Artist Blog
Writings by new and established artists
Featured This Month
Paul Read: Spotlight on Phil Nimmons
Paul Read shines a spotlight on Canada's pioneering Composer, Arranger, Clarinet Player, Band Leader, and Educator Phil Nimmons in this multi-media post (including a 40+ min interview, audio…
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Fred Hersch: A Composition Exercise to Try Today
Fred Hersch shares an exercise involving a hat, a kitchen timer, and a pencil that you should try today.
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Rick Lawn: Remembering Manny Albam
Rick Lawn remembers his mentor, composer and educator Manny Albam.
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Managed and curated by trombonist and composer JC Sanford, the ISJAC Artist Blog is a collection of writings by some of the most visionary minds in the jazz composition and arranging community. Featuring articles by composers from all walks of the industry, the ISJAC Artist Blog is updated monthly with both new and archived pieces.
Our two most recent articles are always available on the ISJAC site, with the full archive accessible for our member community.
Not a member yet? Join today!
The Archive
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An Interview with Vijay Iyer
Vijay Iyer talks about interweaving of performance and composing, the impact of collaborators, and touches on grief’s impact while composing in this interview.
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Patrick Cornelius: Writing My Way Out of a Small-Group Rut by Thinking Big
Writing the same song over and over – the problem and an approach to working through it…Patrick Cornelius discusses this in his own small…
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Ed Palermo: Trial and Error. Arranging Music The Hard Way
Ed Palermo reflects on his path in the practice of arranging through Zappa, the Beatles, Coltrane, and others developing his taste and preferences around…
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Michael Cain: Will music composition exist in the era of the content creator?
Pianist, Keyboardist, and Composer Michael Cain offers some thoughtful questions and discussions around the changing landscape of composition.
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Lauren Elizabeth Baba: Fundamental Freedoms – To Be Free to Create Without Fear
Lauren Elizabeth Baba walks through her compositional process through analyzing her award winning work Frankincense.
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Angel Bat Dawid: The Tyrannical Perpetual Perversion of Blk Music
Angel Bat Dawid muses through the deep-rooted compositions of the BLK diasporic consciousness, unraveling the rich history of “Great Black Music.”
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An Interview with Danilo Pérez
In this video interview with Danilo Pérez, Pérez talks about why improvisers should compose, Wayne Shorter, “Global Jazz,” and more.
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Patricia Brennan: MAGIC SQUARE – Composition by numbers
Patricia Brennan discusses her work “Magic Square” and her approach to composition by numbers.
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Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol: Bringing the Brazilian Capoeira & Turkish Folk music to the Jazz Orchestra
Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol discusses the intersection of Brazilian and Turkish music also discussing the influence and application with berimbau and saz.