Photo by John Rogers

Today’s landmark 300th episode of The Jazz Session features a 45+ minute interview with the improvising collective, Planetary Unknown.

The group, which brings together saxophonist David S. Ware, pianist Cooper-Moore, bassist William Parker and drummer Muhammad Ali in one ensemble for the first time in their long and distinguished careers, had just walked off stage following its debut performance at Vision Festival 16 in June.

Host Jason Crane and these master elder musicians discuss a variety of topics, including how the quartet first came together, physical stamina and the musician as a vessel for the spirit of the music, Ware’s tacit leadership vs. the collective nature of the group, the concept of starting with the formless, and advice for younger musicians trying to find their own voices.

Although its life as a collective unit has only just begun, the trailblazing paths the members of Planetary Unknown took to reach this crossroads have already influenced generations of musicians. All told, the group draws on a combined pool of experience that spans the early days of free jazz in the late 1960′s through the jazz loft and expatriate scenes of the 1970′s through the beginning of the Vision Festival era in the mid-1990′s through today.

“David S. Ware plays with such solemn power and majesty that his soloing begs comparisons to mountains or waterfalls,” writes Point of Departure reviewer Ed Hazell. “In fact, it’s hard to avoid ecological metaphors when discussing his latest album, Planetary Unknown, so completely do Ware, pianist Cooper-Moore, bassist William Parker, and drummer Muhammad Ali create their own world of sound, a landscape in which one can sense the presence of the divine in much the same way that Walden inspired Thoreau or Yosemite John Muir. Listening to this quartet makes Transcendentalists of us all.”

Learn more about Planetary Unknown and its AUM Fidelity debut at http://www.aumfidelity.com

Photo by Lindsay Beyerstein

Darcy James Argue‘s four-city Canadian jazz festival tour is already half over (he and Secret Society play at TD Festival International de Jazz de Montréal tonight and TD Toronto Jazz Festival tomorrow night), but the press continues to roll in.

Here’s some of the coverage the Vancouver native’s return has received so far:

Vancouver Province/Canada.com (Feature, 6/22/11)

The Suburban (Feature, 6/22/11)

Vancouver Courier (Feature, 6/22/11)

North Shore News (Feature, 6/24/11)

North Shore News (Q & A, 6/24/11)

Ottawa Citizen (Feature, 6/26/11)

La Presse (Feature, 6/27/11)

Jazzblog.ca (Feature 6/28/11)

Toronto Star (Feature 6/28/11)

Montreal Gazette (Feature, 6/29/11)

Ottawa Citizen (Live Review, 6/29/11)

Special thanks to Glenda Rush at Vivo Musique Internationale for all her hard work promoting this tour to the Canadian media and to Naxos for all their support.

Follow @darcyjamesargue on Twitter for updates from the road.

Learn more about Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society at http://www.secretsocietymusic.org

Friday morning at 9:00 a.m., pianist Ted Rosenthal will visit Gary Walker’s show on WBGO (heard around New York City and parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania on 88.3 FM and worldwide online) to discuss both his May performances with the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony and his latest record, Impromptu (Playscape Recordings).

Released this past September, Impromptu finds Rosenthal’s two year-old trio, featuring bassist Noriko Ueda and drummer Quincy Davis, reinventing music by Brahms, Chopin, Mozart, Puccini, Schubert, Schumann and Tchaikovsky for the classic jazz piano trio format.

Reviewers called it “consistently intriguing” (George Kanzler, Hot House), “technically erudite and impeccably tasteful” (Thomas Conrad, JazzTimes) and ”one of the most ridiculously entertaining CDs of the year” (Jon Garelick, Boston Phoenix). ”It is serious music making on substantial material,” adds Rifftides blogger Doug Ramsey, ”and it is great fun.”

Photo by Ben Gerstein

Today’s episode of the popular jazz interview podcast The Jazz Session features an in-depth, hour-long interview with alto saxophonist Darius Jones and pianist Matthew Shipp.

The duo’s acclaimed new AUM Fidelity recording, Cosmic Lieder, was released earlier this month and its debut live performance is coming Wednesday, April 27th at Jazz Standard In New York.

Topics of discussion include Jones and Shipp’s previous experience with each other’s music, how they first met, why Jones prepared for the session like a boxer, what the recording experience was like, their philosophies for duo recordings, the differences between an artist and a musician, and the value of intergenerational collaborations.

“I feel it’s just beginning,” says Jones of their partnership. “Cosmic Lieder to me is just this little drop in the bucket. We have some shows coming up and I hope that people come check them out because I feel like the language that we’re creating and the universe that we’re creating is infinite. It’s bigger than what one could say in words.”

Learn more about Cosmic Lieder at http://www.aumfidelity.com

Photo by Amani Willett

Seth Colter Walls’ new interview with guitarist/composer Mary Halvorson is now posted at eMusic.

