RECENT ARTICLES

Legendary producer Jack Endino has led a life rich with music. The Seattle-based engineer and musician has famously worked with bands like Soundgarden and Nirvana for the seminal label Sub Pop, recording the latter’s debut LP, Bleach, which later went platinum.

But don’t get confused, Endino is not merely a big board operator. He’s also a world-class guitar player, whose ear has helped to define a genre and turn Seattle from a small port city to a major musical metropolis. Wielding the six-string with the formative grunge band Skin Yard, Endino helped to shape what people know as the Seattle sound.

Today, Endino is back with his fourth solo LP, Set Myself On Fire, which he recorded with a handful of folks, including the famed drummer Barrett Martin (of Screaming Trees and solo work fame). American Songwriter caught up with Endino to ask him about his original entry into music, how he’s navigated his career, and how his latest LP is a reflection of his own mortality.

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Famed jazz musician Kenny G has released his latest LP New Standards, which is his first solo album release since Brazilian Nights in 2015.

Prior to the release, HBO aired a new documentary about the artist titled Listening to Kenny G, which talks about his polarizing style and his opinions about what he loves about music as an art form to his relationship to his listeners.

Kenny G is one of the best-selling musicians of all time, having sold over 75 million albums. He burst on the scene in 1986 with his LP Duotones, and has been a fixture in culture ever since. He’s released nearly 20 albums to date. American Songwriter caught up with the Seattle-born, 65-year-old to ask him about the genesis of his new record, what goes through his mind the night before a release and what the concept of practice and time spent means to him, as an artist.

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When you talk with longtime Seattle-based sound engineer Craig Montgomery a few things become clear quickly. He’s a sweet fellow, gentle-hearted. He’s not out for fame, fortune, or any of those two ugly cousins. Instead, he cares about music, his friends, and the truth of his memories. This is all significant when one considers who Montgomery worked closely with during much of his time in the Emerald City in the ‘90s—Nirvana.

Montgomery began working with the legendary grunge band after the group released its debut LP, Bleach, and he worked with them through the Nevermind release up until In Utero. Montgomery, like others who worked with the famed label Sub Pop at the time, worked quickly, focused, and got along with bands Mudhoney and TAD at the time.

American Songwriter caught up with Montgomery to talk to him about a slew of topics, from his initial meetings with Nirvana and touring across the country in a van to working with them during the height of their popularity as well as what it was like when frontman Kurt Cobain was with his then-wife Courtney Love, and much more. Montgomery will be hopping back on the boards and doing sound at the upcoming 30th-anniversary celebration of Nevermind on December 12 at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle.

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There are few people in the world as decorated as writer Nikki Giovanni. She’s a Grammy Award-winner, an NAACP Image Award-winner, and was named one of Oprah Winfrey’s 25 “Living Legends.” Giovanni, who earned fame and recognition in the 1960s as one of the foremost voices on the Civil Rights Movement, has since gone on to publish numerous books and poems. She has also written children’s books and taught at schools like Rutgers and Ohio State University.

More recently, Giovani with Modern Harmonic has re-released three of her albums from the 1970s—Truth Is On Its Way (1971), Like A Ripple On A Pond (1973), and The Way I Feel (1975). The records feature Giovanni reading her work over rhythmic, melodic music. We caught up with the 78-year-old, Knoxville, Tennessee-born writer, and activist to ask her about these re-releases, how much music itself means to her, and the difference between lyric and verse.

Giovanni will also be releasing new curated musical works with saxophonist Javon Jackson in February 2022.

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Ron Carter is an historic musical figure. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Carter is, in fact, the most prolific jazz bass player in history, with the count currently notched at 2,221 recordings (though there are likely many more). Carter, who boasts two Grammy Awards, has recorded with A Tribe Called Quest, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Billy Joel, and a number of other big names in music.

