SEVEN ?’s with Roy Assaf
1) Other than the instrument you play, what’s your favorite instrument to listen to?
Saxophone
2) If you were about to have your last meal, what would it be?
My Grandmother’s Food
3) What would you want to be if you weren’t a jazz musician?
I can’t think of anything else I would like to have in my life other than Music
4) You”re a musician, is there another art in which you’d like to be accomplished?
The Art of Cooking
5) What quality do you like least about yourself?
Over Thinking…
6) What word or phrase do you overuse?
Like…
7) What’s your favorite pastime?
Watch Movies and explore new restaurants with my wife
SEVEN ?’s with Nir Naaman
NIR NAAMAN
Nir will be performing with the Nir Naaman Quartet at Makeda, 338 George St., New Brunswick, NJ on Thursday November 17 7:30-10:30PM
NBJP: What’s your favorite non-jazz tune?
NN: There are so many … I was just listening to “Like a rolling stone”
NBJP: What’s your least favorite sound?
NN: 1980’s style Synthesizers
NBJP: What living musician do you admire most? Why?
NN: Wayne Shorter is one of those rare musicians who did a lot of different projects, yet always kept his artistic integrity and kept growing.
NBJP: What’s one thing (other than water/ice) we’d ALWAYS find in your refrigerator?
NN: Tomatoes !
NBJP: What’s the last book you read?
NN: Neuland – a great new novel by Israeli author Eshkol Nevo
NBJP: If you could live anywhere, where would that be?
NN: I’m currently very happy in Brooklyn (until the heavy snowing starts- then I think of warmer places…)
NBJP: Complete this sentence: If I can, I try to avoid __negative thinking
SEVEN ?’s WITH TODD BASHORE
photo: Howard Pitkow
NBJP: How old were you when you first played in front of an audience (beyond your family)?
TB: . I sang in church choir in elementary school so I suppose that must have been my first public performance. For saxophone it must have been in 7th grade band but I honestly don’t really remember. When I was in high school I started “sitting in” with my sax teacher, the great Paul Jeffrey, so that was probably my first public performance in a jazz club.
NBJP: What’s your favorite jazz tune (today)?
TB: Well, it changes daily but today it’s “Dita” by Orrin Evans since I just wrote an arrangement of it. We recorded it with the Captain Black Big Band this weekend!
NBJP: If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?
TB: I wish I could dunk
NBJP: If you could live in any other time, when might that be?
TB: It would have been great to have been around to hear Charlie Parker and Clifford Brown, but since we live in such an exciting time in history I’m very satisfied with being around now.
NBJP: What’s the one thing about you few people know?
TB: . I am an amateur woodworker and have designed and made end tables, bookcases, sideboards and shaker-style clocks.
NBJP: Who’s your favorite non-jazz composer?
TB: I’m influenced by a wide array of composers across genres, but lately I’ve been listening to the Emerson String Quartet’s recording of the complete Shostakovich string quartets. There’s a lot of amazing music in that box set!
NBJP: What’s your favorite guilty pleasure (G-rated!)?
TB: Single malt Scotch.
SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH LEE HOGANS
NBJP: Who’s your favorite singer?
LH: Ray Charles
NBJP: What would you want to be if you weren’t a jazz musician?
LH: Disc Jockey
NBJP: What one word would you use to describe yourself?
LH: Lee
NBJP: What word or phrase do you overuse?
LH: Yeah Man!
NBJP: What junk food can’t you resist?
LH: Freia Melkesjokolade
(NBJP had to look this one up because we knew you’d want to know! It’s Norwegian chocolate…)
NBJP: What living musician has influenced you the most?
LH: Clark Terry
NBJP: Complete this sentence : If I can, I try to avoid_LH:_being a jerk to people
SEVEN ?’S with Mike Bond
NBJP: What instrument (that you don’t play) would you like to be able to play?
MB: I’ve always wanted to learn how to play the cello. I remember listening to various movie sound tracks that featured Yo-Yo Ma as the guest soloist. His performances on those records really changed the way I perceived the instrument and I’ve always been curious about learning the cello since
NBJP: What musician influenced you the most?
MB: If I was forced to pick a single musician, I would say Oscar Peterson. I developed a basic improvisational foundation by listening to his records and transcribing his solos.
NBJP: If you were about to have your last meal, what would it be?
MB: My last meal? Haha, thats kind of morbid, but I guess I’d go with a full rack of BBQ ribs.
NBJP: Who was your childhood hero?
MB: Probably my Mom and Dad. They’ve always supported me in all of my endeavors. I’m so thankful to have been brought up by such wonderful role models.
NBJP: What’s your favorite jazz tune?
MB: Hmm…There are so many tunes that I like, but if I had to pick one, I guess it would be “The Days of Wine and Roses” by Henry Mancini. Oscar Peterson’s “We Get Requests” was my first jazz record that I ever bought and his version of this tune blew me away the first time I heard it.
NBJP: What’s your favorite pastime?
MB: Fishing. Sometimes I’ll go find a quiet spot by the water, take out my iPod, and spend a whole afternoon fishing and listening to music. I find it very relaxing.
NBJP: Complete this sentence: I wish I could stop time and be able to experience life and learning without limits.
SEVEN ?’s with Trumpeter James Gibbs, III
NBJP: What’s your favorite city to play in?
James Gibbs, III
JG III: New York City
NBJP:What’s the worst job you ever had?
JG III: Refilling ink cartridges
NBJP: Who’s your favorite jazz composer?
JG III: Freddie Hubbard
NBJP: How old were you when you first played in front of an audience (beyond your family)?
JG III: Ten
NBJP: If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?
JG III: I’m all good 🙂 !!
NBJP: What’s your favorite jazz club to go to as an audience member?
JG III: Cecil’s Jazz Club
NBJP: If you could only own ONE CD, what would it be?
JG III: Quintessence – Quincy Jones