Artist Blog
Writings by new and established artists
Featured This Month
Terri Lyne Carrington: In Conversation with Kris Davis and Devon Gates on jazz, gender, and New Standards.
ISJAC Board Member Terri Lyne Carrington sat down with Kris Davis and Devon Gates in this interview covering jazz, gender, and new standards.
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Christine Jensen: Character Development in Composition
Composer and Saxophonist Christine Jensen reflects on the role of character development, melody, and her upbringing on her way of approaching improvised and composed music.
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Asuka Kakitani: My personal perspective on composing
Asuka Kakitani reflects on her experience as a composer, the value of melody, and parenthood's influence on composition.
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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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Omar Thomas: SIXTEEN YEARS IN THE MAKING: The Realization of “Griot Songs”
Omar Thomas reflects on the process he took in making his latest Big Band album talking logistics, advice, and the process itself.
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John Hollenbeck: Composing a Better World
John Hollenbeck explores how the decisions during the composition process change the composer themselves and why that is important today.
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Greg Ward: Growth Through Collaboration
Greg Ward discusses various project that grew out of collaboration with other disciplines, the process, the impact, and how it continues to impact him.
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Tracy Yang: What It Takes to Lead a Big Band and Record an Album
The process of recording a big band and everything that comes after – Tracy Yang discusses the process of her album “OR” from writing…
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Bruno Råberg: Composing for a Ten-Piece Band – tone sets, counterpoint, motivic development, form and more
Bruno Råberg talks about translating tone sets, how he orchestrated for a 10-tet, and balance in composing with tone sets through his analysis of…
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Sarah Jerrom: Writing For 4 Voices – The Magpie Suite
Sarah Jerrom analyzes her work talking about instrumentation, orchestration, lyric writing, and the process of combining 17 instruments with 4 voices.
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Ryan Truesdell: Creative growth through self-imposed challenges
Ryan Truesdell reflects on some words from Jim McNeely, his current project, and advice for composers – should you write for big band?
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Neal Kirkwood: Composing With The Mind’s Eye – Translating Image Into Sound
Composer and Pianist Neal Kirkwood dissects his work “Paddy Harmon’s Dreamland Ballroom” looking at imagery and his technical approach to the piece.
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Vanessa Perica: My First Dive into the Symphonic World
Vanessa Perica reflects on adapting material from her big band album for her first symphonic commission.