Improv Exchange Podcast

Episode #98: Satoko Fujii

Pianist and composer SATOKO FUJII, “an improviser of rumbling intensity and generous restraint” (Giovanni Russonello, New York Times), is one of the most original voices in jazz today. For more than 25 years, she has created a unique, personal music that spans many genres, blending jazz, contemporary classical, rock, and traditional Japanese music into an innovative synthesis instantly recognizable as hers alone. “Fujii’s music troubles the divide between abstraction and realism. . . . All of this amounts to abstract expressionism, in musical form. But it’s equaled by her rich sense of simplicity, sprung from the feeling that she is simply converting the riches of the world around her into music,” writes Giovanni Russonello in the New York Times.

A prolific composer for ensembles of all sizes and a performer who has appeared around the world, she was the recipient of a 2020 Instant Award in Improvised Music, in recognition of her “artistic intelligence, independence, and integrity.” Her talent as a big band composer, arranger, and leader have been recognized numerous times in DownBeat Critics Polls. The New York City Jazz Record has twice named her Artist of the Year. In 2021, El Intruso named her Pianist of the Year.

Since she burst onto the scene in 1996, Fujii has led and recorded with some of the most consistently creative ensembles in modern improvised music. She recorded her 100th CD as leader or co-leader live in concert in September 2022. To mark the milestone, she wrote a new suite, Hyaku: One Hundred Dreams, featuring trumpeters Wadada Leo SmithandNatsuki Tamura, tenor saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, bassoonist Sara Schoenbeck, electronics artist Ikue Mori, bassist Brandon Lopez, and drummers Tom Rainey and Chris Corsano.

Among the groups she led are a piano trio with Mark Dresser and Jim Black (1997-2009), and an electrifying avant-rock quartet featuring drummer Tatsuya Yoshida of The Ruins (2001-2008). In addition to a wide variety of small groups of different instrumentation, Fujii also performs in a duo with trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, with whom she’s recorded eight albums since 1997. She and Tamura are also one half of the international free-jazz quartet Kaze, which has released five albums since their debut in 2011.

Fujii has established herself as one of the world’s leading composers for large jazz ensembles, prompting Cadence magazine to call her “the Ellington of free jazz.” Since 1996, she has released a steady stream of acclaimed albums for jazz orchestras and in 2006 she simultaneously released four big band albums: one from her New York ensemble, and one each by three different Japanese bands. In 2013 she debuted the Satoko Fujii Orchestra Chicago at the Chicago Jazz Festival and two years later debuted the new Satoko Fujii Orchestra Berlin.

With 2016 marking her 20th year in creative music, Fujii performed concerts once a month in cities around the world, including solo concerts and with her duo with Tamura performed with special guests. She also presented performance with small and large ensembles.

During her 60th birthday year in 2018, a milestone known as Kanreki in Japan, Fujii celebrated by releasing one new CD a month. In keeping with the Kanreki tradition of reflecting on the past while looking to the future, the 12 albums included releases by groups that Fujii has led or been part of for years, such as Kaze, Orchestra Berlin, and Orchestra Tokyo, as well as new groups and collaborations with Australian keyboardist Alister Spence; Mahobin, a cooperative quartet featuring Lotte Anker, Ikue Mori, and Tamura; and a new trio, This Is It!

In addition to playing accordion in Tamura’s Gato Libre, she pursues a fruitful collaboration with bassist Joe Fonda. Together, the duo has released five recordings, sometimes adding guests like Tamura and Gianni Mimmo. In 2019, she recorded Confluence, an album of intimate, highly interactive duets with drummer Ramon Lopez.

When the pandemic forced her to stay home for more than a year, she remained musically active, converting her home practice room into a recording studio and producing her seventh solo album, Hazuki; and a duet with Tamura, Keshin. She also collaborated by swapping sound files over the Internet, releasing the duet albums Prickly Pear Cactus with Ikue Mori; Thread of Light with bassist Joe Fonda; and Underground by Futari, her duo project with vibraphonist Taiko Saito. She also explored the use of computer editing to shape a solo release, Piano Music. In this episode, Satoko shares her background, education, and musical journey.

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Episode #97: Matthew Alec

Matthew Alec is a jazz and popular music saxophonist, founder and Executive Producer at Cleveland Time Records, and bandleader for the high-energy jazz fusion group Matthew Alec and The Soul Electric.

