DARRELL GREEN & CAMILLE THURMAN
by Ronald E. Scott
Folk traditions of Valentine’s Day journey back centuries to St. Valentine and the Roman Empire. Many reasons exist as to how it transpired into one day of love; far too many for us to debate. The most significant day is February 14, and the entire month is dedicated to love, affection and appreciation for loved ones around the globe.
For this Valentine’s issue, I had the opportunity to interview two young musicians, newlyweds (2021) who always seem content. Tenor saxophonist, vocalist and composer Camille Thurman, whose luminous smile can light-up the sky during any unforeseen catastrophe, and drummer and composer Darrell Greene, always the soft-spoken gentleman. Together and independently, they are molding their interpretation of jazz.
“Look, honey, they getting married on TV,” was a remark made by a family member as they watched Camille and Darrell get married on Zoom. Yes, Zoom, directly following the COVID pandemic; the two had been in the house for over a year, sitting around, taking long drives visiting family members, composing and practicing together and performing to live Zoom audiences. “We figured at that point we had been together inside all that time, and we hadn’t choked each other or anything, so we decided it was time to get married January, 2021,” says Darrell as the two laughed. “It was crazy; we literally called our parents and friends 30 minutes before the ceremony to give them the Zoom link. The only people in our house were the pastor, the deacon and his wife. It was so funny our parents were meeting each other for the first time on Zoom. Antoine Roney was there; he thought the entire situation was hilarious. But to be honest, its was fun and definitely a unique ceremony to be cherished.”
To read more, visit https://mags.hothousejazzmagazine.com/234c0a0d29.html#page/7.
Acute Inflections: Where Love, Music, and Purpose Converge
Elasea Douglas & Sadiki Pierre
by Don Jay Smith
Acute Inflections, known for their unique style of jazz, features the duo of singer/songwriter Elasea Douglas and upright bassist Sadiki Pierre. What began as a chance meeting has evolved into a musical partnership that defies conventional expectations, proving that sometimes the most compelling sounds come from the most intimate configurations—just a voice and a bass, creating a world of music that has captivated audiences for over a decade.
The Voice: Elasea Douglas
Elasea's musical journey began in the sacred spaces of her childhood church, where she first discovered the power of her voice. Recognizing her natural talent, her family ensured she received classical vocal training, providing her with a technical foundation that would later allow her to navigate multiple genres with ease.
Although she continued singing in church throughout her formative years, Elasea's creative ambitions extended beyond music alone. She studied theatre and dance at Hunter College, one of New York City's premier institutions for the performing arts. This multidisciplinary education proved invaluable, teaching her not just how to sing, but how to inhabit a stage and tell stories through movement and presence.
After graduation, Elasea performed in productions of Dreamgirls and A Role Once Played. Her most notable theatrical achievement came when she was cast in the original production of FELA!, the Tony Award-winning musical celebrating the life of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. She also performed original music at legendary New York venues such as The Knitting Factory, the historic Café Wha? in Greenwich Village and the Iridium, one of Manhattan's most respected jazz clubs.
While jazz remains her musical home, Elasea draws inspiration from an eclectic array of vocalists including Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Idina Menzel, and Heather Headley. This willingness to absorb influences from across the musical spectrum gives her voice its distinctive character: technically precise yet emotionally unguarded, sophisticated yet accessible.
To read more, visit https://mags.hothousejazzmagazine.com/234c0a0d29.html#page/10.
NICOLE ZURAITIS AND DAN PUGACH: Giant Steps
by Chrys L. Roney
The cab was late. Or maybe it wasn't—maybe time just moved differently that winter night in 2010 when Nicole Zuraitis climbed into a yellow taxi on Manhattan's Upper West Side and found Dan Pugach already inside.
She was a singer-pianist still learning to trust her own voice. He was an Israeli-born drummer who'd crossed oceans chasing the ghost of Buddy Rich. Neither knew that a shared ride to a jazz jam session would become the first bar of a composition still being written fifteen years later.
