All That's Jazz

Season 3 Episode 4 Sherrie Maricle

Drummer, composer, arranger, teacher and a truly inspiring “force of nature”, Sherrie Maricle, leads The DIVA Jazz Orchestra, her quintet FIVE PLAY and co-leads the 3D Jazz Trio. 

With her bands, Sherrie has performed at many of the world’s most acclaimed music venues and festivals; from Lincoln Center to the Kennedy Center and the Hollywood Bowl, to Jazz Festivals around the world. 

In this episode, we talk with Sherrie about a wide range of topics including the route that led her to the drums, her love of Big Band music; the changing role of women in Jazz, and the constant challenge of recognition and acceptance. 

Season 3 Episode 3 Lynne Arriale

Lynne's latest album, The Lights Are Always On is a suite of compositions that reflect the world-wide, life-changing events of the past two years. Several of the pieces are named in honor of heroes around the world, including those who served as caregivers on the front lines of the COVID pandemic and as defenders of democracy. 

 

The album also expresses Lynne’s special admiration for the character of Representative John Lewis, Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the patriots of the Capitol Police who stepped into the breach risking their lives to defend our elected representatives and democracy during the January 6, 2021 Insurrection.

 

This is an episode of appreciation and inspiration, not only in Lynne’s own words but in the music she’s created to express her feelings and, in her words,  honor “our better angels; those who embrace truth, compassion, and inclusivity, and reject selfishness, lies, and hatred. It also acknowledges the marchers, my beautiful sisters worldwide, and the heroes of science and medicine who have sacrificed so much.”

Season 3 Episode 2 Tierney Sutton

9-time Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Tierney Sutton has received a “Best Jazz Vocal Album” Grammy nod for every project she has released in the last decade. Known for her impeccable voice and imaginative treatments of The Great American Songbook, Tierney is heralded for her abilities as both a jazz storyteller and her ability to use her voice as an instrument. 

In our conversation, we talk about her newest album, Paris Sessions II, released on May 6. It’s a rich collaboration with her husband, classically-trained guitarist Serge Merlaud, and the two take their musical connection to even deeper levels through songs dedicated to the late songwriter Marilyn Bergman.

Paris Sessions 2 was recorded during lockdown at L. A. 's Tritone Studios. Acoustic bass guitarist Kevin Axt, a member of the Tierney Sutton Band since 2005 and a key component of the first Paris Sessions, came back on board for Paris Sessions 2, providing resounding bass lines and all-important chordal work behind Merlaud's lyrical guitar solos. Legendary flutist Hubert Laws, who recorded remotely from his home studio, blends beautifully with Sutton's crystalline voice on five songs.

Michael Major of “Broadway World” said it best. “Sutton has continued to weave her spell with a combination of pure, pristine vocals, emotional honesty and striking reinventions of familiar tunes. That spell is very much intact on Paris Sessions 2.”

We agree

Season 3 Episode 1 Michael Wolff

Award winning jazz musician Michael Wolff’s book, ON THAT NOTE, is more than a memoir. It is like a Jazz score with words, taking the reader on the wild journey of his singular life, one driven by a passion for music and a passion for being alive. Sometimes hilarious and sometimes harrowing, Michael’s story is a true “page turner” that actually delivers. His book, life and the incredible backstory is what drew us to asking him to kick off Season 3 of All That’s Jazz. 

 

Michael survived a painful childhood overshadowed by Tourette’s Syndrome, where his brilliance as a jazz pianist and passion for music are what saw him through. Michael’s body of work includes 21 critically acclaimed albums, written award-winning scores to movies and television series, and now a book about his life and  beating an untreatable cancer. We know you’ll be drawn in to this remarkable episode.

Season 2 Episode 31 Alexa Tarantino

Alexa Tarantino is an award-winning, vibrant, young jazz saxophonist, woodwind doubler, composer, and educator. She was recently named one of the “Top 5 Alto Saxophonists of 2019” by the JazzTimes Critics’ Poll and nominated as a “Rising Star - Alto Saxophone” by Downbeat Magazine’s 2020 and 2021 Critics’ Poll. Alexa is currently on faculty for Jazz at Lincoln Center. Alexa holds a Master’s degree in Jazz Studies from The Juilliard School and Bachelor’s degrees in Jazz Saxophone Performance and Music Education from the Eastman School of Music.

