Episodes

We dive into the vault this week for episode #47 from October 2008. Here’s what I wrote at the time: Jason Crane interviews pianist and composer Satoko Fujii. Fujii has released four new recordings in 2008, her 50th birthday year. These records find her with her New York trio; on accordion in the avant-folk-jazz group of her husband, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura; in a quartet with some of Japan’s most talented improvising musicians; and in a second trio with both American and Japanese musicians. Fa...

Violinist Sana Nagano‘s new album is Smashing Humans. In this interview, Nagano talks about her fabulous band; how she went from giving up violin completely to playing it professionally; her journey from Tokyo to Oregon to Memphis to Boston to New York; and much more. / / / I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. I’m now living in a van and traveling the country, so I need your support more than ever. Please become a member today at thejazzsession....

Argentinian vocalist Roxana Amed just released Ontology. In this interview, Amed talks about moving to Miami and finding her place; writing new lyrics to existing tunes; searching for meaning as both a musician and a person; and much more. / / / I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. I’m now living in a van and traveling the country, so I need your support more than ever. Please become a member today at thejazzsession.com/join. For $5 a month you’...

Saxophonist and flute player Alexa Tarantino has a new album on Posi-Tone Records called Firefly. In this interview, Tarantino talks about recording an album during the pandemic; starting a jazz camp in Rockport, MA; focusing her energies on educating others as well as performing; and much more. / / / I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. I’m now living in a van and traveling the country, so I need your support more than ever. Please become a mem...

I’m in Auburn, Alabama this week and we’re stepping into the TJS Time Machine to listen to an archival interview with organist Barbara Dennerlein from 2009. Here’s what I wrote about it at the time: Jason Crane interviews organist Barbara Dennerlein about her pipe organ recording Spiritual Movement No. 2 (Bebab Records, 2008). The album was recorded at one of Germany’s most famous churches in front of a very appreciative audience. In this interview, recorded before a concert in Pittsfield, Mass...

This week on The Jazz Session, take a trip back into the archives for this 2009 interview with pianist Marilyn Crispell, recorded at her home in Woodstock, NY. Here’s what I wrote about it at the time: Jason Crane interviews pianist Marilyn Crispell about her album of solo piano pieces, Vignettes (ECM, 2008). Crispell made an early name for herself with Anthony Braxton, and she’s since amassed an impressive list of recordings that include composed and freely improvised pieces. In this interview...

Vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and multimedia artist Jen Shyu‘s new album comes out on April 23, 2021. It’s called Zero Grasses — Ritual For The Losses (Pi Recordings). In this interview, Shyu talks about writing music in the aftermath of the loss of her father; working with students to chronicle their experience of the pandemic; the mentors she admires; and much more. / / / I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. I’m now living in a van and trave...

Laila Biali just received a JUNO nomination for her 2020 album Out Of Dust, released during the pandemic and inspired by a challenging year in her personal life. In this interview Biali talks about translating experience to music; releasing an album during a time of crisis; bridging the pop-jazz divide; her work with Sting; and much more. / / / I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. I’m now living in a van and traveling the country, so I need your...

Violinist Sara Caswell has played with everyone from Esperanza Spalding to Brad Mehldau to Bruce Springsteen to symphony orchestras. In this interview, she talks about how her musicologist parents started her on the right path early; her decision to focus on improvised music; her 2018 Grammy nomination; her forthcoming album; and more. / / / I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. I’m now living in a van and traveling the country, so I need your su...

Trumpeter Chloe Rowlands is part of The Westerlies, a brass quartet whose most recent album is a collaboration with Theo Bleckmann called This Land. In this interview, Rowlands talks about the formation of The Westerlies and how she joined; the origin of the new album; her experience coming out as a trans woman in the jazz world; and much more. Learn more at https://www.westerliesmusic.com/. / / / I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. I’m now liv...

Ride Symbol Records recently reissued saxophonist and flautist Claire Daly‘s 2008 album Rah! Rah! The album is a tribute to Rahsaan Roland Kirk. In this interview, Daly talks about her first exposure to Rahsaan on record and in person; the fabulous band that backs her on the album; how she fell in love with the baritone saxophone; and much more. / / / This show marks the 14th anniversary of The Jazz Session! I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians since February 24, 2007. I’m now...

Composer Jihye Lee‘s sophomore album is called Daring Mind. In this interview, we trace Lee’s beginnings as a singer-songwriter in Seoul with no jazz background; how her desire to compose led her to attend Berklee College of Music; how she uses music to process emotions; and much more. / / / I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. I’m now living in a van and traveling the country, so I need your support more than ever. Please become a member today ...

