SJM editor Charlie Anderson spoke with award winning Norwegian pianist, composer and teacher Vigleik Storaas ahead of his appearance with the legendary John Surman at this year’s Brighton Festival. You’ve obviously known John Surman for a long time, you’ve been playing together since the mid-1990s in the Nordic Quartet. “Yes, I think the […]
Guitarist Rob Luft originally played classical violin from a young age, but around the time he was 6 years old his step-father, a guitarist, moved in. “He brought loads of records like Hugh Masekela and Brotherhood of Breath. So I listened to a lot of township grooves and Loose Tubes records and played lots […]
Tell us about your band Inner Space. “I first started the band in 2002 and it’s been running ever since. Chris Biscoe joined the band in 2003 and he’s still in, so he’s practically a founder member (originally it was Steve Buckley on saxophone and bass clarinet). It carried on as a quartet. The […]
Saxophonist and Inner Space member Rachel Musson spoke to SJM editor Charlie Anderson about the upcoming Inner Space gig and the other projects that she's involved with. How did you first get into playing music? “Well, it was quite a long time ago. I started playing flute at school and at some time I […]
J-Sonics bassist and editor of Jazzwise magazine, Mike Flynn answers questions from SJM editor Charlie Anderson, ahead of the J-Sonics gig at the Ropetackle Arts Centre in Shoreham. How did you first get into jazz? “My interest in jazz developed in tandem with my bass playing – as I discovered jazz that appealed to me, […]
Tell us about your duo project with Alcyona Mick. “We started it about 3 years ago out in the Canary Islands. I was on one of my writing holidays, because my mum lives in Tenerife so I go out there quite regularly to do some writing, to take a break from all the admin […]
Tell us about your new project Graviton. It’s a bit new and a bit different to what you’ve done before. “Yeah, it’s a bit of a change in direction. There’s more of a focus on composition with this album. I was living in New York for a few years, until quite recently and one […]
Tell us about the Deppa-Hirst Band and the music that you play. “Most of us have played together for a long time. This is actually our own project. It’s the first time we’ve had our own band. We’ve been together about a year and a half now and we play a mixture of Claude […]
What was it like growing up in a musical household? “Not that I have much to compare it with, but I have certainly been surrounded by music in some form or another since before I was born. Having parents rooted in the classical world meant that I was listening to most of the standard […]
Vocalist and composer Zara McFarlane spoke to SJM editor Charlie Anderson about taking her new album on the road. You recorded your third album Arise last year, tell us about the concept of the album. “At first, I wanted to explore more rhythmical elements from Jamaica and the Caribbean at first. I knew I wanted […]