As I collect interviews for the Jazz Master Summit, I want to post a few interesting excerpts. I think these will help demonstrate some of the value, entertainment, and musical wisdom you won’t find in other places.
One example was the tribute to Lyle Mays I asked of Mark Eagan last week.
I had the extraordinary pleasure of interviewing Richie Beirach. We ended up spending more than three hours on the phone which I broke out into two parts. Richie spoke with remarkable candor and passion. The word “passion” is a word I use a lot to describe Richie. He talked about iconic players and their essential greatness, his composition process, how he goes about reharmonizing tunes, and a ton more.
Prior to the interview, I called Dave Liebman, who I’ve also interviewed, and asked for a good question I could ask his best friend Richie.
Dave came back with a really good question that I would have never thought to ask. In fact, I’m going to ask it of Randy Brecker next week.
Here’s a 9-minute excerpt of my interview where I ask Richie Beirach, of all the masters with whom you’ve played, who showed you the most generosity? Until you get to the end, I promise this will NOT sound like generosity.