Nominated as “Cleveland’s Best Horn Player” by Cleveland Scene Magazine in 2009, Matthew has performed for over 20 years and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music from Kent State University. He has toured nationally and has opened for a number of A-list acts including Earth, Wind, and Fire, Incubus, Robert Randolph and The Family Band, Keane, Average White Band, Lupe Fiasco, OAR, Ozomatli, Bret Michaels, Rusted Root, and others. He has performed with former Saturday Night Live Musical Director, CBS Orchestra member, and Blues Brothers bandsman Tom “Bones” Malone, internationally-acclaimed bassist Victor Wooten and his brother Roy “Futureman” Wooten, Saturday Night Live trombonist Steve Turre, Kenny G bassist Vail Johnson, Grammy-winning Ohio Players alumni Billy Beck, and Parliament-Funkadelic bassist Ben Powers, Jr. He has recorded with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Parliament-Funkadelic and Talking Heads member Bernie Worrell and aforementioned Tom "Bones"Malone.

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Episode #96: Jussi Reijonen

Born in Rovaniemi, a small town on the Arctic Circle in Northern Finland, fretted/fretless guitarist and oud player Jussi Reijonen is truly the product of a life lived transcending boundaries.
Having grown up in Finnish Lapland, the Middle East and East Africa, and spending much of his adulthood in the United States, Jussi has lived a life soaking up the sounds, sights, scents and shades of Nordic, Middle Eastern, African and American cultures, all of which are reflected in his creative work as composer and performer.

Along his path, Jussi has worked as bandleader, sideman, composer or arranger with a diverse array of world-renowned artists. He has collaborated with Jack DeJohnette, Pepe de Lucía, Javier Limón, David Fiuczynski, Simon Shaheen, Bassam Saba, Arto Tunçboyacıyan, Dave Weckl, Hüsnu Şenlendirici and the New York Gypsy All-Stars, among others. He has performed extensively at prestigious festivals and venues throughout the United States like Lincoln Center and the Library of Congress, as well as in Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Germany, France, Canada and Lebanon.

Jussi’s Independent Music Award-nominated debut album un | ان was released to great critical acclaim in early 2013 on his unmusic label. His latest album Three Seconds | Kolme Toista, a long-form suite for a new transcultural 9-piece ensemble, features musicians from Jordan/Iraq, Palestine, Turkey, Japan and the United States and was released worldwide on October 14th, 2022 via Challenge Records International.

Alongside his solo work, he co-leads Sawaari, a quintet exploring the nexus of Indian rhythms, Arabic maqamat, and trance music from North Africa and Southern Italy. He collaborates with Swiss vocalist Gabriela Martina, and is a member of the New York Arabic Orchestra.

Through his work as an educator and doctoral researcher at Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland, Jussi continues to promote and provoke transcultural dialogue and conversation across boundaries and disciplines beyond mere identity politics. In this episode, Jussi shares his background, education, and musical journey.

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Episode #95: Marcus Click

As a native of Louisville, Kentucky, Marcus grew up with aspirations of becoming a pro football player, but his goals changed after having committed over 13 years of his young life to the U.S. Navy honorably. During this time, his love for jazz grew by listening and learning from the late Grover Washington, Jr., David Sanborn, Kirk Whalum, Najee, Dave Koz, the late saxophonists, Art Porter and George Howard. Marcus says on one account,” I became truly inspired by a phone call from the late George Howard, a conversation and experience I’ll never forget.” Marcus would find his way before Rebbie Jackson (a Sister of Jackson 5 & Janet Jackson) and her family during a weekend show in Las Vegas. He knew his life was being routed towards a musical journey. Since then, Marcus has performed locally in Jacksonville, Florida and continued to travel abroad. To name a few notable events, Marcus performed for the Convoy of Hope (Super Bowl XXXIX) NFL Sponsored Event. Marcus won the Artist Music Guild’s (AMG) 2019 Instrumentalist of the Year Award. He was the headliner for the 2020 Orange County Mayor’s Jazz in the Park (Orlando FL). Other recent notable performances consisted of kicking off the 2019 Summer Jazz Series on Jacksonville Beach, FL before Jessy J. (saxophonist) and Canadian Jazz Band, Four80East. Most recently, Marcus set the tone by opening up the Main Stage at the 2021 Jacksonville Jazz Festival before the Legendary R&B Singer, Jeffrey Osborne and Legendary, Chart-topping & Famed Jazz Saxophonist, NAJEE.

