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  Tomeka Reid - Episode 29 (2/20/24)
Tomeka Reid
TomekaReid.com

Joseph Celli Interviews Tomeka Reid

Tomeka Reid Interview

Tomeka Reid, cellist, composer and improviser discusses her music, her participation in the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), the creation of the Chicago Jazz String Summit, and her recent MacArthur Genius Award. She talks about her classical cello training and her evolution into composition and improvisation and the sense of community that she strives for when making music. We listen to several of her performances with her quartet that includes Mary Halvorson (guitar), Jason Roebke (bass) and Tomas Fujiwara (drums).
The New York Times wrote, “The cellist Tomeka Reid has been one of the great energies of the past year in jazz: a melodic improviser with a natural, flowing sense of song and an experimenter who can create heat and grit with the texture of sound.”

  Dennis Báthory-Kitsz - Episode 28 (10/25/23)
Dennis Bathory-Kitsz
Dennis's Website

Joseph Celli Interviews Dennis Báthory-Kitsz

Dennis Báthory-Kitsz Interview

An exuberant and lively discussion with composer Dennis Báthory-Kitsz about his pseudonyms, early musical development, Grundig radios, the dawn of Dennis’s homemade computer music, creation of Kalvos and Damien’s New Music Bazaar, life in Vermont, composer Clarence Barlow, and his over 300 commissions and 1,000 compositions. Dennis has received numerous awards and grants including ASCAP – Deems Taylor Internet Award, American Music Center Composer Assistance Program, and National Endowment for the Arts grant.

  David Murray - Episode 27 (7/19/23)
William Parker
DavidMurray.xyz

Joseph Celli Interviews David Murray

David Murray Interview

The Washington Post has written about saxophonist/bass clarinetist extraordinaire and band leader David Murray, ‘…a legend…he took the jazz world by storm.’ The Village Voice declared David ‘musician of the decade’. During the interview David discusses his early church years, his work with the Gwo-Ka Masters and the Grateful Dead. He has released over 150 recordings with an extraordinaire range of musicians including Pharoah Sanders, World Sax Quartet, Lester Bowie, Andrew Cyrille, Jack DeJohnette, James Blood Ulmer, Don Pullen, Milford Graves and countless others.
David discusses Coleman Hawkins, John Coltrane, PaPa Joe Jones, the World Saxophone Quartet as well as his current band featuring Marta Sanchez. During the interview we hear music from several of his releases including his most recent release Brave New World Trio.

Cecil Taylor compared Murray to his greatest predecessors who had a signature sound when he said, “You stick your ear in the door, you know it’s David!”

  William Parker - Episode 26 (4/13/23)
William Parker
WilliamParker.net

Joseph Celli Interviews William Parker

William Parker Interview

William Parker is a bassist, improviser, composer, author and educator from New York City. William has recorded over 150 albums, published six books and taught and mentored hundreds of young musicians and artists. He has been called “one of the most inventive bassist/leaders since Mingus” and “the creative heir to Jimmy Garrison and Paul Chambers…” The Village Voice called him, “…the most consistently brilliant free jazz bassist of all time.”

During the interview Parker discusses his early years in the Bronx, training with some of the masters of the bass, his 12-years with Cecil Taylor and his universal beliefs in the power of music. In addition to Cecil Taylor he has performed with creative musicians Milford Graves, Don Cherry, Bill Dixon, Peter Brotzmann, Derek Bailey, John Zorn, Rashied Ali, Charles Gayle, Jimmy Lyons, Billy Bang, Daniel Carter, Cooper Moore, David S. Ware, Sonny Murray, Jemeel Moondoc, Muhal Richard Abrams, Anthony Braxton, Oliver Lake, Roscoe Mitchell, Wadada Leo Smith, Enrico Rava, Grachan Moncur III, The Art Ensemble Of Chicago among others. A solo bass performance, a trio with Andrew Cyrille and Enrico Rava and his quartet are featured during the interview.

