Jazz88’s Peter Solomon speaks with Sarah Fornace from the Chicago-based performance collective Manual Cinema. Fornace is the director of “Leonardo: A Wonderful Show about a Terrible Monster,” a show based on two stories by Mo Willems. It’s running January 8th – March 9th at Cargill stage, presented by Children’s Theatre. https://kbem-od.streamguys1.com/kbem/20250102112229-SarahPeter-SarahFornaceMondayJan62025_01078_.mp3 More Posts for Show:...Read More
Jazz88’s Peter Solomon speaks with Shawn Lewis, Community Relations Manager with the Minneapolis Parks Foundation, about planned improvements to North Commons Park. At $45 million, the North Commons renovation represents the largest investment ever made in a neighborhood park in the 140-year history of the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board.Read More
Jazz88’s Peter Solomon speaks with Harlem-based pianist Emmet Cohen about his recent album “Vibe Provider,” and about “Live from Emmet’s Place” – the live stream series he started that helped him navigate the pandemic. Cohen plays the Dakota on November 15th with bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Joe Farnsworth. https://kbem-od.streamguys1.com/kbem/20241113110036-EmmetCoheninterviewandmusicFINAL.mp3 TRANSCRIPT PETER SOLOMON: Emmett Cohen...Read More
Jazz88’s Peter Solomon spoke with organist Pat Bianchi about his relationship to the Hammond B-3 organ and the influence of the late organist Joey DeFrancesco. Bianchi will perform at the Crooners Main Stage Thursday, November 14th with drummer Byron Landham and guitarist Paul Bollenback, who served as DeFrancesco’s rhythm section for many years. https://kbem-od.streamguys1.com/kbem/20241111195108-PatBianchi_mixdown.mp3 TRANSCRIPT:...Read More
Scott Amendola is a bay-area drummer and composer who has had long associations with artists like Charlie Hunter and Nels Cline. He performs with a trio including clarinetist Ben Goldberg and bassist Todd Sickafoose at Jazz Central on Thursday, November 7th. The group just released an album called “Here to There” consisting of music inspired...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
Jazz88’s Peter Solomon spoke with choreographer and master dance instructor Ashi Smythe about the legacy of Katherine Dunham, the woman widely acknowledged as the “Queen Mother and Matriarch of African American Dance.” Smythe is a guest artist and instructor in a two-week Katherine Dunham residency taking place at Lundstrum Performing Arts. Attached photo by Mike...Read More
New-York based singer Richard Cortez is releasing his debut album, Mood Swings, this week. Jazz88’s Peter Solomon caught up with Cortez to discuss how his long history of gay activism plays into his musical career. Remarkably, he only started singing jazz publicly a few years ago. He made a name for himself by organizing jazz...Read More
Jazz88’s Peter Solomon speaks with Jeff Coffin, a multi-instrumentalist/composer who is well-known for his role as saxophonist with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones and the Dave Matthews Band. On Only the Horizon, his 23rd album as a leader, he collaborates with a West African percussion group called the Yeli Ensemble, as well as guitarist Cory Wong,...Read More
Jazz88’s Peter Solomon spoke with Dale Alexander, a pianist and drummer based in Los Angeles, but originally from St. Paul, to get his thoughts on Bud Powell. The father of modern jazz piano was born September 27, 1924 and would be 100 years old. The image below was taken of Bud Powell in Europe in...Read More
