Smalls is my favorite hang in New York because the lines between people and the different roles that they play are always a bit blurry. People in the club come from everywhere—they are part of the audience, but many of them (including the staff!) hope to make it onto the stage during the jam. Even [...]

When I first arrived in Winnipeg it felt like I was in a city that was happy to just be hiding in the middle of nowhere. At a welcoming committee I attended, one of the professors said to me, “Winnipeggers are proud of the many great things that are here. However, we like to keep [...]

Jazz always reflects the spirit of the time. Back in the ragtime period, jazz was volatile—it was sexy, exotic, extroverted. In the early 60s with the Beatles revolution, jazz absorbed those ideas and offered jazz-rock fusion.
Right now we’re in the information era. Every jazz musician has access to boatloads of information, and it’s readily available [...]

Paul Motian, drummer, composer, bandleader, and an important figure in the jazz world for over five decades, died November 22 at the age of 80.
Motian is not known for flashy rhythm inventions or wild drum solos. I think of him as more of a tai chi drummer, understanding exactly what was necessary and never tipping [...]

My first bass teacher was an old Jewish guy by the name of Henry Loew. He was the principal bassist in the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. He was an amazingly generous soul who cared for me like a son.
In my very first lesson, I brought along a bass that was once owned by a [...]