival on Saturday, July 6th. He’ll be taking the mainstage at 4 pm in downtown Iowa City. Charlie, you’ve played the festival in the past, it’s been a number of years ago, and you’ve also played quite recently here in Eastern Iowa at CSPS. So you are certainly not unfamiliar to Iowa listeners, but we’re glad to have you back at the Iowa City Jazz Festival.

CHARLIE: Yeah, I’m glad to be back too. It’s a lot of fun and I have some friends in that area too that I hang out with so I look forward to coming back.

The guitar-drum duo, for some people, sounds a little unusual but you’ve done it in the past and this is a kind of revisiting of that format. And it’s because of your ability to play those bass lines along with all the other things that you do on the guitar, it really fills out this kind of format into a fatter sound. What do you find instinctively refreshing or just appealing about the guitar-drum format?

CHARLIE: Well I can only speak from my own experience with playing with Scott for many, many years. I’ve done duos with lots and lots of drummers, just like you said, because of my instrument, although you can call it a seven string guitar, it’s really quite a different instrument than a standard six string guitar and quite a different instrument than a standard four string bass. I’m hopefully, developing my own thing on it that allows me to do both those parts at once but what’s more important than that, not that I’m doing both parts at once, but that they’re simple enough for me to be able to play them. Also what goes as the counterpoint between the two parts is kind of the most important aspect of it, to me, in a lot of ways. So that’s how it’s probably a little more distinct than something else, you know?

Absolutely.

CHARLIE: There are so many great guitar players and great bass players in the world. For some reason, I’ve developed this different thing. I just do what I do and I try to get better at it all the time. I try to practice every day and try to evolve what I’m doing to make it more honest, and just play better overall. People come there expecting to see something different, and I apologize but I can only do what I can do. It makes me happy and hopefully it makes the audience happy.

In that duo context, there has to be more interaction and more playing against each other. That must drive both of you to new heights or at least to different avenues of exploration musically, that you may not get in a standard trio, quartet, and you’ve done the quintet thing along with so many others.

CHARLIE: The thing about having a duo, especially with Scott and I with the different influences we each bring to the thing together, is  you can really, without having a horn, what you lose in having the horn is not as much as you gain, I think. Because when you have a horn, especially a saxophone, it just says “Jazz”, big time, and that’s for better and for worse. When it’s just the two of us, you have the drums and you have, essentially, the guitar zone and the bass zone, that can go to so many different fields and so many different aesthetics. When we have the duo like we do it’s meant to have that ability to go from thing to thing without being encumbered by an instrument that just says “Jazz”. You know what I mean?

Right.

CHARLIE: If you want to play some stuff that would be influenced by the jazz idiom, you can but if you want to different things, whether its guitar vernacular, you can kind of do it in a way that is aesthetically...- you have all these colors you can use without feeling encumbered by any specific style.


CHARLIE: We are going into the studio in July, right after the Iowa City Jazz Festival. We are going into the studio to record another duo record but this time its really Scott’s record with all of his music. We’ll pretty much be doing the same thing only he’s supplying the songs.

That’s great. I assume we’ll probably be hearing some of Scott’s original music at the festival too.

CHARLIE: Yes you will.

We’re really looking forward to you and Scott returning to Eastern Iowa. I think its going to be a lot of fun. No doubt our listeners will be hearing excerpts from “Not Getting Behind is the New Getting Ahead”. Are there duo versions of some of the older stuff that you will be tackling?

CHARLIE: Sure. We do a lot of different music so we’re never sure what we’ll play.

Charlie Hunter and Scott Amendola Duo on Saturday July 6th on the mainstage at 4pm at the 2013 Iowa City Jazz Festival.

CHARLIE: It should be a lot of fun.

Interview with Sachal Vasandani

Sachal Vasandani will perform with the Iowa Jazz Orchestra on July 5, the first day of the 2013 Iowa City Jazz Festival. KCCK's Gordon Paulsen interviewed him about the show and his career.

