Steven Bernstein

A Reluctant 'Jazz' Hero: An Interview with Trumpeter, Composer, and Arranger Steven Bernstein

[2 November 2006]

by Will Layman

The prolific trumpeter talks shirking musical definitions, finding challenging middle ground between 'fake jazz' and 'real musicianship', touring with They Might Be Giants, and turning down Jay-Z.
Add a comment

Please enter your name and a valid email address. Your email address will not be displayed. It is required only to prevent comment spam.

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?

Please enter the sequence of letters and numbers you see in the image above. Do not include any spaces.

Jazz Today
Double Standards

Double Standards

Will Layman

17.Jul.08

What does it say about our time and place that our two boldest -- maybe best -- jazz singers, Patricia Barber and Cassandra Wilson, are returning to singing standards again?

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

Will Layman

27.Jun.08

Even today there are distinctive characteristics to American and European jazz styles. Which strain of music is most forward-looking? Which suggests the most promising vanguard for a music that seems to lose listeners even as its creativity expands?

Tangled Up in Blue Note

Tangled Up in Blue Note

Will Layman

29.May.08

"Blue Note" means there's a certain sound to a record, a style that is tight and sharp and funky but also adventurous. If jazz is music to shout about, Blue Note records may be the most shout-worthy of all time.

 
 

TODAY ON POPMATTERS
Blogs | recent
Moving Pixels: The Bright Side of E3
Re:Print: The Book Group
Sound Affects: Live from Abbey Road: Episode 6
Short Ends and Leader: The C3s: Crude/Clever Classics
Marginal Utility: Tired of making choices
Media Center: Theresa Andersson, Lykke Li, Amy Ray…
Peripatetic Postcards: Yeah, Team
Film | recent | archive
:. Disfigured
RECENT COLUMNS
MORE COLUMNS
:. recent columns :. full archive
Canon Fodder: American Film Theatre
By Michael Barrett
[18.Jul.08]
Jazz Today: Double Standards
By Will Layman
[17.Jul.08]
Pop Osmosis: Fun for the Entire Family
By Jennifer Byrne
[15.Jul.08]
Busted Headphones: Truth in Humor
By Quentin B. Huff
[11.Jul.08]
The Tackle Box: Myth-Making Dolphins
By Chris Justice
[10.Jul.08]
Moving Pixels: Just as Fun to Watch
By L.B. Jeffries
[9.Jul.08]
Pop Past: Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten
By PopMatters Staff
[8.Jul.08]
From the Cheap Seats: C-O-M-P-E-T-E
By Tobias Peterson
[7.Jul.08]
Mixtape Confessions: Getting Schooled
By Ben Rubenstein
[1.Jul.08]
The Box Office Belletrist: Love on the Rocks
By Jennifer Makowsky
[30.Jun.08]