Paradigms

Richard X Bennett is welcomed back to Paradigms to talk about his new record Scavenger , the film that goes with it, and some personal health challenges experienced during lock down and after. Richard is an eclectic musician who his own perspective and inspirations to a variety of musical traditions.  His new record, Scavenger , is a collection of pieces, some assembled from musical snippets Richa...

Tristan Israel and his band mates of over 30 years Nancy Jephcote and Paul Thurlow have released a new album Snake Hollow , 15 original song poems written By Tristan, exploring themes of home, mortality, and continuity. Tristan joins Baruch for a conversation about his life experiences, musical inspirations, and active participation in community life and politics in the small town where he resides...

Rose Wollman and Dror Baitel have come together, Viola and Piano respectively, to create the new record Breaking Glass Ceilings Music by Unruly Women offering classical compositions from four women spanning the last century or so; Florence Price , Libby Larsen , Rebecca Clarke , and Amy Cheney Beach . The music is energetic. Both Rose and Dror are Masters at their craft, and bring all of their exp...

Les Arrivants is Abdul-Wahab Kayyali on Oud, Amichai Ben Shalev on Bandoneon, and Hamin Honari on Percussion (Tombak, Daf, Frame Drums). These three men each migrated from a different parts of the world, to Montreal Canada, where they met and make music. Their new record is Towards the Light. Baruch talks with Abdul and Ben about the record, the inspiration of being migrants, why people move, how...

Travis Knapp has just released his 5th album The Same Sun Rises . These are songs that celebrate life, with all it’s ups and downs. Travis has been making music for most of his life.  He is also a farmer and lover of nature.  Travis lives close to the earth, which informs his world view, and his art. Travis is a gentle person and it comes through in his music, gentle strong messages of hope...

Mark S. Winfield has led an interesting life so far, with a career as a CPA behind him he is now spending his time through-hiking, writing, and making music. Mark is also a life-long community volunteer. Mark is part of The Leopold Trio , a Jazz group, and he’s working on a sequel to his book The Stones of Great Bear Lake .  Mark also has a YouTube Channel where he offers videos about hiking...

D.D. Jackson is an Emmy Award and Juno Award winning composer and an inspired pianist and educator.  In this new album Poetry Project he has set to music poems from Canadian Poets, adding dimension to the words, creating space for listeners to more deeply experience the words of the Poets. Bringing together wonderful vocalists and musicians, this record is a journey.  Sit back and listen to the wh...

N’Faly Kouyaté , Johnny Khalsi , and Saran (Sandra Werner) of Afro Celt Sound System join Baruch to share the new record OVA and to talk about Simon Emmerson , one of the founders of Afro Celt, who died in 2023. Afro Celt Sound System has made an indelible mark on the world of music with great songs, massive hits like Release with Sinead O’Connor and When You’re Falling with Pete...

Moira Smiley returns to Paradigms to share her current work The Rhizome Project a collection of mostly old traditional songs with a few new compositions. Moira is examining issues of grief, care, and connection, while also exploring the musical emotional space of a string quartet. The music is poignant and spare. Moira Smiley is touring .  Look for her in California at the end of October and then...

Perla Batalla is a singer and songwriter.  She lives in a small town with her husband and daughter, where, when not touring, she engages with her community bringing art to children. Perla sang with Leonard Cohen for many years, on records and in concerts.  She’s just released her second Cohen tribute A Letter to Leonard Cohen Tribute to a Friend a collection of nine Cohen songs and two other...

Angelina Llongueras returns to Paradigms to discuss her latest creative work, politics, but mainly to remember her younger brother Josep Maria Llongueras, musician, mentor to younger musicians, and a lover of life. Most recently Angelina performed the Percy Bysshe Shelley poem The Mask of Anarchy at the San Francisco Public Library, and she’s written a play which is in development called The...

Réginald Policard is a Pianist and Composer in the Jazz genre, but that doesn’t begin to describe his music.  He is from Haiti, and is fluent in the rhythms and melodies of the Caribbean, as well as being influenced by and playing with numerous Jazz greats.  The new record Boarding Pass is his 17th album since 1989. Réginald and Baruch discuss the musical inspirations for the songs on this r...

Dengue Fever is celebrating 20 years as a band with their new album Ting Mong. The band was on hiatus until 2019 when they reconvened, exploring new music, and then the Covid pandemic. The result is this new record. “In Cambodian culture, a Ting Mong is an effigy of protection, a scarecrow-like figure usually placed at the entrance of a village or a home. It wards off diseases and evil spiri...

