Weblog
Michael's blog, Jazz And Other Heresies, can be found right here.
On Music
Letter to a Talented Young Bassist
This is an adaptation of an email exchange Michael had with a very gifted young bassist who played in one of his student groups. Of particular interest to any aspiring musician.
10 Questions For Every Aspiring Jazz Musician
Michael addresses what Dave Liebman calls the “keys to the kingdom” question, what Michael refers to as the magic scale/magic chord question: How does one break through beyond the level of journeyman to jazz artist with something to say?
Michael Zilber interviewed by Jerry Karp
This interview by freelance journalist Jerry Karp is the best and most comprehensive Michael has done. It is posted on Jerry’s website and was the basis for an excellent profile Jerry wrote about Michael for JazzWest.
The Master and the Entrepreneur
Michael notes the changing of the jazz guard and how the lineage has shifted from the age of the jazz master to the age of the entrepreneur.
NY to SF: Two Coasts…and Two Worlds
Michael takes an East-to-West perspective on the jazz scene and asks, Where’s the props for jazz in the Bay Area?
Fear and Loathing in N’awlins?
Michael reports on his trip to the 2000 International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE)/Jazz Times Convention in New Orleans.