He is also a teacher, a Professor Emeritus of the music department of City College of New York. Carter taught there for more than two decades. Speaking to the artist, it becomes clear that he is a no-nonsense person who demands clarity and precision from his band, students, or interviewers. As such, he can be an intimidating fellow, quick to offer his opinion, even if it’s got some bite.

But that is often all part of the experience when one talks to legends who have been creating art since the mid-50s. We caught up with the 84-year-old Carter to ask him about his entry into the music world, his original instrument (cello), switching to bass, what it was like playing with Q-Tip and A Tribe Called Quest, and much more.

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On August 8, 2021, the world saw the star of stage and screen, Jennifer Hudson, become the legendary artist Aretha Franklin in the recently released career-spanning biopic, Respect. Of course, who better to bring Franklin’s life to the silver screen than the beautiful-voiced, supremely skilled Hudson, who, by the way, already boasts an Oscar on her resume (along with an Emmy and Grammys)?

Hudson was a perfect choice. (Not to mention, Franklin chose Hudson herself for the role.) This week, starting November 9, to be exact, fans of Hudson and Franklin can purchase Respect for themselves on Blu-Ray and DVD, each of which contains special behind-the-scenes features like the making of the movie and videos of Hudson’s transformation to become Franklin for the important role.

We caught up with Hudson to ask her about making the movie, why she wanted to take the part, how she thought the movie might impact Franklin’s legacy, and what she loved most about making the film about the Hall of Fame vocalist.

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Huntsville, Texas-born country music singer-songwriter Cody Johnson knows that life isn’t ever one thing. Over the years, Johnson has grown and developed an appreciation for all types of singers, people, songwriters, songs, experiences, and perspectives. He loves connecting with a crowd. He loves exhibiting multiple sides of himself in his music, over the course of a collection of songs. Case in point: Johnson’s latest double-LP release, Human The Double Album, which he unveiled on Friday (October 8).

Walt Whitman is often quoted when discussing the human condition. The famed American poet has said, “I contain multitudes.” Meaning, of course, so does everyone else. Well, Johnson agrees and showed as much on his new double album. The artist, who recruited Willie Nelson as the album’s only feature, has always loved Outlaw country music and performing at Honky Tonks like his favorite uncle used to.

We caught up with the 34-year-old Johnson (aka “CoJo”) to ask him about his early days falling in love with music, how his parents influenced his journey, how his varied interests inspire songs, and what he loves most about being a musician (and cowboy) today.

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As the legendary Reba McEntire makes the rounds to promote the release of her three-disc collection of music, Revived Remixed Revisited (out Oct. 8), American Songwriter caught up with the famous redhead to ask a couple of questions about her iconic career.

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Today (October 7), famed rock and roll frontman, Alice Cooper, has released a new Audible Original, Who I Really Am: The Diary of a Vaudampire. (Check out this clip!) In the Audible project, the 73-year-old, Detroit-born Cooper details his life from beginning to now. Inside are stories about his famous band, meeting the Beatles, and much more.

We caught up with Cooper to ask him what it was like to put the Audible project together, what the project brought out of him emotionally, what through-lines he discovered, and ultimately, what does the stage—a place where he’s spent so much time—mean to him, today. Earlier this year, Cooper released his latest LP, Detroit Stories.

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Robert Glasper is a titan of music. He’s worked with hip-hop performers like the Roots and Common. He’s worked with jazz legends like Herbie Hancock. He’s traversed genres and split them wide open. Glasper, who burst onto the scene in 2013 with his Grammy-winning LP, Black Radio, really cemented his mythic status with his work on Kendrick Lamar’s record, To Pimp a Butterfly (2015).

Today, Glasper continues to do it all. He plays in his all-star band, Dinner Party, and produces work for artists like Norah Jones, Anderson .Paak, Brittany Howard, and many others. Coming up in October, Glasper will be participating in several livestreams, as well as a month-long residency at the famed Blue Note Jazz Club. We caught up with the artist to ask him about his relationship to music, how he first came to it, his upcoming gigs, and much more.

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