SEVEN ?’s WITH LINDA OH
LINDA LED A QUARTET AT SOPHIE’S ON FRIDAY MARCH 8
NBJP: Other than the instrument you play, what’s your favorite instrument to listen to?
LO: It would always depend on what’s being played and how it’s being played, but I might have to say drumset
NBJP: Who’s your favorite non-jazz composer?
LO: Ravel
NBJP: What inspires you creatively?
LO: Many things, but I’d have to say my sisters are a huge inspiration.
NBJP: What’s one thing other than milk or water we’d ALWAYS find in your refrigerator?
LO: Apples
NBJP: What’s your favorite jazz club to perform in?
LO: I have quite a few but I guess Village Vanguard
NBJP: When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
LO: A Scientist
NBJP: If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?
LO: My tendency to misplace things, namely cell phones and keys.
SEVEN ?s WITH SYLVIA CUENCA
SYLVIA PERFORMS AT MAKEDA THURSDAY MARCH 8
NBJP: Other than being a musician what’s the best job you ever had?
SC: Trail maintenance in the back country of Olympic National Park in Washington
NBJP: What one word would your friends use to describe you?
SC: Humble
NBJP: What’s the one thing about you few people know?
SC: I used to rockclimb
NBJP: How old were you when you first played in front of an audience (other than family)? Do you remember what song it was?
SC: 13 yrs old ….I think it was the Theme to Peter Gunn!!!
NBJP: What’s your favorite city to visit?
SC: Internationally: Amsterdam Domestically: San Francisco
NBJP: What’s your favorite guilty pleasure?
SC: Large glass of Shiraz and organic Dark Chocolate
NBJP: What musician has (thus far) influenced you the most?
SC: Impossible to name just one…… Miles & Coltrane
SEVEN ?s WITH TYRHA LINDSEY
TYRHA performs Wednesday March 7 at the Hyatt
NBJP: What quality do you like least about yourself?
TL: I’m rarely satisfied. Hence, I keep on pushing myself in both my personal and professional lives. Sometimes, I wish I could just be satisfied and relax. Perhaps one day.
NBJP: What’s your favorite non-jazz tune?
TL: “His Eye Is On The Sparrow”
NBJP: If you could be a performer at any time in history, when would that be?
TL: The Harlem Renaissance
NBJP: Finish this sentence: If I can, I try to avoid _____”singing Aretha Franklin songs (ie “Respect..).” When I lived and worked inHollywood, at EVERY audition, you just were expected to sing an Aretha Franklin song! UGH!
NBJP: What musical instrument would you like to be able to play?
TL: Violin
NBJP: What musician has influenced you the most …thus far?
TL: Dianne Reeves- Through the years (I was first introduced to her during my college days at Northwestern), I have studied her phrasing and song choices to her stage performances. Truly would love to have a long and successful career like hers.
NBJP: What living musician do you admire most? Why?
TL: Barbra Streisand/vocalist-I listened to Barbra Streisand while growing up. Even during my training at the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati, Ohio, I sang many of her songs from “Yentl” to “Hello Dolly.” I love and admire the versatility of her voice and her career.
Jonathan Butler/instrumentalist-I opened for Jonathan in 2003 at The Kentucky Derby gala. I love his story and journey from South Africa to the U.S. Once I met him in 2003 and since then, he has been a consistently wonderful and gracious human being which is so refreshing for a man if his stature.
SEVEN ?s WITH TANYA DARBY
TRUMPETER TANYA DARBY LAUNCHES OUR WOMEN IN JAZZ MARCH SERIES ON MARCH 1, 2012 AT MAKEDA
From Hothouse Magazine
NBJP: What musician influenced you the most?
TD: Freddie Hubbard
NBJP:If you were about to have your last meal, what would it be?
TD: Buffalo Wings
NBJP:What’s your favorite jazz club to go to if you’re going just to hang?
TD: Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola
NBJP:What instrument, other than the one you are known for playing, would you like to beable to play?
TD: Drums
NBJP:What’s your favorite non-musical pastime?
TD: Spending time with loved ones
NBJP:What quality do you like least about yourself?
TD: I’m very impatient
NBJP: What’s your favorite jazz tune?
TD: Infant Eyes
SEVEN ?s WITH BRUCE WILLIAMS
Bruce Williams
Bruce Williams performs with his quartet, Thursday February 23 at Makeda
NBJP: What living musician do you admire most? Why?
BW: Gary Bartz. He is sort of a painter and a poet when he plays. He’s always stood for something and has presented his ideas in an intelligent and soulful manner.
NBJP:What would you want to be if you weren’t a jazz musician?
BW: Probably a lawyer or a pro MMA fighter.
NBJP:If you could only own one CD (Download–whatever), what would it be?
BW: Jackie McLeans’ “Jackie’s Bag”
NBJP: Complete this sentence: If I can, I try to avoid_____________________
BW: negativity. It drains me.
NBJP: What’s the worst job you ever had?
BW: Cleaning the offices at the World Bank in D.C.
NBJP: What’s the last book you read?
BW: University of Jiu Jitsu by Saolo Ribero
NBJP: If you could live anywhere, where would that be?
BW: Back in the D.C. area or the Bay area.
SEVEN ?s WITH AARON WEIMAN
photo: Mary Brown/Mary B. Photography & Design
NBJP: What musical instrument (that you don’t play)would you like to be able to play?
AW: Cello — I love the beautiful range
NBJP: What’s your favorite non-jazz tune?
AW: Tough call between Scriabin’s 5th Piano Sonata and Prokofiev’s 4th Sonata. I love dark and beautiful Russian piano music
NBJP: If you could live anywhere on the planet where would that be?
AW: Anyplace with great food and a music scene, right now I’m thinking Barcelona
NBJP: What’s a food you shouldn’t eat, but can’t resist?
AW: Pork belly with so much fat that it melts in your mouth
NBJP: What’s the worst job (non musical) you ever had?
AW: Honestly, I love what I do and I try to keep it that way.
NBJP: What musician influenced you the most?
AW: I have had several really important teachers and mentors in this music, but I must recognize Stanley Cowell. He has been my teacher and guide since I went up to him after one of his concerts and told him I played jazz piano too. I was 11. The arrogance of youth.
NBJP: If you could only own one CD/album, what would it be?
AW: For the last several years, Toots Theilmans’s Brazil Project has been in heavy rotation. He’s such a melodic genius.