You can hear Sachal's music regularly on KCCK at www.kcck.org. Or, for a consistent dose of music from artists appearing at the Jazz Festival, check out the Iowa City Jazz Fest channel at www.iowachannel.org. It's a 24-7 music feed of jazz fest artists. Interviews with Sachal and the other headliners air regularly on the Jazz Fest Channel, and transcripts will also be posted here.

I’m Gordon Paulson and on the phone with me is vocalist, song writer, composer, sometime arranger: Sachal Vasandani, who is performing on the opening night of the Iowa City Jazz Festival, on Friday, July 5th performing with the Iowa Jazz Orchestra at 8 pm on the mainstage in downtown Iowa City. Let’s talk, about the way that you prepare for something like that as opposed to some of your studio and smaller venue performances. Do you do the big band thing very often?

SACHAL: Yeah, good question. Well, studio is always a different piece, but in terms of live experience, standing in front of a big band is a great thrill. I do do it, but I don’t do it as often as I would like to because I would like to be doing it all the time. It’s real fun. The challenges are many, but the joy is a lot. I mean, to be able to stand in front of a group and feel that sound propel you, it always makes me think of about what’s real important in the song what’s real important in my delivery. People who know my music and the way I perform with small groups know I’m into a philosophy of give-and-take and that allows for a lot of stretching. In a big band there’s no ton of pay, just eighteen people getting a great sound in an efficient way. As a singer I take part in that and I try to get inside that sound and make my voice soar on top of it. It’s a real cathartic type when you get it right.

How does the preparation for that work ahead of time? Because, you’re flying in probably the day of or the day before and there isn’t a lot of rehearsal time involved. So I assume that someone sent you the charts and are you providing any of your own arrangements?

SACHAL: Yeah, it’s funny, you’re catching us in the middle of the delivery right now. There’s going to be some more with the small group and that will be a nice break with the stuff from the big band. But the big band is doing, just what I said, finding the right songs or the best vehicle for me to really soar on. I think that with this particular big band, at their caliber, we can enjoy some of the repertoire that we’re familiar with and maybe even open it up in a really compelling way. I think we’re going to hear some good things. We’re still deciding on the final set list but in terms of the preparation, it’s getting inside that chart, feeling really comfortable with what my role is and then really just be as comfortable as possible because when you get on that stage you just want to be able to enjoy the ride. It is such as thrill to stand up with a big band behind you let them carry you to new heights. The more open I can be to that experience, the better.

That’s a very magical, musical experience.

SACHAL: You know it.

Briefly, about your discography, because we certainly have enjoyed the recordings that we have. Beginning with your debut with Mac Avenue from 2007, “Eyes Wide Open”. That must have been a real treat to have John Clayton, who is certainly one of the best, if not the best arranger out there right now.

SACHAL: Yeah, he is in my opinion. He hears music in a very advanced way. He can take really complex ideas and make them simple and he can take real simple ideas and make them meatier, give them some substance for a whole eighteen piece group to play and just add that richness. I think that is what makes him the best arranger, as a producer he is right up there, too. I think in addition to all that musicanship making a record sometimes is a sticky situation. Especially as a singer who maybe, wrote an old song, brought in his own arrangements, it’s his first debut record for a big bad label, and I’m a pretty down to earth guy but we have moments of confidence issues, or want to make sure that its right, and again, when you have someone on your side, who’s representing you on the other side of that booth, you want them to be a teammate, a real, true teammate in the most nurturing and collaborative way possible. John is like that, he’s a guy that I can trust as a mentor but he really puts on that teammate hat and treats me accordingly. That is something that is a special skill and not everybody has.

Wow, sounds like a real advocate for you, too.

SACHAL: Yeah, and I for him just because of that quality, first and foremost.

Then on to “We Move”, also from Mac Avenue, in 2009. And more recently “Hi-Fly” takes its title track from the great Randy Weston composition. Randy performed at the Iowa City Jazz Festival just a couple years back in 2011. That’s an interesting mix of selections on “Hi-Fly”, what was that selection process, was that all your own? How did that work?

