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
Celebrated Danish vocalist Sinne Eeg is making her way to the Twin Cities for a show at Crooners on Thursday, October 17. Eeg was nice enough to hop on the phone with Sean from the Afternoon Cruise to talk about her upcoming performance at Crooners and about how she approaches singing with different size groups!...Read More
Drummer and bandleader L.A. Buckner lovingly describes fellow drummer/bandleader Brandon Commodore as the “big homie”. These two great drummers and bandleaders have years of history and the love will come through loud and clear on Saturday at Crooners when they share a bill. In their visit with Jazz88 Commodore pointed out that not only is...Read More
Trombonist Dave Graf has made friends with almost everyone’s he’s ever played with and he has a frighteningly strong command of jazz trivia. As if that wasn’t enough, Graf has also been a fixture in the Twin Cities jazz scene for decades but he spends most of his time behind the scenes. That changes on...Read More
Jazz88’s Peter Solomon spoke with pianist Ethan Iverson, who played piano with The Bad Plus for seventeen years. Iverson discusses his recent Blue Note release ‘Technically Acceptable,’ as well as his passion for crime fiction and his controversial New York Times essay critiquing George Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue.’ Iverson performs with bassist Anthony Cox and...Read More
Local mainstay and friend of the station, Ginger Commodore, came to visit Sean McPherson on The Afternoon Cruise to discuss her new four-show series, “And the Melodies Still Linger On”. The series launches on Thursday, August 1 at Crooners. Ms. Commodore discussed how she picks songs, accompanists, and why she has been so focused on...Read More
Jazz88’s Peter Solomon spoke with vocalist Jennifer Grimm and 16-year-old saxophonist Grady Cartony about “Next Generation: Jazz,” a show focusing on young jazz artists taking place at Crooners at 5 PM on Sunday, July 21st. Two other showcases at Crooners will feature young artists from the classical scene and the musical theater community. https://kbem-od.streamguys1.com/kbem/20240718110950-JenniferGrimmandGradyCartony_01.mp3 More...Read More
Atlanta-based pianist Joe Alterman hopped on the phone recently to catch up with Jazz88’s Sean McPherson about his upcoming show at Crooners. Alterman discussed how a love of bluegrass brought him to his career in jazz, and discussed the humor he sometimes finds in a player’s dynamic range. Full interview: This interview aired on The...Read More
Twin Cities singer Maud Hixson won a Bistro Award recently for “Permanent Moonlight,” an album of songs by Richard Rodney Bennett. She spoke with Jazz88’s Peter Solomon about her path to becoming a professional jazz singer and about a Doris Day Tribute at Crooners’ Dunsmore Room on April 20th. https://kbem-od.streamguys1.com/kbem/20240415113940-MaudHixson_webmixdown.mp3Read More
Jazz88’s Peter Solomon spoke with Brazilian guitar virtuoso Diego Figueiredo about his musical development and his recent album “My World,” which featured guest appearances by clarinetist/saxophonist Ken Peplowski and trumpeter Nicholas Payton. Figueiredo is appearing at Crooners on Friday 3/29. https://kbem-od.streamguys1.com/kbem/20240328093738-DiegoFigwithmusic3_01080.mp3Read More