Jazz88’s Peter Solomon caught up with clarinetist Tony Balluff of the Southside Aces. Balluff talked about one of his musical heroes: New Orleans clarinetist Jimmy Noone. He also discussed the formation of the Southside Aces, the group he co-founded twenty years ago with tuba player Erik Jacobson (The Southside Aces will be featured in the...Read More
Ron Carter is THE bass player. He is the most recorded bass player in the history of jazz and he continues to deliver quality recordings and performances as he prepares to celebrate his 87th birthday on Saturday, May 4th. Mr. Carter was nice enough to join Sean McPherson from The Afternoon Cruise on a short...Read More
MPS Voices and Jazz88 host Olive Norvell recently connected over ZOOM with Kamasi Washington in anticipation of Washington’s new album, Fearless Movement, and his upcoming show at the Fitzgerald Theater on May 11. They discussed his new record, his passion for music, his experience in scoring films and his feelings about pasta in general and...Read More
On April 23, 2024 Cornbread Harris celebrated his 97th birthday. Ahead of his birthday festivities at the Hook and Ladder on Thursday, Harris took the time to chat with Jazz88’s Sean McPherson about his life. Special thanks to Andrea Swensson for facilitating the interview. Photo credit: Anthony Markunas Full interview: This interview aired on The...Read More
Saxophonist Steve Cole is a big name in the world of smooth jazz and he has been based in the the Twin Cities for over fifteen years now. He’s bringing his horn and his Super Band onto the stage of the Dakota for two shows on Friday, April 26. Cole dropped by the Jazz88 studio...Read More
Bassist Anthony Cox joined Jazz88’s Sean McPherson to discuss Charles Mingus and Paul Chambers on their birthday (April 22). As a fellow bass player Cox shared the influence these icons of the instrument had on his development as a bass player, including how catching a live performance from Charles Mingus shaped Cox’s decision to pursue...Read More
It’s true! The Twin Cities has an exorbitant amount of record stores per capita. Having gone record shopping all over the country, I can confirm we probably have more record stores than some of the major cities on each coast. The music community that fuels our programming and represents our listenership at Jazz88 and all...Read More
In honor of Record Store Day coming up on Saturday I’d like to list to you five records that you will not regret owning on vinyl because they are amazing. Do I own them all? Not on vinyl. Do I love them all? Absolutely. Will I one day own them all on vinyl? Probably....Read More
Twin Cities guitar mainstay Jeremy Yvilsaker is curating Monday nights at Icehouse for the month of April and he’s doing it with a simple philosophy: get really creative people to try out new ideas. The results have been a success for Jeremy so far, and he took a break from a van ride to Kansas...Read More
Nowadays technology is mostly making things worse. But from time to time I’m reminded about the experiences that technology affords us. Ned Kantar, an in-demand pianist and bandleader in the Twin Cities decided to dust off some big band charts during the pandemic and write some new ones. After a quick chat with fellow arranger...Read More
