Neon Jazz Interviews

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Pianist, Composer & Educator Neal Kirkwood .. We get into his new 2024 CD  Night City that stands all at once as playful, urbane and exuberant. The musicians and the compositions conjure up hopes and dreams, bring to mind the magnificence and tawdriness of city life and paint sound portraits. Throughout his long career he has als...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Madison, Wisconsin-based Jazz Pianist, Composer & Educator Chris Rottmayer on the 2024 CD Being .. On this new project, he pays homage to Mulgrew Miller that specifically looks into his time with the Woody Shaw Quintet. This fourth album as leader contains all original compositions performed by his quartet featuring Russ Johnson on tr...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with NYC Jazz Trombonist on the 2024 Album Fellowship David Gibson .. As indicated by the title of his Imani Records leader debut, this veteran player developed the repertoire on Fellowship while endeavoring “to create a sense of purpose” amidst the isolation of Covid-19. We get into his COVID stories, upcoming live shows, the relief of th...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Taiwan-based Jazz Composer Debby Wang .. We cover her debut album "Aftertaste" that contains 9 songs. This project is breaking away from the typical fixed lineup of albums. From solo marimba, vibraphone trio, octet, to a big band, different instrumentations presenting the exploration of the doubts and self-doubt that have arisen durin...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Montreal Jazz Composer & Trumpeter Remi Cormier .. We delved into his new 2023 CD Glimpse, surviving COVID, his history in music and so much more .. He has always stood out on the jazz scene both in Quebec and internationally and is now considered one of the most talented trumpeters of his generation. We cover some solid ground .. Enj...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Icelandic Jazz Pianist Ingi Bjarni .. We caught up with this talented pianist from his home base of Reykjavik, Iceland to discuss his sixth album called Fragile Magic, surviving COVID, his career so far, the future and much more. We are glad he reached out and you’ll dig his story.  For More Neon Jazz Interviews: Subscribe via Youtube...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Film Director Fernando Trueba of the Film They Shot the Piano Player .. Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they will release Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal’s Bossa Nova-themed animated film in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on February 23, 2024, before expanding nationwide in the following weeks. The film is narrat...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Saxophonist Sharel Cassity & Drummer Colleen Clark on Alliance .. We caught up with them in tandem to talk about the release their self-titled debut album with their new co-led collective, Alliance, out March 15, 2024 on the Shifting Paradigm label. They are joined by three generational talents in this all-female ensemble out thi...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Cellist George Crotty .. He reached out to the show about his new 2024 CD Inner Nature due out on April 1, 2024 .. His new project evokes a lush cello garden abloom with cross-pollinations of Baroque, Celtic, and contemporary sounds that open the heart of the listener. He is a product of the Berklee College of Music and has had quite...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Veteran Jazz Singer  Rose Mallett .. We caught up with her from her home in Palm Springs, California to discuss her new 2024 CD Dreams Realized, surviving COVID and her long life in music. She was born in Chicago and began singing in elementary school as a part of the school chorus. Rose’s family relocated to Los Angeles. At the age...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Singer Dennis van Aarssen .. We talked about his new 2024 CD Just Call It Love. It is the fourth studio album from him teamed up with Pianist and Composer Jeff Franzel. It fully represents the musical development of an artist who won "The Voice"of Holland. We get into his beginnings, evolution and the future ahead. Enjoy… Dig thi...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Pianist Sean Mason ..   He opened up about his new 2023 CD The Southern Suite, surviving COVID, his life in music so far and the future ahead .. His debut album features an all-star quintet that he handpicked .. He was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina and took to the piano at the late age of 13. He taught himself by e...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Multi-Genre Guitarist John Korbel .. We talked about his new 2024 CD Falling Feels Like Flying, getting through COVID and his history in music. His latest effort is a blending of that appeal for Michael Bublé with the sophisticated songwriting of Sting, Donald Fagen, and Al Jarreau. It is a project that transcends genre bounda...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran LA-based Jazz Singer Julie Kelly .. We caught up with her about her new 2024 CD Freedom Jazz Dance, getting through COVID and her key to a long jazz career. The late, respected jazz critic Leonard Feather once said - "Julie Kelly radiates a sense of joy and spontaneity. Listening to her, you are reminded that jazz singing is s...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Polish-born, NYC-based Jazz Pianist, Improviser & Composer Kuba Cichocki .. He opened up about his 2023 CD Flowing Circles, surviving COVID and his life in music .. He specializes in merging that which is often kept at odds: the classic and the avant-garde, the technical and the emotional; the rigorously written and the spontaneously...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Philadelphia-based Jazz Saxophonist, Composer, Arranger & Educator Hiruy Tirfe .. He talked about his debut album .. the 2024 CD 10,000 Hours .. It is a soundscape deeply rooted in the music scene of Philadelphia that is the essence of the city's unique sound permeates every note. On this project, he not only embraces the concept of d...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with New York-based Jazz Vibraphonist on the 2023 CD Liberated Gesture Yuhan Su .. We caught up with her to see how she got through COVID, upcoming projects and her latest 2023 CD Liberated Gesture .. It is her second release for Sunnyside and fourth album overall that is a up to her CD City Animals from 2018, which is when we first caught...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with KC-born, Veteran NYC Jazz TrumpeterJames Zollar…We got into his new 2024 CD The Ways In .. This album was his brother Alfre’s idea and represents all the ways in .. and he explains .. He began his musical career at age 9 playing bugle in his hometown of Kansas City Missouri. At 12, he graduated to the and after high school he continue...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Composer, Saxophonist, Bandleader & Teacher Kirsten Edkins .. She talked about her new 2024 CD Shapes & Sound and her life in music .. This is her sophomore album featuring Gerald Clayton on piano and a bevy of great LA musicians. She has been a professional musician since 16 and is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music. She...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Jazz Guitarist Vincent Venezia..We caught up with him about his newest 2024 CD The Venetian and his life in music. He began playing guitar at age eight, studying with various instructors from his hometown of Cliffside Park, New Jersey. Accomplished in several styles of music, he is a veteran of Broadway and European tours and...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Italian London-based Singer & Storyteller Germana Stella La Sorsa on the 2024 CD Primary Colours .. It’s her second album and features Sam Leak on Hammond Organ, Tom Ollendorff on guitar, Jay Davis on drums and special guest Tara Minton on harp .. It’s a follow up to her debut album 'Vapour' and we get into all the happenings since ou...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Pianist Lisa Hilton on the 2023 Album Coincidental Moment .. We originally caught up with Lisa in the Spring of 2020 when the pandemic was in a very uncertain, yet dire place. We covered some great ground and this marks our third interview with this talented California-based artist. We cover getting through this pandemic in it's...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series Veteran Percussionist & Educator Brandon Draper on the 2024 CD Aim All Around & Other Projects .. The Draper Family band is comprised of Hammond B3 and keyboardist Paul Draper who is an inductee of the KS Music Hall of Fame .. In 2006, after moving from New Mexico to Kansas City, Brandon resumed jamming with his dad. Now, after nearly four...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Venezuelan-born Jazz Drummer, Percussionist & Composer Marlon Simon .. We caught up with him about his new 2024 CD on Different Paths .. He has traveled myriad different paths over the course of his nearly four-decade career. There is the personal journey that has led him from a small town in his native Venezuela to pursuing jazz in P...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with LA-based Jazz Songwriter & Recording Artist Cliff Beach .. He opened up about his new 2024 CD You Showed Me The Way, along with a host of projects that occurred during the pandemic. He was born into a family with strong musical roots and like most of the musicians that he idolized as a kid, he too grew up playing music in the church a...