  Malcolm Goldstein - Episode 25 (6/16/22)

Wikipedia
Joseph Celli Interviews Malcolm Goldstein

Malcolm Goldstein Interview – Part I

Malcolm Goldstein has been considered a seminal voice in the downtown music scene of the ‘60’s, ‘70’s and ‘80’s with people like Philip Corner, James Tenney, Elaine Summers, Carolee Schneemann and others. His exploration of sound textures and expanded musical possibilities has resulted in the New York Times writing, “The program opened with one of his “Soundings” improvisations: Flutterings, whispers, squeaks, scrapes, trills and long brush strokes made for an intriguing aural collage, with sounds ranging from delicate and ethereal to harsh and grating.”

Malcolm has been awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Arts/Inter-Arts (USA), the Massachusetts Council on the Arts, the Canada Council for the Arts, and Conseil des arts et lettres du Québec, as well as numerous commissions from Studio Akustische Kunst/WDR Cologne. In 1994 he received the Prix International award for his acoustic art/radio work "between (two) spaces".

During Part I of the interview we hear music from his Sound The Fragility of Line and Broken Canons from Soweto Stomp.


Malcolm Goldstein Interview – Part 2

In Part 2 we hear a recording of Summer from The Seasons: Vermont, John Cage’s Eight Whiskus, and haiku sounding from the new release entitled, because a circle is not enough: music for bowed string instruments (New World Records, 80835-2). Malcolm continues the discussion of his work as a violinist, improviser and composer and how life in Vermont helped to inform his work.


  Miguel Zenon - Episode 24 (9/1/22)

MiguelZenon.com
Joseph Celli Interviews Miguel Zenon

Since the original interview with Miguel (9/8/19) he has released a number of new discs and expanded his work as a composer, educator and saxophonist. We discuss his new release Musica de Las Americas about which he says, “This music is inspired by the history of the American continent: not only before European colonization, but also by what’s happened since – cause and effect.” The new album pays tribute to the diverse cultures of the Americas while also challenging modern assumptions about who and what ‘America’ is.

Miguel is a multiple Grammy nominee and Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow as well as receiving commissions by SFJAZZ Collective, NY State Council for the Arts, Chamber Music America, Peak Performances and many others. He also created Caravana Cultural to present free-of-charge jazz concerts in rural areas of Puerto Rico.

“This young musician and composer is at once reestablishing the artistic, cultural and social tradition of jazz while creating an entirely new jazz language for the 21st century.” MacArthur Foundation


  Mary Halvorson - Episode 23 (6/9/22)

MaryHalvorson.com
Joseph Celli Interviews Mary Halvorson

Mary Halvorson discusses her two new releases Amaryllis and Belladonna that she composed during the Covid lock-down. The recordings showcase her string quartet writing deftly interpreted by The Mivos Quartet, alongside a brand new sextet featuring Adam O’Farrill (trumpet), Jacob Garchik (trombone), Patricia Brennan (vibraphone), Nick Dunston (bass) and Tomas Fujiwara (drums). The twin debuts for Nonesuch Records, released in May 2022, were called “...new landmarks in Halvorson’s already inimitable discography” in a five star review by The Guardian.

During the interview she gives us insights to her background, her guitar inspiration with Jimi Hendrix and studies with Anthony Braxton. Mary has been described as “a singular talent” (Lloyd Sachs, JazzTimes), ”NYC’s least-predictable improviser” (Howard Mandel, City Arts), “one of the most exciting and original guitarists in jazz—or otherwise” (Steve Dollar, Wall Street Journal), and “one of today’s most formidable bandleaders” (Francis Davis, Village Voice). In 2019 she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.

“An unflinching original who has revealed new possibilities within the music.” New York Times


  Bill Frisell - Episode 22 (5/19/22)



BillFrisell.com
Joseph Celli Interviews Bill Frisell

Guitarist/composer Bill Frisell discusses his post Covid activity, his memories of the ‘olden days’, touring, and the extraordinary energy that he gets from the music. Bill discusses the ‘magic’ of the music taking over and the instinctive sonic relationship within his trio, his early years in Denver, the music he’s listening to now, Louis Armstrong, and others. Bill Frisell’s career as a guitarist and composer has spanned more than 40 years and many celebrated recordings. His recorded catalog has been cited by Downbeat as, “the best recorded output of the decade.” Bill appears on over 150 recordings as leader or collaborator as well as receiving Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Jazz Album and for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. Bill is the subject of a new documentary film entitled, Bill Frisell: A Portrait, which examines his creative process in depth.

