Ben Sidran’s Talking Jazz project

Updated on 4/18/18: In the list at the bottom, I added links to the few of the interviews that are available on YouTube. Also, here’s a link to a playlist of Talking Jazz Singles, which are 3-4 minute clips of many of the interviews.

About a year ago, I stumbled upon a collection of interviews on Apple Music called Talking Jazz by Ben Sidran. (As I write this, some of them are also available on Spotify.) From what I can tell, these are Sidran’s interviews with around 60 legendary jazz figures who were still active in the 1980s. (Apple Music has many of them, but not all.) Ranging in length from roughly 15 to 30 minutes each, they are organized into “albums” with cumbersome and inelegant titles like Talking Jazz Volume 04 Saxophone 01, featuring Phil Woods, Sonny Rollins, and Jackie McLean. Fortunately, the interviews within more than make up for the clinical sounding titles. 

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration at all to call these interviews an absolute gift to jazz fans and the American people. The mere fact that Sidran completed this project guarantees that future generation will be able hear the voices of the greats, telling their stories and letting their guards down, just a little. I can’t possibly recommend these more highly.

If you’re so inclined, Amazon carries a 24-CD box set of the complete interviews for an eye-opening $280.

As bonus, here’s an NPR interview with Sidran about the project from 2007.

And here’s the complete list, as seen on Amazon:

1. Miles Davis
2. Dizzy Gillespie
3. Don Cherry
4. Red Rodney
5. Freddie Hubbard
6. Wynton Marsalis
7. Phil Woods
8. Sonny Rollins
9. Jackie McLean
10. Johnny Griffin
11. Frank Morgan
12. Charlie Rouse
13. David Murray
14. Arthur Blythe
15. Steve Lacy
16. Branford Marsalis
17. Michael Brecker
18. Grover Washington
19. Paquito D’Rivera
20. Pepper Adams
21. Archie Shepp
22. Herbie Hancock
23. Keith Jarrett
24. McCoy Tyner
25. Charles Brown
26. Jay McShann
27. Dr. John
28. Horace Silver
29. Les McCann
30. Joe Sample
31. Don Pullen
32. Barry Harris
33. Michel Petrucciani
34. Art Blakey
35. Max Roach
36. Mel Lewis
37. Tony Williams
38. Paul Motian
39. Steve Gadd
40. Richard Davis
41. Marcus Miller
42. Jon Hendricks
43. Betty Carter
44. Bobby McFerrin
45. Ken Nordine
46. Dave Frishberg
47. Donald Fagen
48. Mose Allison
49. George Benson
50. John Scofield
51. Steve Khan
52. Larry Coryell & Emily Remler
53. Kevin Eubanks
54. intro Gil Evans
55. Gil Evans
56. intro Carla Bley
57. Carla Bley
58. intro Clair Fischer
59. Clair Fischer
60. Max Gordon
61. Rudy Van Gelder
62. Ben Sidran