Interview

Interview: Marcus Elliot and Michael Malis

I conducted this interview with saxophonist Marcus Elliot and pianist Michael Malis, while they were on a U.S. tour in Washington, DC with their duo, Balance. They are both native to Detroit and are some of the most interesting players from the next generation of creative musicians in the city. We talked about their creative

Interview: Devin Brahja Waldman

Saxophonist and composer Devin Brahja Waldman has been working in New York for about a decade and has led bands, contributed to projects such as Heroes Are Gang Leaders, and had numerous collaborations including Radical Reversal, with poet Randall Horton. In July, I interviewed Waldman about the release of the record, Kadef. CB: How did

Interview: Koichi Matsukaze

Multi-instrumentalist Koichi Matsukaze was born in 1948 in the Shizuoka Prefecture. A musician with a busy schedule, he is still active these days, leading his own quartet, and other past or present activities include participations in the Shibuya Takeshi Orchestra, Essential Ellington, the Sax Workshop, and the Yuji Imamura group, among other projects. Recently, his

Interview: Alfred 23 Harth

Alfred 23 Harth, also known as A23H, German multimedia artist, bandleader, multi-instrumentalist musician, and composer, recently released a duo album 55 Quintets with Korean trumpeter Choi Sun Bae (originally included in Ballet Music, but very few persons have this CDr).   Soon after extending his work radius from Germany to South Korea, A23H made collage

Artist Feature: Colin Hinton

I had the opportunity to talk with drummer Colin Hinton over the past six months about his music, training, and perspective as an artist. Cisco Bradley: You are about to release a collaborative trio record with Rema Hasumi and Shawn Lovato. How did that band come together?  What concepts and ideas are you collaborating on?

Interview: Mark Lewandowski

Bassist Mark Lewandowski originally hails from Nottingham, England, but moved to New York City in August of 2017. In 2021, he released his second album as a leader Under One Sky with Addison Frei (piano) and Kush Abadey (drums). Writer Akira Saito had the opportunity to interview Mr. Lewandowski about his work and perspectives on

Artist Feature: Nick Dunston

Over the past few months I had the opportunity to talk with bassist and composer Nick Dunston about his work. As one of a new generation of players on the New York scene (and beyond), he has had a confident, growing presence. Cisco Bradley: What are your current projects? Nick Dunston: A few things! Referring

Interview: Saxophonist Sarah Hughes

I recently had the opportunity to talk with saxophonist Sarah Hughes. Having released her second record as a leader, The Drag, in late 2019, she continues to experiment and explore new areas of her sound. This interview focuses on her creative process, her approach to experimentation, and where Ms. Hughes intends to go next. Cisco

Artist Feature: Aquiles Navarro

Watching Aquiles Navarro establish himself on the New York music scene over the past six years has been fascinating. He’s a singular voice on trumpet and has been a transformative presence in every ensemble of which he is a part. His most well-known projects are a duo with Brooklyn-born drummer Tcheser Holmes and the collaborative

Artist Feature: Hasan Shahid and the Return of Al-Fatihah

In the late 1960s, the Black Unity Trio exploded onto the free jazz scene comprised of saxophonist Yusuf Mumin, cellist Abdul Wadud, and drummer Hasan Shahid. Based primarily in Cleveland, the band toured in various parts of the United States, especially on college campuses with active Black student organizations. The band exemplified some of the