Neon Jazz Interviews

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz Singer, Pianist & Composer  Vidya Liselotte Sundberg .. We caught up with her from Stockholm to talk about her new 2024 CD Adi Shakti, a life in music and beyond. On her third studio album, she is building on the sentiment of her second album  Papillon  by drawing on her experience of having searched for, found, then lost her bi...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Veteran Jazz Bassist  Tom Kennedy .. We talked about surviving COVID, his new 2024 album New Start .. Asone of the top electric and acoustic bass players on the planet, this his his 6th solo album and features the Grammy-winning and  Modern Drummer  Hall of Famer Dave Weckl, as well as performances from Eric Marienthal, Randy Brecker...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Minneapolis Jazz Trio of  Jake Baldwin, Zacc Harris, Pete Hennig .. We cover their new and debut 2024 CD Boundaries, along with their history, surviving COVID and future hopes. The band is trumpeter Jake Baldwin, guitarist Zacc Harris and drummer Pete Hennig. The album features eight spontaneously improvised pieces that range from am...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Legendary Jazz Bassist & Composer  Avery Sharpe  on the 2024 Album I Am My Neighbors Keeper  .. Originally, we caught up with him back in 2019 prior to the pandemic. Today, we get into how he survived the pandemic times and his new album that is scheduled for release in June 2024. This new work highlights our commitment to one anothe...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Danish Jazz Musician & Author  Benjamin Koppel .. We get into his newest book that is becoming a movie and a new 2024 Single called Absurd, along with his colorful existence in jazz. He stands as a superb Danish musician from an illustrious music family. He is all about music—of just about any kind. He is known for his versatility an...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz Violinist & Composer  Alexa Torres .. We get into her new album “ In situ” and her life in music. The title of this new album  is an archaeological term which refers to the original position of an artifact found in place. When she was 21, she spent five weeks excavating Maya ruins in the Belizean jungle. Essentially, she is a pe...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with LA-based  Jazz Bassist & Composer  Emiliano Lasansky .. We get into his brand new 2024 single Love in Small Spaces, his life in music, surviving COVID, live gigs and much more.  In "Love in Small Spaces," listeners are taken on a melodic voyage through the highs and lows of relationships, weaving together themes of passion, resilience...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Kansas City-based  Jazz Champion, Educator, Musician & ISJA Supporter  Mike Parkinson .. We caught up with Mike to talk about a long life lived in the jazz world as a musician, educator and advocate. Specifically, we honed in on a June 9, 2024 benefit concert that will take place at the Westport Coffeehouse Theater.  With the support...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Trombonist  Matthew Fillingham  & Trumpeter Justin Crossman of the Kansas City’s Back Alley Brass Band on a New EP & Summer Festivals  .. We caught up with these esteemed band leaders of the infectious New Orleans-flavored brass band to talk about a whole lot going on in their worlds. Along with Kansas City’s Boulevardia Festival, th...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  South African-based Jazz Saxophonist & Composer  Linda Tshabalala .. She won best newcomer in jazz for her debut album titled "Convergence: Bekezela Siyeza" at the Mzansi Jazz Awards in South Africa and was nominated for Jazz Artist of the Year at the Basad In Music Awards. We cover this debut album, her life in music and so much mor...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz Saxophonists & Composers  Adam Larson & Chris Madsen  on the 2024 CD Trust Fund Tinder Goblins Howling at the Moon  .. Adam hopped on from his home in Kansas City, while Chris joined us from Chicago to talk about this sophomore album from a collaboratively-led band “Narrative” that also includes Scott Hesse, Clark Sommers and Jo...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz Guitarist, Composer & Educator  Greg Skaff  on the 2024 Album Re Up  .. This cat has been swinging presence and improviser on the New York scene since the late ‘80s. On his latest project, he teamed up with bassist Ugonna Okegwo and young drumming sensation Jonathan Barber to make some more magic. We get into how this project ca...