Let me be the latest to welcome NYT stringer and JazzTimes exile Nate Chinen to the Fraternal Order of Jazzbloggers. His new blog, The Gig, has been officially unveiled and already has some killer content -- the audio interview with Grizzly Bear bassist and former Branford Marsalis student Chris Taylor (no, really), in which Taylor talks about the influence of Ahmad Jamal on the band's latest, Veckatimest (no, really) is a must-read. Kudos to Nate for catching the Vernell Fournier-inspired off-beat ride cymbal beat on "Southern Point." He also reports on the ongoing mustache-growing competition between Andrew D'Angelo and Bill McHenry, and oh yeah, Brad Meldhau's special guest appearance with McHenry's quartet at the Vanguard last night, which marks what is, improbably, the first-ever musical encounter between Meldhau and Paul Motian.
It always seemed to me Nate's naturally casual, vivid, engaging style sometimes gets a bit dampened down by the Professional Voice requirements of Major Publications, so I am glad Nate has decided to hang up his own shingle and begin dispensing the unfiltered stuff. I am sure this newfound liberation totally makes up for the loss of a regular paycheck from JazzTimes.
In other news, Nate recently interviewed me for the BBC's Jazz on 3. Said interview is airing tonight at 11:15 PM GMT (i.e., 6:15 PM EST). The show will be streaming thereafter for a week.
UPDATE: Listen here -- my interview segment begins 1:27:00.
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