Neon Jazz Interviews

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Sousaphone Player  Matt Laird in  Canada’s Premiere Jazz Party Brass Band  Brasstactics .. We talked about their new 2024 CD Tribute to the Groove, history as a band and much more.  He holds down the low end on Sousaphone with his signature style and infectious energy. He’s also been known to spit a few lyrics when the time is right....

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  LA-based Jazz Pianist  Adam Hersh  on the 2024 CD Tornado Watch  .. We caught up with this talented vertex to talk about his new project, getting through COVID and what is going in with new projects these days.  Tornado Watch  features ten tracks of intelligent, intensely-performed music. We get into quite a bit. Enjoy.  For More Neo...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz Trumpeter & Composer  Summer Camargo .. We caught up with her about the new 2024 CD To Whom I Love and it is her big debut. We also get into her COVID survival, a life in music and the future ahead. This 22-year old native of Hollywood, Florida was a Jerome Green Fellowship recipient at the Juilliard School. She got her Bachelor...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Niagara-based  Jazz Pianist  Paul Tobey .. We caught up with him about his latest and triumphant return with the 2024 CD It’s Time and how COVID influenced the release. It is a romantic & soulful solo piano album full of elegant melodies mostly selected by over 12 000 jazz piano enthusiasts around the world subscribed to his YouTube c...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  San Francisco-based Jazz Composer, Vocalist, Guitarist & Producer  Ed Johnson .. We got into his new 2024 CD For Every Living Thing, getting through COVID and a storied life in music. This is his third album with his band, Novo Tempo, and his fifth album with Cumulus Records. He is well versed in classical, Brazilian, R&B, Jazz, Afro...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran UK-based  Jazz Harpist  Amanda Whiting .. We caught up with her to talk about her new 2024 CD The Limitility of Her, surviving COVID and a very interesting life in jazz. She has always had a love for pop and jazz and after supporting Jamie Cullum in a local charity event, her new path was set. One of the highlights of her care...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with V eteran NYC-based Jazz Guitarist & Educator  Tony Romano .. We caught up with this busy artist to talk about his new 2024 CD Three Chord Monte, along with a great life in the world of jazz and beyond. He has been a visible part of the New York City music scene for over twenty years. With a wide range of playing styles, he has toured...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Israeli-born Jazz Alto Saxophonist & Composer  Tevet Sela .. We caught up with him to discuss his new 2024 CD Sweet Tears and his career in jazz. Since moving to Montreal in 2010, he has quickly become a prominent figure in Canada’s vibrant jazz scene. His first seven albums have received rave reviews. This latest album is a deeply p...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with NYC Award Winning Singer & Songwriter Karen Mack .. We caught up with this award winning artists to talk about new 2024 CD Catch & Keep and a life well-lived in the jazz world. She has creative roots planted in jazz, folk, pop, and swing. Over the last twenty years, she's established herself as a popular favorite of audiences and crit...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Trombonist Martin Farrelly and Vocalist Anelise Furquim of the   Irish Jazz & Neo-Soul Group  Lavery .. They just wrapped recording on their debut EP Jade Garden and are doing a fully booked tour this year across the UK and Ireland. the tour will feature a number of headline shows and three festival appearances. They emerge from the v...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Veteran Jazz Vocalist & Educator  Lisa Rich .. We caught up with her to talk about the new 2024 CD Long as Your Living, getting through COVID and a long career in jazz .. This album can be thought of as the comeback of the year. The singer’s first new recording since ill health forced her to stop performing in 1991. When her health p...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  NYC-based Jazz Saxophonist  Gabriel Evan .. We caught up with him to discuss his new 2024 CD Island Hopping, surviving COVID and his life in jazz. This is his third album and is a continuation of his exploration into Caribbean Jazz and early-mid twentieth century folk music that began with his last record  Global Entry . We get into...