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Photo by Diane Russell at the Montavilla Jazz Festival 2022

11/23/2025

Kerry Politzer: How to make a brilliant new album in a jiffy. Coffeeshop Conversations #447

By TOM D'ANTONI // Kerry Politzer has a new album, always a treat, a delight and a joy. It's called Alternate Routes and it features some of the best Jazz musicians extant. She tells us all about it and them. We'll hear a most beautiful tune from the album at the end of the conversation.

Two intros, no waiting. What happened was that we had technical problems putting this up on SoundCloud. After many emails, texts and phone calls, it got fixed. In the meantime, here is my original intro followed by one written by Paul K Ward, who recorded, produced and subsequently put up the conversation on his SoundCloud. 

I figured that, for posterity's sake I should put it up on OMN, too. Tell your friends.

Here's mine. ---Tom D'Antoni

Hello dear friends.  It’s your old pal Tom D’Antoni once again (emphasis old) with another OMN Coffeeshop Conversation.

At the controls at his studio blue is Paul K Ward, producer, pianist, arranger etc…without whom…well I dunno what we’d do. With Paul is today’s guest Kerry Politzer who has a new album of Jazz compositions called Alternative Route.

I’m at my desk in Northwest Portland, happy to have Kerry on the pod this time.

Aside from her usual brilliance, she has some fabulous cohorts playing along with her on the new album.

Kurt Rosenwinkel on guitar and Jaleel Shaw on alto and soprano sax bassist Alex Claffy and, her partner George Colligan on drums.

And now here's Paul's intro:

Today we talk with one of Portland's premier pianists, bandleaders, and composers, the great Kerry Politzer. It's been a minute since we've had her on OMN, and in that minute she's created a new album with nationally renowned jazz artists -- including her husband George Colligan on drums, and others working in New York but hailing originally from Philadelphia.

The album project took 48 hours -- including travel time from PDX to New York, where it was recorded -- in the face of delayed flights and traffic hold-ups. It seems fitting that the release is called Alternate Route.

And as a bonus, Kerry is sharing her original ballad at the end of interview. Named "Tara", it is just a thing of beauty. 

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