Music - June 3, 2009
Jazzman Germanson talks "Off the Cuff"
Pianist Rick Germanson is one of many Milwaukee-born and bred musicians who have become stalwarts on the New York jazz scene. His new disc, "Off the Cuff," is a testament both to how ingrained he's become in the Big Apple, and how he's maintained ties to Milwaukee. We caught up with him recently to talk about it.
Tags: Rick Germanson, Gerald Cannon, Off the Cuff, David Hazeltine, jazz, Louis Hayes, Brian Lynch, Frank Morgan, Berkeley Fudge, Skip Crumby-Bey, Manty Ellis, Luis Diaz, Vic Soward, Jazz Estate

Music - March 29, 2007
Where does the road lead for jazz?
The Pabst was abuzz with excitement as Ahmad Jamal prepared to take stage and his audience sat ready to be captivated. Jamal is well known to jazz fans and an influence on his peers. But, as popular music moves along, he and the other artists that created classic albums are fading away from the spotlight.
Tags: jazz, ahmad jamal, goodsell, neapolitan, lotus land, tommy noble, the estate, berkeley fudge, grassel, jazz in the park, wyms

Music - Feb. 13, 2007
Willette was a fast-burning flame in Milwaukee jazz
Organist Baby Face Willette, was a fireball who recorded a pair of Blue Note discs as a leader in the early 1960s and two more for Chicago-based Argo. He also worked in Milwaukee for a time and has a legacy here.
Tags: Baby Face Willette, Hammond, Berkeley Fudge, jazz, Bronzeville

Music - Aug. 14, 2006
Milwaukee Talks: jazz trumpeter Brian Lynch
Although jazz trumper Brian Lynch was born in Urbana, Ill. and has lived in New York since 1981, he still considers himself a Milwaukee boy. That’s because he grew up in Glendale, earned a degree from the Conservatory and cut his musical teeth at Brew City jazz clubs.
Tags: Lynch, jazz, Hazeltine, Berkeley Fudge, Manty Ellis, Conservatory

Music - Nov. 8, 2004
Jazz clubs upped old Milwaukee's hipster quotient
Remember when there were jazz clubs in Milwaukee? Not just one or two places, but a whole scene of venues providing a stage not only for local musicians but for the giants of the music, those cats who would later become jazz legends? No, sadly, most of us don't.
Tags: jazz, scaler's, coltrane, Curro's, curo's, Izzy Pogrob, Scenic Lounge, Tunnel, Front Street, Scat Johnson, Claude Dorsey, Berkeley Fudge