Ms. Halvorson answers questions about the way she describes her music, the differences in her approach when she’s playing in others’ ensembles, what she thinks of the widespread critical success of her two recordings as a bandleader, Dragon’s Head and Saturn Sings, her recent collaborations with other musicians and ensembles, and her diverse musical influences ranging from Deerhoof to Sam Cooke to Alexander Scriabin.

Fresh off her two-week tour of Europe with her trio, Ms. Halvorson will close out April performing with Tomas Fujiwara & The Hook Up, Curtis Hasselbring’s New Mellow Edwards, Ches Smith & These Arches and her duo with violist Jessica Pavone.

Her next concert concert as a leader will be a month from tonight in New York when her trio plays (Le) Poisson Rouge on May 18th. Her quintet will be at Joe’s Pub on May 30th.

Learn more about Mary Halvorson at http://maryhalvorson.com

Photo by Michael Weintrob

The April 11th episode of the popular interview podcast The Jazz Session features an hour-long discussion with Brooklyn-based vocalist/composer Fay Victor.

She and host Jason Crane touch on a number of topics, but spend the first half of the interview discussing her latest recording, Kaiso Stories (Silkheart Records), featuring the eminent improvising collective, Other Dimensions in Music.

Ms. Victor talks about the history of the word Kaiso, her roots in Trinidad and Tobago, the cultural significance of Calypso, how she chose the classic Calypso lyrics she uses on the record, and how the record, and her collaboration with ODIM, came about.

She goes on to discuss the music she’s written for her forthcoming third recording with her flagship quartet, The Fay Victor Ensemble, and the expanding repertoire of another of her working groups, The ExPosed Blues Duo, as well as her involvement as co-curator of Arts for Art, Inc.’s weekly EVOLVING Series.

Learn more about Fay Victor at http://www.fayvictor.com

Photo by Amani Willett

Ehren Gresehover talks with guitarist/composer Mary Halvorson in a new interview for the online magazine, At Length.

Ms. Halvorson answers questions about how she creates her signature sound, how she feels about being labeled a jazz musician, her history with collaborators Weasel Walter and Peter Evans, her musical inspirations and current favorites, her interest in astrology, and the success of Saturn Sings (Firehouse 12 Records) among other topics.

Learn more about her and her current and future projects at http://www.maryhalvorson.com

Pianist/composer Ted Rosenthal talks about his classical-themed Playscape Recordings release Impromptu, among other topics, in a new interview with noted composer/conductor Victoria Bond at ClassicalPodcasts.com

The 20+ minute discussion includes how Rosenthal chose the classical source material for the record, the strong historical connections between classical music and improvisation, his various piano influences, and details of his recent performances in support of the record, as well as with various vocalists and orchestras.

Check out Rosenthal’s jazz piano trio version of Franz Schubert’s “Impromptu in G Flat” from Impromptu, which Lincoln Center used as the soundtrack to a short video called “Lincoln Center Transformed” about its many new architectural improvements.

Photo by Carrie Villines

On Saturday, January 29th, Brooklyn-based alto saxophonist/composer Darius Jones will perform two sets of original music at New York’s University of the Streets.

At 8:00 p.m., Jones will present the next chapter of his Man’ish Boy series with his working trio featuring Adam Lane (bass) and Jason Nazary (drums). The group will head into the studio a few weeks later to record the follow-up to his highly regarded 2009 debut, Man’ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing) on AUM Fidelity.

The 10:00 p.m. set will feature the latest edition of Jones’ quartet, which currently includes Matt Mitchell (piano), Sean Conly (bass) and Ches Smith (drums). This group performs music from a different book of compositions and represents yet another direction in his eclectic approach to music.

“Pure power rings through the metal of his alto sax,” writes the Village Voice‘s Jim Macnie, “and the frenetics that invariably erupt are often grounded in something akin to deep spirituality. That’s why some cite him as a blend of Albert Ayler and Arthur Blythe. There’s no way to take your ear from him once he’s got you in his crosshairs.”

His next recording, a collection of duets with pianist Matthew Shipp called Cosmic Lieder (AUM Fidelity), will be released April 12th.

Learn more about Jones in this extensive interview with Simon Jay Harper posted earlier this month at AllAboutJazz.com

Photo by John Sharpe

Simon Jay Harper’s extensive interview with Brooklyn-based alto saxophonist/composer Darius Jones is now posted at AllAboutJazz.com

Among other topics, the pair discusses the diversity in Jones’ body of work, the appropriateness of categories like free jazz and noise jazz, the importance of finding one’s own sound, his recent AUM Fidelity releases Man’ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing) and Throat, and influences including Cannonball Adderley, Thomas Chapin, Kurt Cobain, Duke Ellington, Johnny Hodges, Charlie Parker and Muddy Waters.

Jones will perform with both his trio and quartet at New York’s University of the Streets on Saturday, January 29th.

His next release, Cosmic Lieder, a duo recording with pianist Matthew Shipp, will be released in April on AUM Fidelity.