SACHAL: Well, the Randy Weston thing, he’s a real terrific artist, Hi-Fly is a special song because of a lyric John wrote, I really wanted to include it because John Hendrix was going to be a participant on the record and so John and I sang that tune along with one more and I said, this is the spirit of the track, the spirit of performance as well as the likeness. It kind of lends itself to the title of the record.

I assume, that for your performance at the Iowa City Jazz Festival it will be a mixture of maybe tried and true standards that people may recognize and some newer material that, no doubt, you have composed. Is that right?

SACHAL: Yeah, it’s going to be a balance. Whittling down the repertoire to that which lends itself best to the big band. Some standards are definitely going to be included because that’s part of the repertoire for the big band, part of what makes big band seem so fun. But also some newer things that are representative of my records and honestly, if I can swing it, maybe something brand new. We shall see.

Okay. I think you anticipated my last question, if we would see something brand new at the festival. We’ll keep that open and maybe we’ll have a premiere here in Iowa City.

SACHAL: I hope so. We will see if we can get it together.

Sachal will be the headliner on the first day of the festival, Friday, July 5th, performing at 8 pm on the mainstage in downtown Iowa City. This will be your Iowa City Jazz Festival debut so we are certainly marking that occasion. That’s a bit of a milestone I suppose in your own career book, something to hang on to as well.

SACHAL: Yeah, I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be a really warm and awesome experience.

It will be. Thank you so much for your time and we look forward to having you at the Iowa City Jazz Festival, again on Friday, July 5th, at 8 pm mainstage. And Sachal Vasandani with the Iowa Jazz Orchestra. Come on down to Iowa City and enjoy some music, and we hope you’ll have a lot of KCCK fans there enjoying your performance that night.

SACHAL: That would be great, thank you so much.

De-Funding Public Radio Will Hurt Music, Education.

The following is a guest opinion from Dennis Green, which ran in the Iowa City Press-Citizen on April 11, 2011. Read it on their site.

Much of the dialogue regarding proposals in the U.S. Congress to reduce or restrict funding for public broadcasting has focused on the impact those cuts will have on news and information stations such as Iowa Public Radio that carry National Public Radio programming.

While many public radio stations provide unrivaled news and public affairs programming, music also is an integral element of public radio’s service. More than 100 stations, including our own KCCK, have full-time music formats. Music accounts for about one out of every three hours of public radio listening.

Jazz, classical, folk, world and eclectic music are offered in Iowa and around the country by public radio stations mainly because these niche formats are regarded as economically unsustainable in the commercial market. Chances are, whenever you have heard music on the radio that is something other than mainstream pop, rock or country, it’s because you’re listening to a public music station. In some communities, public stations are the only music outlet that is locally programmed, not controlled by a distant corporate owner.

Sadly, the potential impact of federal funding cuts will tend to have a much deeper effect on music stations than news outlets. Public music stations tend to be smaller than our news and information cousins. Therefore, federal grants can make up a much larger portion of our budget. In KCCK’s case, Corporation for Public Broadcasting grants provide 20 percent of our cash budget — nearly $110,000.

Now perhaps, if you aren’t a jazz fan, you don’t see a lot of value in having a jazz radio station in your community. But KCCK provides community benefits that go well beyond playing jazz on the radio.

We apply a community engagement model to our service. What this means is that we go into the community we serve, engage in a two-way dialogue about how we can help and then become an active partner in the solution.

Here’s an example: In conversation with high school band directors, we learned that some incoming freshmen didn’t have a strong background in jazz because their middle schools don’t offer jazz band. This led KCCK to bring Kirkwood Community College and a group of jazz educators together to create a summer jazz band camp just for middle school students. Students who might not otherwise have even tried out for jazz band are now leaders in high school.