Teni Rane sings original songs about life. They offer us an opportunity to connect our lives with each other in a musically beautiful and unassuming way. The lyrics, the musicianship, the singing, all create a homey feel that is calm, introspective, traveling through the ups and downs of life. Teni is a member of Folk Alliance International , an organization which promotes and encourages Folk Musi...

Neil Adler grew up with musician parents.  Music has always been part of his life. He’s played and studied with masters of his craft, teaches, and has just released Emi’s Song , a record featuring original compositions, with Neil playing piano and harmonica, Jeff Buenz on 6-string bass, and drummer Akira Tana , and Carlitos Medrano on congas. The music is energetic and melodic, driven...

Mariah Parker has coined the phrase Indo Latin Jazz to describe the musical fusion she is inspired to create.  A lifelong pianist, Mariah’s compositions are inspired by relationship with the muse; rhythms, experiences, and occasionally a complete piece shows up in her imagination. The new record Windows Through Time is inspired by, and offers listeners an opportunity to experience musically,...

Okaidja Afroso is a Ghanaian artist who has just released the second installment in his Ancient Africa Wisdom Trilogy. It’s called ÀBÒR ÉDIŃ which means Melanin Earth Garden in the Gãdangmé language. The first record came out in 2022, JAKU MUMOR   which means Ancestral Spirit . The third record will come in 2025. Gãdangmé language is in the family of Kwa Languages , spoken by 25 million...

Ganesh Rajagopalan , the celebrated violinist, has been making music his whole life, on his own and with his brother Kumaresh. In 2023 he celebrated 50 years of being a professional musician both with Ganesh Kumaresh and with Shakti . He has an extensive catalog of albums, and tours regularly. Yugma is Ganesh’s latest project. This piece, an original composition in the traditional form of th...

Alex Martin has created an album, songs made from the poetry of his father Michael Martin. It’s called Appalachian Fall: The Song-Poems of Michael Martin . Michael Martin lived on a mountain and wrote poems. He was called “the foremost meditative poet of Appalachia” by former North Carolina Poet Laureate Shelby Stephenson . Alex Martin is a guitarist. He has brought together fine Americana and Jaz...

Natalie Spears lives in Colorado where she listens to birds, to the land, and is inspired to create music. Her latest record is Hymn of Wild Things , a collection of original songs about connecting with nature, and about grief; personal grief and the transpersonal grief a person can feel for the world. This music brings together old-timey Appalachian music with more contemporary folk.  You can hea...

Eljuri returns to Paradigms to talk about her free Concerts for Democracy starting July 13 in Riis Park, Chicago, sponsored by the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago. Here is the entire Tour schedule so far.  More dates may be added. Eljuri is partnering with HeadCount.org , SpreadTheVote.org and Every Vote Counts to provide information and voter registration at these concerts! The US...

John Kruth has been exploring and innovating musically since he was a child. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays mandolin, flute, sitar, guitar, banjo, the list goes on. John has written five books about music and musicians, including Bright Moments – The Life and Legacy of Rahsaan Roland Kirk Check out some of John Kruth’s past musical projects. He is involved with a number of projects,...

Itamar Erez and Hamin Honari are friends who have played music together for years.  They have collaborated on this new album Migrant Voices to bring attention to an issue and to celebrate the creativity in their friendship. Both Itamar and Hamin are accomplished musicians, this being Itamar’s second time as a guest on Paradigms. The new music is clear and spontaneous and inspired.  Enjoy! •...

Dan Loomis is a Jazz Bassist from New York. He is also an inspired person of conscience and humility.  His new record Revolutions is a ceremony, an homage to some of the great revolutionaries; Fransisco de Miranda of Venezuela, Toussaint Louverture of Haiti, Simón Bolivar of Venezuela, José Antonio Páez of Venezuela, Jacques Dessalines of Haiti, with a final honoring of the great living artist...

Jo Beth Young writes and sings with a deep ethereal palate of sounds and colors. Her new record Broken Spells is a sonic kaleidoscope, with songs that evoke transformation and mystery, vocals and instrumentation which defy gravity. On the new record Jo Beth is writer, performer, arranger, producer, and mixing engineer, so the sound of this record is 100% true to the artist’s inspiration. Dis...