Profiles With Maggie LePique

Six-time Grammy winner, acclaimed producer and Blue Note Records President Don Was has released his debut album with The Pan-Detroit Ensemble , a “nine-piece soul jazz group from Detroit” as he describes it. Groove in the Face of Adversity was released October 10, 2025 via Mack Avenue Records . Maggie & Don sat down to discuss his latest project and they dove into the deep musical roots, inspi...

The interview with Les Paul (1915-2009) took place in April 2008, coordinated from Los Angeles, I flew to New York just to have the opportunity to speak with the Les Paul earlier in the day before his  performance that evening at the Iridium. Les typically played two shows every Monday night (8:00 PM and 10:00 PM). He performed with the Les Paul Trio, which often included Lou Pallo on guitar and N...

Host Maggie LePique & Stanley Clarke discuss the new release " Last Train to Sanity ," a major project featuring new music, classic jazz-fusion remakes, and a significant autobiographical book, arriving as a 2-LP/CD set with a deluxe edition containing extra goodies, including a book called Notes From The Journey , "which is a book that goes from eight years old up until today,”...

Maggie & John C. Reilly discuss “What’s Not to Love?” Mister Romantic’s debut album out now on Eternal Magic Recordings is a collection of beloved songs from the American Songbook reimagined by Reilly and his Grammy-winning band.  “What’s Not To Love?” was recorded in 2024 in Los Angeles at Nest Recorders and was co-produced by Reilly and Davíd Garza. In addition to Garza on piano and guitar,...

In late September 2025, UMe, in conjunction with Frank Sinatra Enterprises, announced a new exclusive double-vinyl collection from Frank Sinatra, featuring his historic collaborations with Count Basie and Duke Ellington, entitled The Giants Of Jazz. This special release includes a pair of timeless albums— It Might As Well Be Swing with Count Basie and His Orchestra and Francis A. & Edward K. w...

Legendary guitarist and primary songwriter for the iconic Rock Band The Doors discusses the 60th Anniversary of The Doors concert which took place Thurs. October 30, 2025 at the Greek Theatre with a cavalcade of special guests. Maggie & Robby discuss the early days of The Doors, meeting John Densmore and how & why the band had a transformative impact not only on popular music but on popula...

One of the most remarkable and unusual box sets “Tracks II: The Lost Albums, seven previously-unheard Bruce Springsteen records have been released as a nine LP or seven CD collection. Spanning 83 songs - 74 of which have never been released in any form - Tracks II: The Lost Albums offers an unprecedented look into more than three prolific decades of Springsteen’s life and work as an artist. Maggie...

Don Randi is a keyboard player, songwriter, arranger, bandleader and one of the most prolific session musicians in history. Don was born in New York City but raised in the Catskill Mountains where he studied classical music. He moved to Los Angeles in 1954 and, by the early 60s, Don was leading his own groups and working with a who's who of now legendary artists. Don is also the founder and o...

Maggie speaks with legendary guitarist, songwriter and founded member of The Doors about The Doors 60th Anniversary this year (2025) and all the exciting events and releases that are happening and will be happening.  Robby Krieger is the guitarist for the legendary rock band The Doors and the songwriter behind some of the band’s biggest hits, including “Love Me Two Times,” “Touch Me,” “Love Her Ma...

Michelle Coltrane and Maggie LePique discuss her Mother, Alice Coltrane and the year-long celebration currently underway that’s being called “The Year of Alice.” This celebration spans 2024-2025 and features previously unreleased music and reissues, brand new community programming, a multimedia museum exhibit, specially curated concerts, newly choreographed ballet works and much more. Jazz musicia...

Maggie LePique interviews director John Scheinfeld and drummer & founding member of Blood Sweat & Tears, Bobby Colomby about the forthcoming documentary ‘What The Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears?’ Abramorama, a New York-based film distribution and marketing company, has acquired worldwide rights to “What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears?” Described as a stranger-than...

Maggie discusses in depth, the release of Charlie Parker's "Bird in Kansas City" with Chuck Haddix , curator, Director of the Marr Sound Archives in Kansas City and Charlie Parker Biographer. Charlie Parker had a complicated relationship with his hometown of Kansas City, MO owing both to its history of racial segregation and to his strong ties to his family and friends there. This n...

