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EXCLUSIVE: Darcy James Argue on Secret Society's 10th Anniversary, Canadian Jazz, 'Real Enemies' and Why Big Bands Still Matter

10 years playing with an 18-piece ensemble seems like but a stitch in time for GRAMMY- and JUNO-nominated composer-cum-bandleader Darcy James Argue. Sure, this year was his best for winning, receiving both the Doris Duke Artist Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship. But as bright as those gongs are, 2015 isn't halfway done arguing his can't stop/won't stop attitude, soldiering on with that trademark sound of his nonpareil ensemble, Darcy James Argue's Secret Society.
By Maria Jean Sullivan

  • EXCLUSIVE: Q&A with French Pianist Cédric Tiberghien on the Eve of His Symphony Center Debut

    Pianist Cédric Tiberghien will open the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s “Reveries and Passions” festival of French music with a solo recital of music by Debussy, Ravel and Szymanowski at Symphony Center on Sunday, May 3 at 3:00 p.m. This Symphony Center Presents program, inspired by the Festival's overall themes of beauty, fantasy and the darkness of night, will open with one of the most challenging solo piano pieces in the repertoire: Ravel's 'Gaspard de la nuit.'
    By Louise Burton

  • EXCLUSIVE: Gordon Goodwin on His Big Phat Band, 'Life in the Bubble' Grammy Win and Why 'Whiplash' is Great for Jazz

    Yes, indeed, the 2015 Grammys proved to be one populist step forward for jazz at-large. Remember Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett's cheeks? Hell, Herbie Hancock and ?uestlove performed right alongside John Mayer and Ed Sheeran. And no one, save for the haters, batted a valve or crossed a string. For Gordon Goodwin and his Big Phat Band, though, their three nominations and an eventual gong for Best Large Jazz Ensemble were more than just plated platitudes and a non-televised soapbox rant. It was a kind of vindication.
    By Ian Holubiak