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz Trombonist & Composer  Matthew McDonald .. We get into his new 2024 CD The Long Wait, getting through COVID, his history in music and much more. Over the years, he has performed at numerous jazz festivals and venues around the world. Since moving to New York in 2003, he has performed with countless ensembles and with the likes o...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz Saxophonist  Klas Lindquist  on Being Named the 2023 Album of the Year  ..  He has received quit a bit of positive press about his latest 2023 album   "Alternative Source of Energy”, but he just received the highest honor by the  Swedish jazz magazine Orkesterjournalen as "The jazz album of the year in Sweden 2023”. This is the...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Mexico-based Jazz Pianist  Emilio Reyna .. From his base in Mexico City, he opened up about his new 2024 CD Los Niños Perdidos, along with a great life in the jazz. He stands as a forward-thinking musician aiming to push the possibilities of modern improvised music while maintaining a sense of sincerity and tradition. His interest in...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  NYC-based Jazz Vocalist & Pianist  Brenda Earle Stokes  on the 2024 CD Motherhood   ..We get into this new project that has been about 12 yeas in the making with songs exploring identity, fear, expectations, body image, friendship and growth. A natural multitasker, she has fused a passion for the piano and a love of singing into a vi...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Kansas City-based Jazz Guitarist  Jeff Shirley  on New 2024 Albums  .. We catch up with this talented musician about his new 2024 CDs Contigo and Modes of Nature coming out on Christopher Burnett’s ARC or Artists Recording Collective label. They again show the power and evolution of this veteran musician that can be seen regularly at...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Toronto-based Jazz Pianist   Jeremy Ledbetter .. We caught up with him to talk about his new 2024 Trio CD called Gravity and his life in music. Originally trained as a classical pianist, he studied jazz performance in Toronto before embarking on over a decade abroad, during which time he worked closely with some of the most prominent...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  NYC-bases Jazz Bassist  Dan Loomis  on the 2024 CD Revolutions  .. We welcome Dan back to the show to talk about this new project that is a programmatic suite of electrifying and thought-provoking songs and spoken-word pieces meant to serve as a call to the barricades. In a society that is ever more polarized and ossified, revolution...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Chicago-based  Jazz Trumpeter & Composer  Zachary Finnegan .. We cover his debut and new 2024 CD Guidance and Gratitude, along with his life in music.  In October 2023, Finnegan completed his first 4-continent, 31-country, 140+ show World Tour with 5-time Grammy Winner, Michael Bublé. In Chicago, he performs alongside jazz luminaries...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Vegas-based  Jazz Bandleader & Guitarist  Stephen Fansler.. He has roots in Manhattan, Kansas and at Kansas State University, along with spending quality time in Kansas City absorbing some good jazz. Based in Las Vegas, Well Tempered Madness is the brainchild of guitarist Steve and is inspired by many different genres and all of the m...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Artistic Director  Aaron Jensen  of the Toronto-based Group Countermeasure  .. We caught up with him about their new 2024 CD Orchestral Sessions. On this fourth studio album, it features fan-favourites, and new works composed by Aaron .. Defined by their genre-defying sound, the jazz, pop, soul and choral-inspired repertoire is prese...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz Vocalist, Composer & Arranger  Gabriela Martina  on the 2024 CD States  .. This new album includes compositions that she had been working on during the time of the pandemic 2020/21. The word  'States'  has more than one meaning. State comes from the Latin status meaning ‘condition of a country’. The word ' States'  mostly gets a...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz Latin Grammy Award Winning Percussionist & Composer  Samuel Torres .. We talked to him about his new 2024 CD A Dance for Birds and a long life in music. This Latin Grammy-Award winning musician from Bogota, Colombia, he brought a long-time musical vision to life to this new album. This project is expertly interpreted by his Lati...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz Pianist  George Cooper  of the Jazz Defenders  .. We caught up with him about the new 2024 Album Memory in Motion out on Haggis Records. On this new project, they continue to distinctly ‘defend’ the legacy of some of the classic hard bop greats such as Horace Silver, Lee Morgan and Art Blakey, they begin to evolve their modern s...