Frisell has had a lot of practice putting high concept into a humble package. Long hailed as one of the most distinctive and original improving guitarists of our time, he has also earned a reputation for teasing out thematic connections with his music…There’s a reason that Jazz at Lincoln Center had him program a series called Roots of Americana.” New York Times

Bill Frisell plays the guitar like Miles Davis played the trumpet: in the hands of such radical thinkers, their instruments simply become different animals. And, like Davis, Frisell loves to have a lot of legroom when he improvises – the space that terrifies others quickens his blood.” The New Yorker


  Joe Morris - Episode 21 (10/21/21)
joe-morris.com
Joseph Celli Interviews Joe Morris

Multi-instrumentalist, composer, improviser Joe Morris recalls his early years as a guitarist, his influences, and his path to becoming one of the most widely respected free music guitarists today. During the interview we listen to solo and ensemble performances as he discusses free jazz and the differences with other jazz styles. Joe also talks about the new Improvisation Now! concert series that he is curating at Real Art Ways and the various participating musicians. He appears on over 150 recordings as leader, co-leader and sideman with ‘best of the year’ nominations in the Village Voice, Chicago Tribune, Wire, Coda, and Jazzis among others. He has been on the faculty in the Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation Department at the New England Conservatory of Music since 2000.

“…the preeminent free music guitarist of his generation.” Downbeat Magazine

“One of the most profound improvisers at work in the U. S.” The Wire

“…the guitar revolutionary to pay attention to.” The Boston Phoenix

“…the most exciting and original jazz plucker to emerge in the last decade.” Downbeat


  Pamela Z - Episode 20 (7/19/21)
pamelaz.com
Joseph Celli Interviews Pamela Z

Composer/performer and media artist Pamela Z discusses her new CD release and her work with voice, electronic processing and gesture activated Midi controllers. She talks about the evolution of her work, the use of technology, and contextualizes various works from A Secret Code CD release (Neuma) as we listen to several selections from the release.

Pamela performs throughout the United States with tours to Japan and Europe and has been commissioned by Kronos Quartet, Eighth Blackbird, Bang On A Can All-Stars, Ethel, and the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players among others. She has received numerous awards including United States Artists, the Doris Duke Artist Impact Award, Rome Prize, Guggenheim Fellowship, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation residency, Herb Alpert Award in the Arts, Creative Capital Fund, and the MAP Fund among many others.

“Building upon layers is the central idea in Z's work, as she creates and edits digital loops on the spot and then sings, speaks or grunts over the top of her phantom ensemble. Z transcends the kind of dry, hermetic nature of much electronic music, by adding elements of dancer, performance artists, digital shaman, and generally charismatic stage presence. Josef Woodard (Santa Barbara News-Press)


  Wadada Leo Smith - Episode 19 (6/4/21)
wadadaleosmith.com
Joseph Celli Interviews Wadada Leo Smith

Wadada Leo Smith has been in the epicenter of creative music for over 50 years as a composer, trumpet player, educator and theoretician. Since his earliest days with Anthony Braxton to his most recent tours, recordings and performances with the likes of Vijay Iyer, Bill Laswell, and Milford Graves he has defined a singular path as a creative musician. In addition to being a finalist in the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music he also received the 2016 Doris Duke Artist Award and earned an honorary doctorate from CalArts, where he was also celebrated as Faculty Emeritus

During the interview we listen to two newly released CD box sets including Sacred Ceremonies and Trumpet and Wadada discusses various aspects of his compositional process, his work during the pandemic, upcoming projects and his tributes to other musicians, social and spiritual leaders.

The New York Times wrote, “…he knows the power of a single musical gesture and cuts a clearing around himself when he plays: He uses open, full, melodic cries, and then grainy, blurry, throttled ones; he plays in recognizable rhythm for a short period or lets his phrases crumble.”

