Neon Jazz Interviews

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Kansas City-based Jazz Organist & Leader of OJT  Ken Lovern  on the 2024 Album Ground Level  .. The Organ Jazz Trio is the union of Ken and Guitarist Brian Baggett who have been making their unique style of music together in this trio for over 20 years. Mix in Drummer Kenny Watson Jr., who joined the group a couple of years ago and h...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Veteran Brooklyn-based Jazz Multi-Instrumentalist  Richard X Bennett  on the 2024 Album Scavenger  .. This albums is a story about chemo treatments becoming an art installation. Art from the abyss, as it were. A textual/musical/visual presentation from the mind that was originally conceived as a musical project where the majority of...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with J Brooklyn-based  Jazz Saxophonist, Composer & Educator  Alex LoRe .. We caught up with him to discuss his new 2024 CD Motivity and quite a life he has lived in the music. This album serves as a tribute to his late mentor Lee Konitz and one of his albums that had a tremendous impact on him in  Motion . The trio features bassist Thomas...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Canadian Jazz Singer & Pianist  Laila Biali  on the 2024 Album Wintersongs  .. 18 months after the release of her critically acclaimed and JUNO-nominated jazz standards album,  Your Requests,  she is back with an entirely fresh and original offering, marking her 10th recording as a bandleader. Composed from a cabin surrounded by snow...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Australian-based Veteran Jazz Guitarist  Jamie Clark .. We caught up with him about his new 2024 CD with the Jamie Clark Trio Live at JMI. This musician has been performing locally and nationally since the mid '80s. He’s established himself as a versatile guitarist on electric and acoustic and has recorded a host of quality musicians...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Toronto-based Jazz Pianist & Composer  Teri Parker  on the 2024 album Peaks and Valleys  .. Known as Teri Parker's Free Spirits, this project was originally conceived as a tribute to the talents of legendary jazz pianists Mary Lou Williams and Geri Allen. It also features a brand- new five-song suite written by Parker. Captured at To...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz Drummer & Composer  Matt Slocum  on the 2024 CD Lion Dance  .. After six acclaimed recordings, he is getting well into his own on his latest release on Sunnyside Records called  Lion Dance. It’s fulla  swinging dialogues with two modern-day masters, long-time collaborators and friends, Walter Smith III on tenor saxophone, and La...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz Guitarist  Eric-St. Laurent  on the 2024 Album Darn that Band  .. We caught up with him about his new 2024 CD Darn that Band .. Born in Montreal, he studied guitar and improvisation in New York City before moving to Berlin, where he spent a decade as a sideman to big and small names of the European music world. After re-locating...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Canadian-born, NYC-based Jazz Pianist & Composer Bryn Roberts .. He opened up about his new 2024 CD  Aloft and his life music. This new project  is the trio debut after a long career as a sideman in the jazz world. With five acclaimed releases as a leader with quintets, quartets, and most recently in duo format with guitarist Lage Lun...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz Bassist & Vocalist  Kristin Korb  on the 2024 Album Sweet Dreams  .. We caught up with this American artist based in Copenhagen, Denmark about her tribute to  Eurythmics , It is much more than just a cover album. She weaves their  timeless hits into a vibrant tapestry of refreshing new jazz arrangements, reflecting her personal...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Veteran Jazz Composer & Pianist   Bevan Manson .. We caught up with this busy music man about his new 2024 CD Talking to Trees – With the Hollywood Symphony and his long life in music. Recently an arranger for Manhattan Transfer vocalist Cheryl Bentyne’s Sondheim album, he has also arranged music for Village Vanguard Orchestra saxoph...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Grammy® Award Winning  Jazz Woodwind Artist & Composer  Ben Kono .. We caught up with him about his new 2024 CD Voyages and a great life in music. This new album is a musical tribute to his Japanese American ancestry, along with being an exploration of cultural heritage and personal history. This Vermont native moved to New York City...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Tenor Saxophonist  Dustin Laurenzi,  Bassist/Singer  Katie Ernst &  Drummer  Andrew Green  of the Chicago-based Band Twin Talk  .. We caught up with this trio to talk about their latest 2024 release called On  Twin Talk Live . It’s a release that blurs the boundaries between near-telepathic collective improvisation and highly compose...