Shift: The Logan Richardson Interview, Part I: with CJ Shearn
On February 26th, Blue Note records releases Shift the new project from alto saxophonist Logan Richardson. Hailing from Kansas City, Missouri, the saxophonist has been in demand since his 2006 debut Cerebral Flow (Fresh Sound New Talent) performing with the likes of Jason Moran’s Big Band Bandwagon and the NEXT Collective. The album features pianist Moran along with guitarist Pat Metheny, bassist Harish Raghavan and Nasheet Waits on drums.
In Part I of this interview we discuss the path the record took to get released and the roles Metheny and Waits played in his development. Join us next week for the conclusion of this interview. I thank Logan Richardson for taking time out of his busy schedule to do this interview.
I have been the staff writer for the New York Jazz Workshop School of Music blog in midtown Manhattan since 2014, and that has broadened my freelance writing skills considerably. In addition to writing artist bios, and articles of interest that pertain to the mission of the school, I have interviewed (in print on the site) legendary guitarist and NEA Jazz Master Pat Metheny, trumpeter Cuong Vu, and in 2015 embarked on producing a podcast for the school where I have achieved my dream and interviewed jazz giants such as Dave Liebman, Lenny White, rising talents like Thana Alexa, Logan Richardson, guitarist and bassist Brian Kastan, among others. I also work on SEO optimization for the blog. In 2015 I started my blog Jazz Views with CJ Shearn, and have written liner notes for 5 time Grammy winner and Oscar and Golden Globe nominee, Antonio Sanchez (for his latest recording “Channels of Energy”) and guitarist Gene Ess for his latest recording, scheduled to be released in November 2018.
My passion for jazz music is what drives me, which is an interest I’ve had since I can remember. I initially began writing about jazz at the age of 13 for my high school newspaper, and in my late teens contributed occasionally to jazzreview.com. In college I was member of the Harpur Jazz Project which brought jazz acts to campus. I’ve also contributed in the past to AllAboutJazz where I was mentored by John Kelman. I decided to focus on my passion for jazz music journalism after a job in the social services field as a caseworker went south, and as a person with a physical disability I work on going against the odds, living independently and having accomplished things people had said I’d never do.