“Before the masses woke, Smith's music had incorporated political, cultural, spiritual, and environmental awareness. The elder statesman of new music continues his prolific output with TUM Records box sets for the first half of 2021.” Karl Ackermann, All About Jazz


  Min Xiao-Fen - Episode 18 (5/14/21)
minxiaofenbluepipa.org
Joseph Celli Interviews Min Xiao-Fen

Classically trained pipa virtuoso Min Xiao-Fen left China and subsequently pursued an expansive career as a leading performer in avant-garde jazz, free improvisation experimental and contemporary classical music. She has collaborated with an eclectic range of music luminaries including Bjork, John Zorn, Randy Weston, Jin Hi Kim, Derek Bailey, Wadada Leo Smith and others.

We listen to several selections from Min’s newest release White Lotus with guitarist Rez Abbasi that includes her compositions and improvisations for the 1934 Chinese silent film, The Goddess. Additionally she discusses her training in China, transition to the United States and her instrument the pipa.

Larry Blumenfeld, Wall Street Journal wrote, “Min Xiao-Fen plucked and strummed a pipa… she summoned the sharp percussive tones and quivering vibrato associated with her instrument. She also evoked further-flung sounds: a banjo’s twang; a violin’s lyrical lines; and the crisscrossing overtones of a Resonator guitar.”

“The pipa player extraordinaire brandished her virtuosic skills coaxing cascades of pearly notes from the pear like Chinese lute…” Ted Shen, Chicago Tribune


  Richard (Dickie) Landry - Episode 17 (5/6/21)
dickielandry.com
Joseph Celli Interviews Dickie Landry

Louisiana composer, saxophonist, photographer Richard (Dickie) Landry has been a seminal figure in the American downtown music and art scene that began developing in the late ‘60s. After leaving the bayou country Dickie was in the center of the experimental, avant-garde new music, dance and art scene in New York where he worked with literally the whose who of the new art scene including Keith Sonnier, Robert Rauschenberg, Gordon Matta-Clark, Robert Smithson, Walter de Maria, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, Nancy Graves, Spalding Grey, Joan Jonas, Richard Serra, Mabou Mines, Chuck Close, Robert Wilson, Joseph Kosuth, Bruce Nauman, Trisha Brown, Deborah Hay, and many many others.

During this interview we listen to Landry’s Mass for Pentecost Sunday and he discusses his on-going work and touring with theatre director Robert Wilson’s Oedipus Rex for which he composed the music. Dickie has recorded extensively with Philip Glass as well as Talking Heads, Laurie Anderson, Paul Simon, Robert Plant and many others.


  Aaron Taylor Kuffner - Episode 16 (5/1/21)
aarontaylorkuffner.com
Joseph Celli Interviews Aaron Taylor Kuffner

Sculptor, composer, electronic music producer and former DJ Aaron Taylor Kuffner discusses his sonic installation Encountering Resonance and his Gamelatron, a sound-producing kinetic sculpture. Aaron discusses his study of Indonesian gong making and their function within his Gamelatron installations which marry resonant metal objects with robotics and modernist sculpture. Aaron speaks about ‘…providing conceptual tools that further the evolution of consciousness through experiences of beauty and the sublime…. Pushing the role of art to be a form of service to society.’

Aaron has stated, “I see technology in a greater sense – not just digital technology, but anything from smelting bronze to machining metals – as something that humans always incorporate into our lives in turn contributes to shaping our culture. Art has always been made from the tools and resources available to the artist. In this moment in history these are the tools that are available to me – so that is what I use.” (Forbes)


  Thomas Buckner - Episode 15 (2/17/21)
ThomasBuckner.com
Joseph Celli Interviews Thomas Buckner

Vocalist, improviser, concert and record producer Thomas Buckner discusses his 40 years commitment as a central figure in American new and improvised music. Tom talks about his early West Coast years with his 1750 Arch Street, his transition to the East Coast and some of his long-term creative activities. During the interview he discusses his lengthy creative work with Robert Ashley, Roscoe Mitchell, Annea Lockwood and many others. The program features an improvisation from his newest release VoiceScapes with Danish vocalist Randi Pontoppidan as well as excerpts of works by Robert Ashley, Roscoe Mitchell and Annea Lockwood.

Tom has had works composed for him by over 50 composers including Jon Gibson, Nils Vigeland, Peter Gena, Anneal Lockwood, Bun-Ching Lam, Robert Ashley, Earl Howard, Jin Hi Kim among many others.