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Celebrated Montana-based Jazz Trombonist & Composer  Naomi Moon Siegel .. We caught up with her about her new 2024 CD Shatter the Glass Sanctuary and an amazing life in music. Her latest album is a collection of adventurous original works that chronicles her adjustment to small-town living in Missoula, Montana, after residing for man...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  LA Jazz Singer & Interviewer  Cathy Segal-Garcia  on the 2024 CD Social Anthems Volume 2  .. She worked on both volumes over several years (2019 - 2023) and with two amazing bands. She is doing new jazz versions of some of my favorite pop songs from the 60s through the 90s. She is a child of the 70s and that generation had a whole lo...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Legendary Guitarist  Mike Stern .. We were honored to catch up with this veteran musician about his new 2024 CD " Echoes   and Other Songs ” that serves as a love letter to jazz, to the guitar, and to bandstand camaraderie – dedicated to the memory of my wonderful friend and musical collaborator Jim Beard. The band features a bevy of...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz  Harmonica Virtuoso, Classical Guitarist, Singer, Songwriter, Arranger & Composer Enrico Granafei .. We caught up with this Italian-born, New Jersey-based former club owner about this new 2024 CD It’s Hard to Say Good-bye .. We get into his life as a musician, former business owner and well beyond .. He has a long history of mus...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with h  Jazz Saxophonist, Composer, Innovator & Educator  Kyle Brooks .. We caught up with this Illinois-based player to talk about his debut and very new 2024 CD Monarch and a life in jazz. He has been making waves around the Midwest and beyond for his introspective, informed, and collaborative approach to music. Having worked extensively...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Toronto-based Jazz Artist  Marie Goudy .. We get into her new 2024 project with her band Paloma Sky and the album  Hold on to Me.  It stands as the debut of this jazz- pop quintet full of ten tracks composed and arranged by bandleader and trumpet player Marie Goudy. The music traverses a wide range of jazz sub-genres, from Latin to s...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Orlando-based Veteran Jazz Saxophonist, Bandleader & Educator  Jeff Rupert  on the 2024 CD It Gets Better  .. We get into all things that are going on now and veer off the route for some good insights. His new project is a blend of six original compositions and three thoughtfully selected standards. The recording features an ensemble...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Grammy Award Winning Vocalist  Janis Siegel and  Acclaimed Pianist/Musical Director  Yaron Gershovsky ..  We caught up with this duo to discuss the  new 2024 CD The Colors of My Life – A Cy Coleman Songbook, their final show with the Manhattan Transfer, live shows and so much more about their decorated lives in music.  When The Manha...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Acclaimed Jazz Violinist & Composer  Jenny Scheinman .. We caught up with this decorated and veteran musician about her first album in seven years .. the new 2024 CD All Species Parade .. For years, she nursed the idea of a musical homage to Humboldt County, California .. in particular the area known as the Lost Coast, a remote, eart...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Chicago-born, NYC-based Jazz Vocal Sensation  Julia Danielle .. We caught up with this rising star on her new 2024 CD Self Titled Debut Album and her life in jazz. It is full of original arrangements of cherished jazz standards. As the 2022 International Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition Winner, Julia got to perform alongside Th...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz Bassist, Guitarist, Composer, Producer & Bandleader  Jay Sanders .. We talked to him about his new 2024 CD Evanescent and his life in music. Based in Asheville, N.C., his music is characterized by an effortless ability to fuse jazz, rock, blues, metal, and African influences with years of improvisational study and training. His...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  LA-based Veteran Jazz Keyboardist  Lao Tizer .. We caught up with him to talk about his new 2024 CD Amplify and his colorful world of music. He is Colorado-bred and embodies what it means to be a 21st-century musician inhabiting the jazz sphere - that being one who embraces musical diversity and has no fear of crossing boundaries. He...