In this episode of The Buzz, JJA board member Bob Blumenthal speaks with two 2025 book award winners: Jonathan Grasse and Elijah Wald.Jonathan Grasse teaches music at California State University, Dominguez Hills, focusing on world music, theory, and composition. He wrote the definitive English-language study of Brazilian regional music in Hearing Brazil: Music and Histories, and Minas Gerais and examined Milton Nascimento and Lô Borges's 1972 album in The Corner Club. His latest work, Jazz Revolutionary: The Life and Music of Eric Dolphy (Jawbone Press), won JJA's 2025 Biography of the Year.Elijah Wald is a musician and author of over a dozen books, including Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues, The Dozens (about insult games in rap development), and How the Beatles Destroyed Rock and Roll: An Alternative History of Popular Music. He also wrote Dylan Goes Electric, which inspired the film A Complete Unknown. With a PhD in ethnomusicology and sociolinguistics plus a Grammy for production and liner notes, Wald's Jelly Roll Blues: Censored Songs and Hidden Histories earned JJA's 2025 Book of the Year for history, criticism, and culture.Don’t miss new episodes of The Buzz. Make sure you follow us wherever you listen to podcasts. For more from the Jazz Journalists Association, go to JJANews.org.
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43:25
A Publicist Roundtable: Promoting Jazz in a Changing Media Landscape
Join host Michael Ambrosino as he speaks with three veteran jazz publicists—Ann Braithwaite (Braithwaite & Katz Communications), Lydia Liebman (Lydia Liebman Promotions), and Matt Merewitz (Fully Altered Media)—about the evolving nature of jazz promotion. The group discusses how they build relationships between artists and audiences, adapt to media fragmentation, create engaging content in the age of AI, and measure success in their campaigns. These industry insiders share candid insights about the challenges of breaking through the noise and connecting jazz artists with listeners in today's digital world, while revealing the passionate commitment that keeps them going in an increasingly complex promotional landscape.Don’t miss new episodes of The Buzz. Make sure you follow us wherever you listen to podcasts. For more from the Jazz Journalists Association, go to JJANews.org.
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41:22
2025 JJA Awards Special Edition
The 2025 JJA Awards just dropped, and in this special episode The Buzz is breaking down the winners in some of the leading categories. Host Lawrence Peryer is joined by guests Neil Tesser and Mark Ruffin to discuss lifetime achievements, standout performers, and why some names keep winning year after year.Both guests bring unique perspectives - Mark from his years as a writer and radio programmer and personality, Neil from his work as a critic and broadcaster who's earned his own lifetime achievement award.The full list of 2025 JJA Awards is available online at jjajazzawards.org.Don’t miss new episodes of The Buzz. Make sure you follow us wherever you listen to podcasts. For more from the Jazz Journalists Association, go to JJANews.org.
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Jazz in Print - Three Self-Publishing Success Stories
Three accomplished jazz authors share their journeys from traditional publishing to successful independent careers. Join host Lawrence Peryer as Debbie Burke, Steve Cerra, and Rick Mitchell reveal the tools, economics, and creative freedom they've found in self-publishing. Learn how these writers are reshaping the jazz book world by taking control of their work - from manuscript to marketing. Whether you are a jazz enthusiast or an aspiring author, this conversation offers valuable insights into turning passion projects into world-class publishing ventures.Topics include: creative control vs. traditional publishing, royalty structures, marketing strategies, production challenges, and the advantages of independence in specialized fields of writing.Don’t miss new episodes of The Buzz. Make sure you follow us wherever you listen to podcasts. For more from the Jazz Journalists Association, go to JJANews.org.
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Old Wine, New Glasses - Bob Blumenthal with authors and scholars Ricky Riccardi and Fumi Tomita
This conversation between JJA members Bob Blumenthal, Ricky Ricciardi, and Fumi Tomita explores how jazz research has evolved through digital transformation. Ricciardi describes his journey researching Louis Armstrong's career, moving from physical archives and interviews for his first book to primarily digital resources like newspaper databases, digitized periodicals, and ancestry records for subsequent works. Tomita discusses researching early jazz by using both traditional sources and digital archives, explaining how this allowed him to rediscover overlooked musicians and challenge established narratives. Both authors share their detective work in reconciling conflicting historical accounts and discuss the revelations that emerged during their research—Ricciardi finding consistency in Armstrong's artistic approach throughout his career, and Tomita discovering early jazz's experimental nature and influence on free jazz.The conversation highlights valuable resources for jazz researchers, including newspaper and periodical databases, digitized oral histories from various institutions, and Archive.org's extensive collection. The guests discuss areas needing fresh research and emphasize how digital access has democratized jazz research, allowing deeper investigation into the music's complex evolution without leaving one's home.###Don’t miss new episodes of The Buzz. Make sure you follow us wherever you listen to podcasts. For more from the Jazz Journalists Association, go to JJANews.org.
The Jazz Journalists Association is a membership organization founded in 1986. We promote the creation and dissemination of accurate, ethical, informed journalism on all jazz’s genres, and encourage innovative use of media to spur the growth, development and education of audiences for jazz. Public programs include Seeing Jazz Photography Master Classes, The Buzz podcast, celebrations of Jazz Heroes and Jazz Awards, and the website JJANews.org. Theme "Big Vic" composed by John Michaels Featuring Makaya McCraven Geoff Vidaland Mark Dunlap recorded by Doug Hewitt. Podcast edited by Wiz Petta.
Netherlands