The New York Times wrote, “He has sung a ''sound sculpture'' inspired by a round trip on the E train to Queens, introduced an opera about a secret agent who has forgotten whom he's spying on, and improvised vocalizations in breath sounds ranging from gurgles to clucks to a syrupy baritone. When it comes to the avant-garde in music, few singers are avant-er than Thomas Buckner. A pillar of the experimental music nonestablishment, ….”


  Libby Van Cleve - Episode 14 (8/28/20)
JosephCelli.com
Libby Van Cleve Interviews Joseph Celli (Part 1)

Libby Van Cleve, Director of Yale University’s Oral History of American Music Archive, holds an extensive interview with oboist/composer Joseph Celli tracing his early upbringing, his education and wide-ranging cultural influences that informed his subsequent international work with composers John Cage, Ornette Coleman, Phill Niblock, Kronos Quartet and many others.

“The most striking sound effects however, came not from the strings (Kronos Quartet) but from the guest oboist Joseph Celli…. It held the attention.” The New York Times (Carnegie Recital Hall Concert)

“… superb avant-garde oboist…” Chicago Tribune

“There were gasps and shouts when he (Celli) began producing wide, multi-phonic blocks of sound from a common-and-garden variety oboe… intense, humorous, delicate, raucous, cool, emotional and more…” Sydney Herald (Australia)

Complete Interview Available at: 

  Nate Wooley - Episode 13 (11/17/20)
NateWooley.com
Joseph Celli Interviews Nate Wooley
Trumpet virtuoso, improviser, composer Nate Wooley discusses his revolutionary trumpet improvisations and his work to redefine the instrument with his use of feedback, noise, extreme extended techniques, and vocalizations. Nate talks about his music and we listen to excerpts of various pieces including the new ecstatic song cycle Seven Storey Mountain VI (Pyroclastic Records)

He has performed with such icons as John Zorn, Anthony Braxton, Elaine Radigue, Fred Frith, Evan Parker and others and works with some of the most innovative new music makers of the day including Kris Davis, Peter Evans, Cory Smythe, Ingrid Laubrock, Mary Halvorson, Sylvie Courvoisier as well as a solo appearance with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in 2018.

Time Out New York has called him “an iconoclastic trumpeter and Downbeat’s Jazz Musician of the Year, Dave Douglas said, “Nate Wooley is one of the most interesting and unusual trumpet players living today…”

  Kris Davis - Episode 12 (11/6/2020)
KrisDavis.net
Joseph Celli Interviews Kris Davis
Composer, improviser, pianist, educator and record producer Kris Davis works in a diverse and eclectic range of new music from solo to ensemble works with a distinctive cadre of musicians including John Zorn, Terri Lyne Carrington, Craig Taborn, Tyshawn Sorey, Eric Revis, Michael Formanek, Tony Malaby, Ingrid Laubrock, Julian Lage, Mary Halvorson, Bill Frisell, Tom Rainey and others. Kris discusses her early training, compositional and improvising process as well as her work as Associate Program Director of Creative Development for the Institute Jazz and Gender Justice at Berklee College of Music. During the interview we also listen to music from several of her highly acclaimed recordings.

“As she does throughout Aeriol Piano, Davis draws you in so effortlessly that the brilliance of what she’s doing doesn’t hit you until the piece has slipped past your.” Jazz Times

“Octopus CD showcases improvisational prowess at the highest levels.” AllAboutJazz.com Best Jazz of 2019

“…her skills (Davis) as a composer, band assembler, system builder and improviser – a musical auteur, basically – come fully into focus. Ms. Davis builds her compositions on crooked patterns and splintered loops that somehow become a kind of magnetic touchstone, bringing together wildly diverse musicians in tangled unity.” The New York Times

  Carl Testa - Episode 11 (8/15/2020)
carltesta.net
Joseph Celli Interviews Carl Testa
Composer, multi-instrumentalist Carl Testa works at the intersection of improvised, electronic, and experimental music. Carl has composed acoustic and electronic music for a range of configurations including multimedia pieces that incorporate electronics, lighting, dance and theater. He performs regularly with composers Anthony Braxon, Mario Pavone and Tyshawn Sorey and serves as the Director of Publishing and Creative Technology for Braxton's Tri-Centric Foundation and was production manager for noted jazz venue and record label Firehouse 12. Carl discusses his application of live, interactive computer in an improvisational setting and we listen to several excerpts of his work.