Alexa has performed regularly as a leader and sidewoman in a wide variety of ensembles and genres including the Wynton Marsalis Septet, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Cecile McLorin Salvant Quintet and OGRESSE ensembles, Ulysses Owens Jr.’s Generation Y and Big Band, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, and the DIVA Jazz Orchestra.  In this episode we speak with Alexa in depth about her background and her latest release "Firefly."

Season 2 Episode 30 Michael Leonhart

Michael Leonhart is a New York-based trumpeter, composer, producer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who has carved a niche for himself, leading his multi-piece Michael Leonhart Orchestra.

On Sunnyside Records, Michael’s new release, titled “The Normyn Suites” is a requiem and celebration, inspired by the life and death of the bandleader’s 15-year-old dog, a female mini dachshund named Normyn. In keeping with the MLO’s eclectic musical palette, the album features several collaborations with Elvis Costello, with contributions by Bill Frisell, Joshua Redman, Nels Cline, and JSWISS as well as two bonus offerings with Donny McCaslin.

 

It’s a beautiful backstory of love and loss that in these times speaks personally - and universally. 

Season 2 Episode 29 Blue Note Entertainment Group

In this episode, we speak with the President of Blue Note Entertainment Group, Steven Bensusan, about the past, present and future plans for one of the most iconic names in jazz worldwide. Since 1981, Blue Note has been a cultural institution in New York City and one of the world’s premiere jazz clubs.  We speak with Steven Bensusan who is the son of Blue Note’s founder Danny Bensusan and his dad’s vision to create a jazz club in Greenwich Village that would treat deserving artists with respect, and how it has become a worldwide presence on the jazz scene with clubs in Hawaii, Napa, Tokyo, Nagoya, Rio, Milan and Beijing. Blue Entertainment Group has also expanded its business portfolio to include festivals and other enterprises and investments within the music industry. 

Season 2 Episode 28 Grace Fox

In this episode we are introducing the world to the formidable Grace Fox Big Band, Grace Fox is a 19-year-old trumpeter, composer, arranger and now a bandleader who has debuted an album release called Eleven O'Seven. It features an amazing, ground-breaking all female ensemble.   

 

Finding inspiration and empowerment from listening to the powerful all-female ensembles ‘The International Sweethearts of Rhythm’, and ‘The Diva Jazz Orchestra’, Grace was moved to create a big band of her own, one that could feature some of the most formidable young female artists within the jazz idiom.

  

On Eleven O’ Seven, Fox presents decidedly modern arrangements of innovative, insightful and hopeful compositions for a brighter future – and that future is female. 

Season 2 Episode 27 David Benoit

 Iconic pianist, composer, arranger, producer, film and TV scorer, David Benoit, IS music. He is an extension of what he creates.  A Founding Father of Contemporary Jazz, rooted in the tradition of Dave Brubeck and Bill Evans, David - who started playing piano as a young child - is a true trailblazer unbound by categories and rules. 

 

Now, with his new release ‘A Midnight Rendezvous’, David records for the first time with a big band under his own direction and joined by numerous special guests including  pianist Jeff Lorber and saxophonist Eric Marienthal. Our conversation covers not only his career, his connection to the music of ‘Peanuts’, and how excited he is to finally have his big band dream become a reality.

ATJ S2 Episode 26 Riverside Trio

Oz Noy, Ray Marchica and Ugonna Okegwo’s new album, Riverside, was released on January 21, 2022 via Outside in Music. Their first release as a trio, this is a fresh, life-affirming collection of standards that stems from the group’s spontaneous outdoor jams held in New York City’s Riverside Park during the Covid-19 lockdown.

It’s a conversation with all three about what brought them together and how their collaboration saved them mentally and musically.