We’ve also created an exciting new music service that is not replicated anywhere in the world. The Iowa Channel is a program stream devoted exclusively to local artists, the majority of whom have never been played on the radio at all. The Iowa Channel gives listeners a steady diet of bands like Orquesta Alto Maiz, The Blue Band, The Nadas, SPT Theatre and many more.

You can listen online at http://iowachannel.org, download the iPhone app, or over the air on KCCK HD-2.

Loss of federal funds would have a devastating effect on KCCK and the community we serve. It would force us to lay off staff and certainly would spell the end of programs such as band camp and the Iowa Channel.

What can you do to help? Two suggestions:

Let your representative know you value local, public radio. Information is at www.170MillionAmericans.org, a website set up to harness the voices of the millions who interact with public broadcasting each month.
Support public broadcasting with a tax-deductible gift. Every dollar you contribute is one less dollar we need from the government.
With your help, we can keep public radio strong and maintain a strong and vibrant local music culture, for jazz and all genres of music.

Dan Knight, Eacret & Ledeboer, Burning Man Trio New on the Iowa Channel

New this week on the Iowa Channel:

A Day in the Gardens of Monet - Dan Knight, solo piano.

Iowa City-based pianist Dan Knight, called one of the "best jazz pianists on the planet" by Wynton Marsalis," has composed another solo piano disc related to visual art. Here is what Dan has to say about the new CD:

"I think this recording will stand with the "Whitman Suite" as the best material I've ever recorded. I began writing the Suite years ago, when Julie and I were visiting France and the gardens of Claude Monet in Giverny. I had a brand new digital camera, and it caught fire (literally) the moment I hit the power switch that day in Monet's gardens. I had been looking forward to a day of photography. Life had other things in mind. Julie looked at me and said, calmly, 'Sweetheart, why don't you write music instead of taking pictures?' And, of course, the rest is soon to be history."

Web site: www.danknight.com

Sopa de Almejas - Eacret & Ledeboer.

Al Eacret and Caroline Ledeboer are a Cedar Falls-based duo who perform original pop & jazz-inspired compositions. Sopa de Almejas also features a variety of other Cedar Valley musicians, including Bob Dorr, Delayne Stallman, Justin Apple, Shawn McVicker, John Baskerville, Dave Plaehn and Ross Klemz. Find them online at cdbaby.com.

Burning Man Jazz Trio

The Burning Mann Jazz Trio is composed of Dennis McPartland, drums, Matthew Burrier, piano and Jim Hauer, bass. The three originally came together when they were recruited to play in a local church's praise band, and discovered a mutual love of playing jazz standards and originals.

Listen to the Iowa Channel at iowachannel.org. Also available for all mobile devices.

New On the Iowa Channel - January 10, 2011

"Blue Moon Honeymoon" by Bob Dorr and The Blue Band leads off a trio of new releases that hit the Iowa Channel this week.

"Blue Moon Honeymoon" was recorded New Year's Eve 2009 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Johnston, Iowa. It features not only the current lineup of The Blue Band, but a raft of special guests as well, who were present not only to sit in, but also to witness the wedding of Bob and Carolyn Dorr.

The album features over a dozen cuts plus Bob's always-fun commentary and introductions. Particularly nice is J. R. Petersen's "Back To Me."

Gayla Drake Paul has been a mainstay of folk and acoustic music in Iowa for many years. For her latest, "Luckiest Woman," she is joined by Eric Douglas, drums; Dan "DJ" Johnson, bass; Eric Schnell, keys; with special appearances by Tom Bruner and BIll Nix on guitar and Terry Lawless, sax. All 10- tracks are GDP originals, of course. Gayla shows she can do bluesy jazz with the best of them on "Thunder in December."

Unknown Component is the musical project of Keith Lynch. Keith is a self-taught Iowa City musician who plays every instrument on all of his recordings. "Infinitive Derivative" is his third effort.

Keith has been recording since 2002. One of his songs was featured in the film "The 4th Life."