"Electronic musician Carl Testa used a new electroacoustic setup-designed in collaboration with the composer - to control the playback files. Alongside the pianist Cory Smythe, who played some of Mr. Braxton's 1970 solo piano music, Mr. Testa oversaw a head-spinning, surround-sound environment that felt more immersive than past two-channel stereo recordings..." The New York Times

  Rudresh Mahanthappa- Episode 10 (6/15/2020)
rudreshm.com
Joseph Celli Interviews Rudresh Mahanthappa
Italian born, Indian emigres saxophonist/composer/educator Rudresh Mahanthappa discusses his newest release Hero Trio and the tribute he pays to his greatest influences with interpretations ranging from Ornette Coleman, Charlie Parker to Johnny Cash.  He discusses his very personal approach based on an amalgamation of Western and Indian music. Rudresh has received many awards including Guggenheim Fellowship, Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, and has been named alto saxophonist of the year for six of seven years running in Downbeat Magazine International Critics’ Poll. Currently he is Director of Jazz at Princeton University.

John Ford of The Guardian wrote, “… The US-raised alto saxophonist who astutely fuses western and Indian traditional with mind-bending jazz rhythms…”. In addition to the interview we hear several performances of Rudresh from Hero Trio and from an earlier release, Agrima.

  Phill Niblock - Episode 9 (2/20/2020)
phillniblock.com
Joseph Celli Interviews Phill Niblock
Phill Niblock Interview - Part 1
Intermedia artist Phill Niblock discusses his early years in NY and the beginnings of his art making at Judson Church and the founding of the Experimental Intermedia Foundation by Elaine Summers. Phill discusses his thick, loud drones and microtones as we listen to Feed Corn Ear and Hurdy Hurry. He says, “What I am doing with my music is to produce something without rhythm or melody, by using many microtones that cause movements very, very slowly.”


Phill Niblock Interview - Part 2
The New York Times wrote, “His work has influenced Brian Eno and other musicians associated with the rock world… Pitches scrape against other pitches like a speeding automobile sideswiping a row of parked cars. Sum and difference tones pile up until they sound like an orchestra of strings or an immense chorus of voices. So much is going on that one finds oneself listening first to one level of detail, then to another, and only gradually learning to hear everything at once.” In Part 2 we also listen to two of his compositions spanning forty years.

  Jen Shyu - Episode 8 (2/13/2020)
jenshyu.com
Joseph Celli Interviews Jen Shyu
Jen discusses her remarkable background and music studies around the world and we listen to six pieces of hers that have received wide critical acclaim. Jen Shyu is “…one of the most creative vocalists in contemporary improvised music…” (The Nation)

  Ingrid Laubrock - Episode 7 (2/5/2020)
ingridlaubrock.com

Joseph Celli Interviews Ingrid Laubrock
Improvising composer/saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock talks about her various ensembles with Tom Rainey, Kris Davis & others as well as her compositional activity. She’s worked with Anthony Braxton, Muhal Richards Abrams, Dave Douglas, Kenny Wheeler, Jason Moran, Tim Berne, William Parker, Tom Rainey, Mary Halvorson, Kris Davis, Tyshawn Sorey, Craig Taborn, Luc Ex, Django Bates’ Human Chain, The Continuum Ensemble, Wet Ink and many others.
 
“Laubrock's yelping lines over Rainey's battering percussion, her contrasting murmurings over damped piano strings and arrhythmic tappings, windy multiphonic sounds amid cowbell chimes and ghostly chords reveal an increasingly distinctive soundscape. (The Guardian)

  Rez Abbasi - Episode 6 (1/17/2020)
reztone.com
Joseph Celli Interviews Rez Abbasi
Voted #1 Rising-Star Guitarist in the 2013 DownBeat Critics Poll and subsequently placed in the “Top-Ten Guitarists” alongside luminaries Bill Frisell and Pat Metheny, guitarist and composer Rez Abbasi is one of the most original voices on the current scene. Abbasi has performed and recorded with many jazz luminaries including Peter Erskine, Kenny Werner, Greg Osby, Marilyn Crispell, Vijay Iyver, Kadri Gopalnath, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Tim Berne and many others. During the interview Rez discusses several of his releases including A Throw of Disc, Oasis and Unfiltered Universe.

