Vocalist Dane Stauffer visited the Afternoon Cruise to discuss his upcoming Monstrous Melodies Cabaret at the Dakota. The performance features Stauffer, Maria Jette, Prudence Johnson and Dan Chouinard. Though Dane said he wasn’t sure if any of the performance was legitimately “scary” he assured us it was lots of fun. He even brought along a...Read More
Bassist Liz Draper has been running a residency at Berlin for October and she’s wrapping it up on Sunday, October 27 with her friend Ava Mendoza. Mendoza is a celebrated guitarist and composer based in Brooklyn and her friendship with Draper goes back almost 25 years. Liz spoke about her approach to improvising on the bass, her recent experience with...Read More
Chris Botti is renowned trumpeter with lots of crossover appeal and a penchant for recording ballads. In this conversation with Jazz88’s Peter Solomon, Botti discusses his musical inspirations, discusses studying with legendary post-bop trumpeter Woody Shaw, recalls his days touring with the temperamental drum legend and bandleader Buddy Rich, and speaks on the varying approaches...Read More