Keyboardist and vocalist Rachel Eckroth just released a new duo recording with her husband Tim Lefebvre (interview) called The Blackbird Sessions Vol. 1. In this interview, Eckroth talks about her evolution as a vocalist and keyboardist; the origins of this duo recording; her work with Rufus Wainwright; her upcoming projects; and more. You can hear more of her performances with Lefebvre at their Patreon page. The track “Moot Points” mentioned in the interview is here. / / / I’ve been recording...

Laurie Pepper is back on the show to talk about the 11th volume in her Unreleased Art Pepper series. This one features a 1980 concert in Atlanta. In this interview, Pepper talks about how the concert came to be recorded; the work she continues to do on the extensive library of Art Pepper recordings she owns; the audiobook version of the classic jazz biography Straight Life; and much more. Listen to Laurie’s previous appearances on The Jazz Session here and here. / / / I’ve been recording conve...

Pianist Yoko Miwa‘s new album, Songs Of Joy, comes out on February 12, 2021. In this interview, Miwa talks about recording during the pandemic; the loss of her father and how she memorialized him in a composition; why she continues to include Monk in her repertoire; and much more. / / / I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. I’m now living in a van and traveling the country, so I need your support more than ever. Please become a member today at th...

Lara Driscoll is half of the Firm Roots Duo, a two-piano ensemble also featuring her husband Chris White. In this interview, Lara talks about the challenges of performing and recording with two pianos; how she and Chris work together as composers; fun times in an RV; the fascinating story of recording their new album, Firm Roots; and more. / / / I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. I’m now living in a van and traveling the country, so I need you...

Pianist Yelena Eckemoff is a prolific composer. In this interview, she talks about Nocturnal Animals, which came out earlier this year, and Adventures Of The Wildflower, which comes out in March 2021. Eckemoff also talks about incorporating poetry and prose and art into her musical presentations; the path from idea to composition; and much more. Technical note: This is the first episode I recorded in my van, so you may detect some slight audio differences from previous episodes. I’ll iron out t...

Violinist Tomoko Omura‘s latest album is Branches, Vol. 1. In this interview, she talks about the album’s sonic landscape; how she drew from Japanese folktales to write the music; the gorgeous artwork by Trina Hines; and a lot more. Be sure to also watch the illustrated music video for “Revenge of the Rabbit.” / / / I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. By the time you hear this episode, I’ll be living in a van and traveling the country. I need yo...

Pianist Miki Yamanaka‘s new album is Human Dust Suite. In this interview, Yamanaka talks about the artwork that inspired the suite; how she left a graduate program in seismology in Japan to become a jazz pianist in New York; why she chose the specific players who accompany her on the album; and more. CONCERT NOTE: Miki Yamanaka is playing with Philip Harper at Smalls Jazz Club this Saturday, November 28, 2020 at 5 pm and 7 pm ET. You can attend in person, or else stream the show anywhere at htt...

Drummer and educator Dr. Colleen Clark is the first woman to receive a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Jazz Performance at the University of North Texas. In this interview, she talks about her educational background; why she loves Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus; her sports-adjacent philosophy of music education; her new band; and more. / / / I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. As I prepare to head out on the road in a van (which will also ...

Champian Fulton’s new album, Birdsong, is a tribute to Charlie Parker’s 100th birthday. The album features Fulton’s working band plus saxophonist Scott Hamilton. In this interview, Fulton talks about meeting Hamilton in Europe; why she feels such a special connection to Bird; how she’s kept in touch with her audience during the pandemic; and some upcoming recording projects. / / / I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. As I prepare to head out on ...

Vocalist Allegra Levy‘s new album is Lose My Number: Levy Sings McNeil (SteepleChase, 2020). On it, she sings lyrics she wrote for the songs of her longtime collaborator, trumpeter John McNeil. In this interview, Levy talks about writing lyrics for someone else’s tunes; the story behind her all-woman band; finding new performance models both during and after the pandemic; and more. / / / I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. As I prepare to head ...

Trombonist and vocalist Natalie Cressman has released an album and a single with Brazilian guitarist Ian Faquini, and a second album is nearly complete. In this interview, Cressman talks about immersing herself in the Portuguese language; the subtlety of her duo playing with Faquini; virtual music during the pandemic; and the recording of their second album. / / / I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007. As I prepare to head out on the road in a van...

Vocalist Sara Serpa confronts the history of Portuguese colonialism in Angola on her new album Recognition. In this interview, she talks about her family’s experiences as both colonizers and resistance fighters; the formation of the unique ensemble that plays the music on the album; how she created the film which the music accompanies; and a forthcoming project based on the work of author Emmanuel Iduma. / / / I’ve been recording conversations with jazz musicians on The Jazz Session since 2007...