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  San Francisco-based Independent Jazz Musician  Eki Shola .. We caught up with this talented artist to discuss her new 2024 CD Kaeru and a very interesting ride in jazz. On this 5th album, it was mainly recorded in Japan with some fantastic local musicians. Born in London to Jamaican parents, she was raised in a musical family. She em...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with   Switzerland-based Jazz Performer, Composer and Arranger  Luciana Morelli .. We caught up with her from Basel, Switzerland to talk about her new 2024 CD Words of the Wind and her life in music. She has integrated with mastery and versatility her facets of performer, compose  and arranger as she presents music for different ensembles,...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with J  Tulsa-based Veteran Jazz Saxophonist  Grady Nichols .. We caught up with him to talk about his new 2024 single Night Music. It is a tribute to the legendary David Sanborn, a figure who has deeply influenced Grady's musical career. On David’s groundbreaking TV show, "Night Music," it showcased jam sessions with some of the industry'...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran  Jazz Pianist  Mariah Parker ..  We caught up with this talented artist about her  new 2024 CD Window Through Time, a long life in jazz, getting through COVID and so much more. On her latest project, she gets into the depths of Latin jazz, articulated through the lens of her unique musical vision. This album is a confluence of...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Minneapolis-based  Jazz Composer & Guitarist  Mike Wolter .. We caught up with him about his work with the band Early Planets and their new 2024 album The Waits / inBetween Music. On this debut, this trio also includes bassist Cody McKinney and drummer Cory Healey. Upon relocating to the Twin Cities from Chicago, Wolter dug into a var...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Drummer Lee McKinney and Saxophonist/Flautist  Greg Abate on the 2024 CD Reflection in Two Shades .. We caught up with Greg in Rhode Island and Lee in Ohio to talk about their stellar new recording, how they connected and so much more. This album is a major step forward in Lee’s career for it not only has him playing drums in a w...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Veteran Kansas City-based Jazz Saxophonist & Flutist  Mikole Kaar .. Born in New York City, previously in Southern California and now gladly calling Kansas City home .. We catchup with this veteran artist about his adventures in a life of music that has been well lived and gets better all the time .. For instance, he traveled to Euro...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with New York  Jazz Flutist & Composer on the 2024 CD What Times Are These  Jamie Baum  .. We caught up with this renowned artist to talk about her fifth recording with The Jamie Baum Septet+, her flagship ensemble on her first exploration of spoken word and art song. To be specific, seven of her ten compositions respond to works by a coho...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Veteran Jazz Arranger, Composer & Orchestrator  Chris McDonald .. We caught up with him from his home in Nashville to talk about his new 2024 CD It’s About Time, surviving COVID and a good life in the music .. Along with his Jazz Orchestra, this new album is a contemporary jazz odyssey of original compositions featuring the finest mu...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Newfoundland-based Saxophonist & Vocalist Natasha Blackwood .. We caught up with her about her new 2024 CD Love Songs for Good Machines, surviving COVID and being a late bloomer in the jazz world. This new album is replete with pop sensibilities rooted in modern-day folk storytelling. Natasha is a proud member of local groups Eastern...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz Cellist  Daniel Levin and Improviser Ipek Eginli .. We caught up with them about their latest collaboration that resulted in the new 2024 CD Explorers. We also get into their unique musical union and so much more. Ipek is Turkish-American experimental sound artist who describes her music-making as “a process of a creation and a...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz Drummer, Composer & Educator  Holly Channell .. We caught up with her to talk about her new 2024 CD Not Just a Standard, giving birth in COVID and a good life in jazz. She chose to do her debut album with arranged jazz standards because that’s how she learned to play and appreciate this music. Based in Boston, she plays everythi...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  NYC-based Jazz Guitarist & Composer  Aleksi Glick on the 2024 CD World Traveler .. We originally caught up with him in 2022 and now refine that conversation with a world full of live shows and new albums. Building on the success of his debut solo release  Guitar and Me,  this new album showcases the depth of his playing in an ensembl...