Jul 6, 2020 4:43 PM
Terri Lyne Carrington Tops 2020 DownBeat Critics Poll
Trailblazing drummer and bandleader Terri Lyne Carrington has made history numerous times in her career, and the…
New Orleans saxophonist Kidd Jordan said he once saw John Cage and Louis Armstrong perform on the same night.
(Photo: Eric Waters Photography)You also listened to avant-garde composers like Karlheinz Stockhausen, who came to one of your shows in Berlin.
I listen to all types of music that moves me. One night, I saw John Cage at Tulane [University] and then went downtown to see Louis Armstrong’s last show in New Orleans. Louis Armstrong broke all kinds of rules; he did some wild things when he was young—like Ornette and Trane. And Albert Ayler. I dedicated this album to Albert, because he didn’t really get his due when he was playing. Albert kept this thing going in a different direction.
It’s a very spiritual album. “Holy Ghost Suite” invokes Ayler in its very title and segues into “The Revival Suite,” which your frequent collaborator, bassist William Parker, said was about the “history and the mystery of New Orleans.”
I don’t know about that [laughs]. After the music is played, you can come up with all kinds of descriptions. But at the time, I’m hearing what’s going on inside the harmonic things. And the music really comes out of the church. When you hear the “hallelujahs,” you just gotta go. Jazz is chance music; you don’t know what’s gonna come out. You may have one thing in mind, and then you go someplace you never thought about before.
What’s the thing that keeps you going as an improviser?
Well, I don’t care what people say. And I knew when I started, I wasn’t going to get rich playing this music. I taught school and played with a lot of bands in other genres to raise my family. So, in my leisure time, why should I not do what I want to do? Even if nobody likes it, I like it. And that’s the thing. DB
Terri Lyne Carrington, who topped three categories in the 2020 DownBeat Critics Poll, is the first female instrumentalist to win the Jazz Artist of the Year category.
Jul 6, 2020 4:43 PM
Trailblazing drummer and bandleader Terri Lyne Carrington has made history numerous times in her career, and the…
Vocalist Lauren Henderson (clockwise from top-left), broadcaster and journalist Mark Ruffin, manager Gail Boyd, venue-owner Gerry Eastman and bassist John Clayton recount some of their experiences in the jazzworld.
Jul 3, 2020 9:00 AM
Though jazz is a genre shared and revered by people of all backgrounds, there’s no equivocating: The music is the…
Protesters march June 6 in Washington, D.C., following the police killing of George Floyd.
Jun 26, 2020 9:00 AM
Jazz singer and activist Aaron Myers was among the demonstrators who gathered to protest at Lafayette Square on June 1…
Kurt Rosenwinkel released Angels Around on his own label, Heartcore Records.
Jul 22, 2020 9:00 AM
Kurt Rosenwinkel was three dates into an eight-city tour of Sweden in mid-March. Asked where, exactly, he could only…
Thelonious Monk and Larry Gales perform during 1968.
Jun 19, 2020 2:38 PM
A surprise gig in 1968 by Thelonious Monk that was captured on tape by a school janitor is set for a July 31 release as…
