SEVEN ?s WITH TED CHUBB OF NEW TRICKS
NBJP: If you could only own one CD, what would it be? 
TC: No question it is Miles Davis “Round About Midnight”. This was my first jazz record and I continue to learn from it and enjoy it more and more.
NBJP: What inspires you creatively?
TC: Generally, I am inspired by people. I actually try to write tunes for particular people, or about lessons I have learned from them or experiences I have had with them.
NBJP: What is your greatest fear?
TC: Failure…… but snakes are a close second.
NBJP: What’s one liquid we’d ALWAYS find in your refrigerator?
TC: Seltzer water, but there is undoubtedly a beer or two in the fridge at all times too.
NBJP: What’s your favorite city to play in?
TC: That is a tough one. I have been lucky enough to tour quite extensively and although I love playing in the major cities, I have had incredible experiences playing for people in cities that you would not necessarily connect with jazz. These gigs many times feel even more special because the line between the band and the audience gets blurred a little easier and it becomes more about everyone having a great time together.
NBJP: What living musician do you admire most? Why?
TC: Unfortunately, several years ago we lost the musician I most admired the great “Prof.” Bill Fielder. Now the musicians I most admire are the ones that have been able to sustain thriving creative careers for decades playing their own music while also developing a family, owning their own home, and staying connected to their communities. Many of these musicians are not famous or critically heralded, but are artists of the highest order. By their own perseverance and ingenuity they create opportunities for their music and live the life they want to live. I have the pleasure of playing and co-leading the band New Tricks with one of these people.
NBJP: What quality do you like least about yourself?
TC: I unfortunately allow myself to delve into negative thoughts too often. I am working hard to eradicate this.
SEVEN ?s WITH JON DIFIORE
NBJP : If you were about to have your last meal, what would it be
JD: Nona’s homemade Italian pasta
NBJP: What musician influenced you the most?
JD: I think to honestly answer this one I would have to include two… Tony Williams and Bill Evans
NBJP: What quality do you like most about yourself?
JD: I have been told on more than one occasion that I have a great ability to adapt to any situation… I like the sound of that.
NBJP: What’s your favorite jazz club to go to if you’re going to hang?
JD: Smalls
NBJP: What instrument, other than the one you play, would you like to be able to play?
JD: The piano
NBJP: What’s your favorite non-musical pastime?
JD: At this point of my life it’s reading… especially poetry
NBJP: What’s your favorite jazz tune?
JD: This is a really hard one… Hmmm… Blue in Green
SEVEN ?s WITH ROSEANNA VITRO
- Roseanna Vitro – Photo: John Abbott
NBJB: How old were you when you first played in front of an audience (beyond your family) ?
RV: I performed in school as early as I can remember, but one of my first professional appearances was when I was 12 years old and my sister was 8 year old. A guitarist/singer named Carl Stevens who was a very popular country and western singer down south presented “The Vitro Sisters” on Nashville, Arkansas radio. We sang, “Jambalaya” , by Hank Williams and “Sad Movies Make Me Cry”, an old song that was a hit for Sue Thompson.
NBJB: What would you want to be if you weren’t a jazz musician?
RV: I’ve been teaching vocal jazz and designing programs for jazz singers for about 15 years now. I love working with young singers who love music and are interested in being the best they can be. Sharing the history of blues and jazz, along with Tin Pan Alley material brings me joy to pass along the torch. I’m also a very creative cook, although I’m not sure I would become a chef for a living.
NBJB: What food can’t you resist?
RV: A dish of sole meuniere cooked to perfection with sauteed spinach and a small sweet potato. I’m also a salmon fan, but I love to cook and the possibilities are endless.
NBJB: Who’s your favorite, non living composer?
RV: Antonio Carlos Jobim. I own about 1000 charts amazing songs from our greatest composers and I have to say that Jobim’s music is very special. Compositions such as “Wave” which is not an easy melody and extremely rangy, through “Impanema” which sounds so simple, but isn’t actually that easy if you sing it correctly, the romance, lyrics, rhythm, chord changes and melodies are a study in composition.
NBJB: You are a musician, is there another art in which you’d like to be accomplished?
RV: When I was younger I enjoyed painting and working with charcoal. I love to draw expressive faces. My daughter Sarah has become a great painter, animator and film maker, so I think I was detoured watching her success. When I retire to the Caribbean someday perhaps I’ll start again by painting the white sand, flowers and the aqua water. I used to imagine I’d own a restaurant/hotel/jazz club on the island of Anguilla someday.
NBJB: What’s the worst job you ever had?
RV: Oh my, I’ve had all kinds of jobs in my journey. I started working at a very early age. I think working for Al Goldman’s print shop was right up there with being fired from a pizza store for putting too much on the pies! I worked on Wall Street when I first came to NYC. and also a few years as a successful Geophysical draftsman. The ‘ 9 to 5’ world was not where I wanted to be, after all musicians like to stay up late at night.
NBJB: Finish the sentence:
RV: If I can, I try to avoid—- sticking my foot in my mouth or hurting someone’s feelings.
SEVEN ?s WITH SHIRAZETTE TINNIN
NBJP: What musical instrument (that you don’t play) would you like to be able to play?
ST: The Bass Guitar
NBJP: What’s your favorite non-jazz tune?
ST: Funny How Time Flies by Janet Jackson
NBJP: What is your greatest weakness (personal or professional)?
ST: My Sensitivity, my right foot.
NBJP: What’s a food you shouldn’t eat, but can’t resist?
ST: Ice Cream
NBJP: What would you like to be if you were not a drummer?
ST: WNBA Basketball Guard For New York
NBJP: What musician influenced you the most?
ST: I am influenced by many but when I first started Sheila E.
NBJP: If you could only own one CD/album, what would it be?
ST: Any album made by Jill Scott
SEVEN ?s with VANESSA PEREA
NBJP: What living musician do you admire most? Why?
VP: This is a hard one, I would have to say, Jon Hendricks. He is filled with sooo much history. I just love him.
NBJP: What quality do you like least about yourself?
VP: My shyness. Sometimes I am just too shy, despite all the performing I do, I can be very shy sometimes.
NBJP: What’s your favorite non-jazz tune?
VP: Wow, there are so many! I guess one I really love is Hallelujah I Love Him So by Ray Charles.
NBJP: If you could be a performer at any time in history, when would that be?
VP: I would have to say the sixties. I love that jazz was still so alive, and at the same time soul, funk, rock and roll, they were all so prominent.
NBJP: Finish this sentence: If I can, I try to avoid _parking tickets!__
NBJP: What musical instrument would you like to be able to play?
VP: Bass
NBJP: What musician has influenced you the most (so far)?
VP: Ella Fitzgerald
SEVEN ?’s with JEROME JENNINGS
NBJP: What instrument would you like to be able to play?
JJ: Piano
NBJP: What’s the last book you read?
JJ: “To Be Or Not To Bop”
NBJP: What’s your favorite sound?
JJ: Silence
NBJP: What is your greatest fear?
JJ: God and Failure
NBJP: Who’s your favorite jazz composer?
JJ: Wow this is a hard one: Probably Duke Ellington or Cedar Walton
NBJP: What word or phrase doyou overuse?
JJ: Dig
NBJP: What’s your favorite jazz club to go to just for a hang?
JJ: I don’t really do much hanging but if I go out I would say… The Zinc, Creole Cafe and Fat Cat(Equally)