“An amazing guitarist…unique and beautiful music – and best of all – very original…I’m really impressed.” Pat Metheny

  Kyoko Kitamura - Episode 5 (12/8/2019)
kyokokitamura.com
Joseph Celli Interviews Kyoko Kitamura
Kyoko discusses her work as an improvising vocalist, composer, band leader & Executive Director of Anthony Braxton’s Tri-Centric Foundation and we also listen to several of her recordings. She is a former journalist (Fuji Television Network Japan) with childhood piano training at Juilliard Pre-College, a stint as Paris-based foreign news correspondent and Gulf War reporter on her résumé working in Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabi. Kyoko Kitamura is an oddball vocalist, composer and bandleader who has worked with many distinguished musicians, most notably with the community of Tri-Centric musicians including Anthony Braxton and Taylor Ho Bynum.

“…Kitamura’s voice is an amazing instrument, with great range. […] If you’re someone who likes to be challenged, who has to go back and listen until what you hear makes sense (or begins to make sense), look no further." (Hartford Courant)

  Miguel Zenon - Episode 4 (9/8/2019)
miguelzenon.com

Joseph Celli Interviews Miguel Zenon
Composer/saxophonist/educator Zenon discusses his new release Sonero: The Music of Ismael Rivera and is joined by Frank Delgado discussing Rivera’s impact on salsa music. He has garnered multiple Grammy nominations as well as a Guggenheim and MacArthur Foundation grant.

“(Zenon) A consistently brainy improviser, he often engages in blistering lines that zigzag as if compositions were sonic schematic diagrams.” (Downbeat) The Boston Globe has written, “As a composer, he’s forged a unique voice that fuses Puerto Rican folk forms, jazz, and classical modernism.

 Mario Pavone - Episode 3 (7/9/2019)
mariopavone.com
Joseph Celli Interviews Mario Pavone
Composer/bassist/jazz musician Mario Pavone discusses his collaborations with Anthony Braxton, Paul Bley, Bill Dixon, Wadada Leo Smith and an emerging generation of new improvisers. Mario’s various ensembles have included Matt Wilson, Gerald Cleaver, Joshua Redman, Tony Malaby, Dave Douglas, Steven Bernstein and Craig Taborn among others.

“His work has never been less than compelling.” (NY Times). “Mario Pavone works his strings with the force and persistence of a sculptor chipping away at granite. The sheer dynamism of his playing is matched by the lustre of his writing and arranging for small bands” (The New Yorker).

  Matthew Shipp - Episode 2 (5/12/2019)
wikipedia
Joseph Celli Interviews Matthew Shipp
Radio Host Joseph Celli interviews composer/improviser/pianist Matthew Shipp about his upcoming concert and his approach to jazz and improvisation. Matthew was a longtime member of saxophonist David S. Ware’s quartet with bassist William Parker. He has released innumerable recordings including with Joe Morris, Evan Parker, Wadada Leo Smith, Roscoe Mitchell, Michael Bisio, David S. Ware, Daniel Carter, Ivo Perelman and others.

“Mr. Shipp punctuated two-fisted chords and hyperspeed runs with ringing single notes, or turned a welter of harmony into a transparent, rippling ostinato, and every so often he dropped in a bluesy chord. The music never doubted its direction, no matter how frenetic it became.” (New York Times)


  Gustavo Matamoros - Episode 1 (8/20/2018)
wikipedia
Joseph Celli Interviews Gustavo Matamoros
Joseph Celli Interviews Gustavo Matamoros – Composer, sound artist and founding director of the Subtropics Experimental Music and Sound Arts Festival. Gustavo discusses several of his electroacoustic compositions and we listen to his Seagulls Tango. He has received commissions from Adrianne Arsht Performing Arts Center, Knight Foundation, Art In State Buildings,Vizcaya Museum and is the recipient of a cultural Consortium Visual and Media Arts Fellowships. Recent projects and sound installations have been exhibited at Miami Art Museum, Bass Museum of Art, MoCA and the Hollywood Art and Culture Center.

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