During Marcus’s musical journey, he also received encouragement from famed percussionist, Sheila E., and saxophonists, Nelson Rangell, Najee, Mike Phillips, his sax mentors: Joe Yorio (Toured with Peabo Bryson) & Mel Holder (Billboard Saxophonist & Stellar Award Finalist), and the late great saxman, George Howard.Not too far in the recent past, Marcus released the single “Brand New Day” (2018), globally and to 200+ radio stations globally. The song was composed/produced by jazz sensation, International Recording Artist/keyboardist, Jonathan Fritzen, whom also performs on the single. It debuted at #1 song, with the most spins during its 1st week in rotation on Billboard Smooth Jazz radio stations across the US. It even received airplay in the UK and charted 7 consecutive weeks on The Smooth Jazz Network Top 100, along with peaking at #1, #5, #30 on other jazz charts. Marcus shares his background, education, and musical journey in this episode of Improv Exchange.

 

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Episode #94: Jeff Denson

Jeff Denson has released 16 albums as a leader or co-leader and toured extensively throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe with both his own groups and others at some of the world’s most prestigious venues and festivals such as the Village Vanguard, Birdland, The Kennedy Center, JVC Jazz Festival Paris, Montreal Jazz Festival, Berlin Jazz Festival, and SFJazz to name a few. Jeff has worked with some of jazz’s finest artists such as Brian Blade, Joe Lovano, Chris Potter, Jane Ira Bloom, Dave Douglas, Walter Smith III, Rachel Z, Omar Hakim, Gerald Cleaver, Warren Wolf, Leo Genovese, Edward Simon, Paul McCandless, Cuong Vu, Ralph Alessi, Dan Weiss, Lionel Loueke, Romain Pilon, and Mimi Fox, among many others and had an ongoing relationship with the legendary Lee Konitz for over a decade until his passing in 2020.

Jeff has been ranked in the DownBeat Rising Star Critic's Poll ten times in the Bass, Electric Bass, and Male Vocalist categories, and was voted #1 Rising Star Electric Bassist in 2021. Jeff is the Founder and Artistic Director of Ridgeway Arts, Inc., a 501c3 arts nonprofit organization, and the Dean of Instruction at the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley. Jeff shares his background, education, and musical journey in this episode of Improv Exchange.

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Episode #93: Nicole Johänntgen

Nicole Johänntgen, jazz saxophonist, composer, and coach, tours Europe-wide with her band "Henry" and her solo program. Her second solo album was released in June 2022 on her label "Selmabird Records". She has produced 20 albums to date and received numerous awards. Johänntgen also performs internationally as a guest soloist at the invitation of various bands and is given the artistic direction to put together projects for festivals. Her focus is on live playing, studio recording, and mentoring. Thus, in 2022, she will increasingly conduct workshops for young people, as well as adults, who want to expand their knowledge in music, in jazz. In 2015 she founded the "Kids Jazz Club" and in 2013 the music business workshop SOFIA Support Of Female Improvising Artists to support young female jazz musicians in self-management and networking. Nicole Johänntgen's musical career began 28 years ago. At the age of six on the piano and years later she found her way to the saxophone and jazz as well as pop. First, she founded her Saarland band "Nicole Jo" at the age of 17, of which there are now six albums. She quickly expanded her radius. Played in America with the Sisters in Jazz (2003). Was a member of the European Swinging Jazz Orchestra, the IASJ International Association of Jazz of Schools, and the Dutch Rembrandt Frerichs project. Nicole Johänntgen studied jazz/popular music at the State Academy of Music in Mannheim, Germany, and has lived in Switzerland with her family since 2005.