Maggie speaks with Habitat for Humanity LA CEO & President Erin Rank about the recovery & rebuilding process after the devastating CA Wildfires. These fires that struck Southern CA on the morning of January 7, 2025. KPFK Radio in Los Angeles has partnered with Habitat for Humanity LA  to help those who lost so much and Erin tells us all about the process HFH LA takes to help in cases of su...

Maggie speaks with Zev Feldman, an internationally recognized, independent record producer and the Co-President of Resonance Records . He is also a consulting producer of archival and historical recordings for Blue Note Records . Over the last 25 years he has worked for PolyGram , Universal Music Group , Rhino/Warner Music Group, Concord Music Group , among others. He won DownBeat Magazine's...

Maggie speaks with Willie Nelson's youngest son Micah Nelson also known as "Particle Kid" about his latest collaboration with his Father. Willie's 76th studio album and 153rd album overall as he celebrates his 91st year.  Willie Nelson is now in his 7th decade as a songwriter, performer and recording artist, but one of his most underrated talents is song interpretation. Over hi...

John McDermott is a writer, producer and, for nearly three decades, the Catalog Director for the Jimi Hendrix family company Experience Hendrix, L.L.C.. Together with Jimi Hendrix’s sister, Janie Hendrix and legendary engineer Eddie Kramer, McDermott has co-produced every Jimi Hendrix CD and DVD release, including 1999’s Grammy Award-winning Band Of Gypsys , 2014’s Emmy Award-winning Hear My Train...

Maggie and Joan discuss Joan's latest book "When You See My Mother, Ask her to Dance" And we discuss her beautiful artistic legacy and political activism. Including the documentary Joan Baez: I Am a Noise Neither a conventional biopic nor a traditional concert film, Joan Baez I Am A Noise is a raw and intimate portrait of the legendary folk singer and activist that shifts back and f...

Maggie spoke with Quincy Jones in early December 2008 about his book, The Complete Quincy Jones My Journey & Passions . We discussed some of his favorite musical collaborations including Frank Sinatra and Miles Davis and discuss the idea of mentorship and why it's so important to "pass it on" Quincy Delight Jones Jr. March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024 was an American record produ...

Grandma’s Hands is a timeless, universal song originally featured on Bill Withers’ 1971 album, Just As I Am . With soulful lyrics, the song captures the significant impact that Withers’ grandmother had on his life as a child. Multiple award-winning artist R. Gregory Christie has brought the iconic song to life through vibrant illustrations, painting a tender portrait of Bill’s grandmother. Through...

Four-time Grammy Award winner Stanley Clarke is undoubtedly one of the most celebrated acoustic and electric bass players in the world. What’s more, he is equally gifted as a recording artist, performer, composer, conductor, arranger, producer and film score composer. A true pioneer in jazz and jazz-fusion, Clarke is particularly known for his ferocious bass dexterity and consummate musicality. Un...

Lila Downs is one of the most influential artists in Latin America. She has one of the most unique voices in the world and is known for her charismatic performances. His own compositions combine genres and rhythms as diverse as Mexican rancheras and corridos, boleros, jazz standards, hip-hop, cumbia and popular American music. Frequently her lyrics focus on justice, immigration and women’s problem...

The sonically innovative harpist, Brandee Younger, is revolutionizing harp for the digital era. Over the past fifteen years, she has worked relentlessly to stretch boundaries and limitations for harpists.  In 2022, she made history by becoming the first Black woman to be nominated for a Grammy ® Award for Best Instrumental Composition . That same year, she was also nominated for an NAACP Image Awa...

Don Was is one of music’s most significant artists and executives, exceling in multiple roles and serving as one of the industry’s beacons for integrity and forward-thinking. During this period of disruption and rapid evolution in the worldwide music business, Was remains committed to music as an art form and its importance to contemporary culture. As the President of Blue Note Records since 2011,...

Ashley Kahn is a Grammy-winning author, educator, music journalist, and concert producer. His books include A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane’s Signature Album and Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece. He teaches at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute for Recorded Music. One of 67th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival Shorts And inside look into the legendary Festival...

The John & Alice Coltrane Home and the Coltrane Family, in partnership with Impulse! Records, Detroit Jazz Festival, Hammer Museum, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, The New York Historical Society, and many more, have declared 2024-2025 to be THE YEAR OF ALICE , celebrating the extensive life work of spiritual leader, composer, and musician Alice Coltrane. In addition to being an iconic and remarkabl...