Artist Blog
Writings by new and established artists
Featured This Month
Patricia Brennan: MAGIC SQUARE – Composition by numbers
Patricia Brennan discusses her work "Magic Square" and her approach to composition by numbers.
Read moreFrank Carlberg: Some Harmonic Strategies In (Jazz) Composition
Frank Carlberg discusses techniques he uses to open up harmonic possibilities for new works with a particular focus on triads, tetrachods, and other harmonic devices.
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David Caffey: The Jazz Soli: The Arranger’s Solo
David Caffey frames some techniques he uses in soli writing along with giving examples and explaining his decision making process and the origin for the techniques he uses.
Read moreThe full archive is for members.
The two newest articles are always free to read. Membership unlocks every Artist Blog piece — writings from jazz composers and arrangers across the field.
The Archive
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Alan Ferber: Womb-mates to Band-mates – an interview with Mark Ferber
Alan Ferber interviews his twin brother, Mark Ferber, where they discuss influence, history, writing for drums, and style.
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Angelica Sanchez: Astral Light of Alarid (Video Analysis)
In this Video Edition of the Artist Blog, Angelica Sanchez analyzes her work “Astral Light of Alarid” discussing orchestration and other compositional elements.
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Kenny Berger: Don’t Block the Rear View Mirror
Kenny Berger talks about his pathway to and through composition involving Brooklyn, Duke Ellington, and the BMI Jazz Composer’s Workshop.
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David Sanford: John Lewis’s Blues in A Minor, an arranging challenge
David Sanford discusses his personal relationship and analysis of John Lewis’s Blues in A Minor and how it led to his 2 cello arrangement.
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Rio Sakairi: An Open Love Letter To…
Rio Sakairi discusses the nature of jazz and her experience with that question from an arts programming perspective.
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S’yo Fang: Composition Inspired By Other Forms of Art
S’yo Fang discusses how texture and gestalt influenced his award-winning work “Tree.”
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Frank Carlberg: Some Harmonic Strategies In (Jazz) Composition
Frank Carlberg discusses techniques he uses to open up harmonic possibilities for new works with a particular focus on triads, tetrachods, and other harmonic…
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John Korsrud: Introduction to Hocketing and Kenny Wheeler’s Last Work
John Korsrud discusses how he uses the compositional technique hocketing in a jazz context as well as Kenny Wheeler’s last large ensemble commission.
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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.