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Episode #92: John Yao

For over fifteen years, John Yao has been honing his talents as a trombonist, a composer and arranger, and has cemented his place on the New York City jazz scene. Yao’s lyrical soloing and expressive round tone combined with his with a creative hunger for exploring the boundaries of harmony and rhythm in his compositions/arrangements has established him as a unique musical talent. Yao has released five solo recordings, all of which feature his adventurous, boundary-pushing compositions for small groups and big bands alike. As a composer, Yao has also been commissioned to write works for professional artists and ensembles including the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia, Luis Bonilla, and HGM Jazzorkestar Zagreb among many others. His works have been performed internationally by many college and high school ensembles, including Temple University, Indiana University and the University of North Carolina, to name a few. Many of his works are published and available to professional and educational ensembles. As a trombonist, Yao has worked extensively as a sideman for Grammy-award winning New York City ensembles, such as the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and Arturo O’Farrill, and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra among many others. Yao has also established himself as an in-demand educator in New York and beyond. Presently he serves as Assistant Professor of Trombone at Berklee College of Music, and as an Adjunct faculty member at Molloy College. He is an active guest artist and soloist at colleges and universities around the United States and abroad.

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Episode #91: Jonas Timm

Jonas Timm is a Leipzig-based pianist, composer und improviser. He grew up in Berlin in within his parental background of Choir music. Trained in classical Piano and Voice starting in the age of 5, he discovered improvised music in his early teens and went to study Music in Leipzig with Grandmaster Richie Beirach, Albert Bover and Michael Wollny. Besides he learned from: Alexander von Schlippenbach, Sebastian Schunke and Nils Klein among others...

As formative part of Leipzigs prospering young Jazz scene, he tries to develop new spaces in intercultural exchange between people and continents. Jonas is currently collaborating and touring with several Ensembles like the Berlin Radio Choir and the Gewandhaus Choir Leipzig and played with Norma Winstone, Theo Bleckmann, Johannes Enders to list a few...

He is a current scholarship holder of the State of Saxony, the German Foundation of Orchestra, the Performing Rights Society and the Foundation of the Castle of Rheinsberg. Furthermore he does curate the anually MJUZIK Festival and the „Reihe 22“ in Leipzig On April 22, 2022, Jonas released his Debut CD “Morbu” as JazzThing Next Generation Vol. 90 with Diego Pinera (drums), Tino Derado (accordion), Bertram Burkert (acoustic guitar), Lorenz Heigenhuber (Doublebass), where he combines the rhythms of Latin-American Dances with the harmonic heritage of the post-impressionistic composers of Spain and France. In this episode, Jonas shares his background, education, and musical journey.

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Episode #90: Joel A. Martin

Joel A. Martin is a Norwalk CT-based pianist, producer, composer, and arranger who has collaborated with, and/or written music for, Grammy® Award-winners Alan Menken, Kathleen Battle, Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, cellist Eugene Friesen of the Paul Winter Consort, and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jaimoe of the Allman Brothers, among many luminaries.

At age 17 Joel was the youngest and the first African-American pianist to compete in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (1985). He has appeared as a soloist with the NY Philharmonic, El Paso Symphony, Springfield Symphony Orchestra (MA), Philadelphia Orchestra, Cab Calloway Orchestra, New Hampshire Festival Orchestra, and the Hartford Symphony, among many others.

Trained as a classical pianist at the Hartt School of Music and SUNY, Purchase, he created "Jazzical" in 1995 as a celebration of creative fusion: "the explosive union of classical composition and jazz innovation ignited with a fresh spirit all its own." This concept, form and vehicle "captures the dynamic force of multiple cultures and influences, unleashing a kinetic energy that breaks down boundaries and yields whole new worlds of musical expression." In this episode, Joel shares his background, education, and musical journey.

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Episode #89: Alyn Shipton

Alyn Shipton is a writer, publisher, broadcaster, and jazz double bassist. He has broadcast about jazz since 1989, and currently hosts BBC Radio 3’s long-running and much-loved programmed Jazz Record Requests. His biographies of Dizzy Gillespie (1999) and singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson (2013) both won Association for Record Sound Collections (ARSC) Awards for Excellence; and Nilsson also gained an American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Foundation Deems Taylor/Virgil Thompson Award. His New History of Jazz (2001) was the Jazz Journalists’ Association (JJA) book of the year’ by the Jazz Institute of Chicago. His most recent work, The Art of Jazz: A Visual History (2020), was described as ‘indispensable’ by Publishers Weekly. He co-leads the Buck Clayton Legacy Band, and is a research fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in London (where he teaches Jazz History to Emma Rawicz). In this episode, Alyn shares his background, education, and musical journey.

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