"I hunted him like prey," Nicole laughs now, her theatrical delivery betraying the classical training that once kept her tethered to Debussy and Gershwin. Dan's response is quieter, more measured—the way a drummer listens before committing to the groove. "I'm the container," he says. "I keep her operating smoothly."
Container and catalyst. Structure and spark. It's a dynamic that has carried them from wedding bands to the Grammy stage, from the edge of surrender to the center of jazz's most prestigious institutions.
To read more, visit https://mags.hothousejazzmagazine.com/234c0a0d29.html#page/12.
ADEGOKE STEVE & IQUA COLSON: FIFTY YEARS OF CONFIRMATION
by Chrys L. Roney
When asked to name the standard that best captures their fifty-year marriage, Adegoke Steve Colson and Iqua Colson don't hesitate—though they don't agree, either.
"I would take 'Confirmation,'" Steve says, invoking Charlie Parker's bebop landmark—built on shifting harmonic ground that rewards musicians who trust their ears and each other.
Iqua's answer is more tender: "My Funny Valentine." She's quoted the Rodgers and Hart standard countless times over the decades, she explains, because it's woven into the origin story of their relationship. As a student at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, she wandered through a dormitory one day and heard someone playing the ballad. She followed the sound until she found him—Steve, alone at a piano.
"I always relate it to us," she says. "The Sarah Vaughan version."
Two standards, two temperaments, one marriage. It's a fitting emblem for a partnership that has thrived on complementary strengths rather than sameness.
To read more, visit https://mags.hothousejazzmagazine.com/234c0a0d29.html#page/14.
Bill Charlap & Renee Rosnes:
Pianos & Hearts Side by Side
by Ken Dryden
Bill Charlap and Renee Rosnes are not only two of the busiest jazz pianists today, but they are also husband and wife. Both have demanding careers as bandleaders and extensive discographies. How do two artists who play the same instrument get drawn together, as playing partners and romantically? Asked which attraction happened first, Bill responds, “It was as people first. We were very compatible musically and as people, too. Well, we love each other. We love music. It was always very natural making music together because we felt things the same way.”
The chemistry is apparent whether the listener has seen them play together in person, on recordings or for jazz programs, such as their joint appearance on Marian McPartland’s “Piano Jazz.” Renee explains, “Bill and I feel so fortunate to be sharing a life filled with love and music. From the very first time Bill and I played duet on two pianos, we immediately felt a deep musical simpatico. While we each bring our own perspectives, a shared way of thinking merges instinctively when we play together.” She believes that their feeling of time in the same place gives the music buoyancy, and since they think in an orchestral manner, there tends to be clarity of both harmony and line. She adds, “Nuances in touch also play a big role in the sound.”
To read more, visit https://mags.hothousejazzmagazine.com/234c0a0d29.html#page/19.
Geoffrey Holder and Carmen de Lavallade: A Love Story in Fabric, Paint, and Movement
As Told by Hollis King, Artist and Protégé
Geoffrey Holder had a saying he repeated often, a philosophy he lived by and passed on to those he loved:
“Speak your dreams loudly because you never know when an angel will be standing next to you.”
For Hollis King, the visual artist who became one of Holder’s closest protégés, that saying proved prophetic. A chance encounter – a borrowed hat, a lecture at the Studio Museum in Harlem – led to a decades-long mentorship and a front-row seat to a partnership that shaped American art for more than half a century.
Carmen de Lavallade died on December 29, 2025, at the age of 94. She outlived Geoffrey by more than eleven years, continuing to perform, teach, and inspire across decades that might have quieted anyone else. This is a tribute to their extraordinary partnership – sixty-two years of marriage, art, and mutual devotion – as witnessed by someone who was there.
To read more, visit https://mags.hothousejazzmagazine.com/234c0a0d29.html#page/45.
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