Interviews

Brian, illuminates his distinctive philosophy and approach to the instrument. He explores how he views the bass as both the harmonic foundation and a melodic voice. He elaborates on his upcoming projects featuring multiple bass parts, often tuned differently, to create layered textures that redefine what the instrument can express.
He shares how his perception of a great bassline has evolved-focusing less on complexity and more on serving the music with clarity, groove, and emotional purpose. His process of composition is revealed with his deeply intuitive and architectural approach, where every instrument occupies its own window of sonic space, much like windows in a musical building. As a producer & musician, Brian delves into how he intends to balance individualism and collective musicality, especially within jazz—a genre that thrives on personal expression yet demands holistic listening.

He highlights his commitment to producing music that breathes as a unified whole rather than showcasing isolated brilliance.

He also expresses his thoughts on the modern generation of musicians, foreseeing the need for a deeper connection between technique and humanity in music. While admiring young virtuosos, he emphasizes that true artistry comes from social interplay, harmonic understanding, and the ability to listen and respond.

Maaike Den Dunnen, the Netherlands-based jazz vocalist, made a lasting impression in the latest season of the Made In New York Jazz Competition, securing the 2nd place spot. In addition to receiving a strong vote of support from fans, Maaike stood out to our panel of judges—Lenny White, Randy Brecker, and Mike Stern—who selected her as a winner for her beautiful performance and artistic clarity.

Nicole Zuraitis caresses notes, bends them to blue, and keeps it gauzy and breathable: this is the new CD Hive Mind by the New York City songwriter-pianist. Her syncopation sizzles in The Inscription and the keys burn up while getting down to a gritty soul. Her cover of Jolene is astounding, heartbreaking, raw, and like a thousand points of sunlight. On this track, the piano is lovely and brilliant and added to the subtly thumping drums, makes this song a genuine standout.

To consider jazz in a political light even the history behind the term jazzâ itself (debatably pejorative) is, to some, the only true context. This becomes one of many ways in which to regard the 1972 shooting death of trumpet player Lee Morgan by his common-law wife Helen. The factors at play in this on-stage tragedy included love, jealousy and hate; addiction; artistry; and a culture of racial divisiveness.

Art director, illustrator and author Graham Marsh and author Glyn Callingham collaborated on the 1991 (re-released 2002) Album Cover Art: The Ultimate BLUE NOTE Collection. The authors give a fascinating historical context of the subject, and their detailed descriptions of the design sensibility of the day includes a discussion of advertising graphics (particularly related to fashion), which all serves as the Blue Note’s own liner notes.

Coming from a classical background and hearing Clifford Brown play it emphasized his trumpet brilliance, his technique and his articulation, similar to the study of articulation in classical and I found it fascinating. He set the bar so high. Every day I try to achieve the brilliance of Clifford.

I really wanted to play the drums but my mother said “absolutely no drums in this house” (there were several siblings who made “enough noise”). So one day my older brother came home from school with a shiny new trombone because he had joined the band and I knew that I had to have one too! I didn’t really know what it was but I didn’t stop asking until I got one. Growing up with an older brother, I had to have everything he had and in this case it was a trombone!

One of the challenges can be defining the heart of the song. There are so many rewards… exchanging ideas and building on them together, when one person’s focus is waning, the other can inspire with a new idea.

There are two ways to deal with racism in music. One is to channel your anger into the music and be a reporter of your culture. Often you are preaching to the choir. If the person who is a racist is not a fan of your music, then your anger is not going to matter to them. If a racist likes your music, I have a feeling they can turn it off.