Author Archives: The Independent Ear

On the occasion of his 66th birthday (August 12, 2020), here’s a reprise of our June 2017 interview with NEA Jazz Master Pat Metheny.

Back in the 90s I enjoyed ten years with the former 24-hour jazz television service known as BET Jazz. After a few years participating in and hosting several video-performance powered jazz shows, including the Jazz Discovery talent show, BET Jazz … Continue reading →

f After a bit of an absence from the recording studios, the perennial poll-winning violinist, MacArthur Foundation “genius” award recipient, and one of the finest people in contemporary music, the incandescent violinist Regina Carter has a brand new release. In … Continue reading →

With the release of her latest recording, For the Love of Big Band, vocalist-producer-educator Lenora Zenzalai Helm not only provides a sturdy signpost of her current artistic outlook, she has also successfully incorporated significant elements of her full-time jazz education … Continue reading →

This dialogue is part two of a series of communications with touring performing artists discussing their sense of what their performing life will look like once the fog and uncertainty of our current pandemic life lifts enough to allow them … Continue reading →