Neon Jazz Interviews

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Kansas City-based Veteran Jazz Guitarist Scott Emmerman .. He opened up about his new 2023 CD Spheres. It is music inspired by the love of iazz-fusion and the influences imparted while growing up in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago during the 1970s. His compositions feature dynamic guitar playing incorporating elements of R&B,...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Guitarist/ Singer Chance McColl & Keys/Organ/Singe Beth Moore of The Moore-McColl Society .. They get into their new 2023 CD Up and Gone .. Even though there’s a strong pop/rock vibe throughout the album, their jazz intentions are woven into the development of the tracks as different musical genres being seamlessly blended. Full of a...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Singer & Keyboardist Lydia Dudley .. We caught up with her about her new 2023 CD Rise Up .. It's a jazz-based music that sometimes crosses over into soulful r&b. She leads Jazz Xpression, a versatile group based in Raleigh, North Carolina. This new project came about through a grant from Chamber Music America for female bandleaders th...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Israeli-born, Brooklyn-based Jazz Guitarist, Composer & Educator Shai Jaschek … He reached out to Neon Jazz to talk about his new and debut 2023 CD called First Fall .. It features mostly original music in a trio setting of guitar, bass and drums and packs a good initial punch into the jazz world .. After first picking up the guitar a...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Ukrainian Ambient Music Artist Igor Yalivec .. We caught up with him from his base in Ukraine to talk about his new 2023 album Etudes .. His music is a beautiful reminder of why we love ambient music - both as a genre and as an emotional processing tool. The music on Etudes feel necessary in a time of conflict. It is under these war t...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Singer CeCe Gable on Her November 2023 NYC Show & New Spring 2024 Album .. She is a regular around the Neon Jazz world and she is back on tour in this festive November time of year. We spoke abut her upcoming New York City show at Pangea with a wonderful cast of musicians in Bassist Harvie S and Guitarist Roni Ben-Hur .. We also...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Pianist, Composer, Orchestrator & Producer John Herberman .. He opened up about his new new 2023 CD Spring Comes Early that stands as his second record of original jazz tunes. Almost two years in the making, it was during the time that COVID hit that he made the decision to return to his ‘roots’ and his passion for the jazz of...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Jazz Pianist Michael Weiss  on the 2023 CD Homage .. We get into his 6th album over all and his second trio release .. As a very seasoned pianist, he has been a top-call sideman to many bandleaders during his career .. From a 15-year tenure with tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin to extensive tours, club dates, or recordings wit...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Toronto Jazz Drummer & Composer Ilios Steryannis .. He opened up about the new 2023 CD Babylonia Suite .. Recorded in June of 2023 at the renowned Canterbury Music Company in Toronto featuring ten original tracks that encompass Middle Eastern, Indo-jazz fusion, funk and hard bop styles, along with a traditional Iraqi Jewish song .. We...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Spain-based Jazz Saxophonist Gorka Garay & Violinist Marina .. We talked at length about their new project in the 2023 CD Third Moon of Jupiter .. Together, they tie in the worlds of jazz and classical together .. We get into their collaboration, teaching, performing, loving jazz and so much more .. Enjoy ..  The Home of Famous Interv...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Legendary Jazz Drummer Dave Mancini … He has most recently toured and performed as the drummer for the legendary trumpet player and former Tonight Show Bandleader, Doc Severinsen. He has also toured with jazz artists Maynard Ferguson, playing drums, and Chuck Mangione, playing percussion .. We caught up with him about his life in musi...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Saxophonist & Composer Quinsin Nachoff on the 2023 CD Stars & Constellations .. This new album draws inspiration from mythology that seeks to make sense of the unfathomable cosmos. Uniting a chordless jazz trio – Nachoff, bassist Mark Helias and drummer Dan Weiss – with both the Bergamot Quartet, and on one track by The Rhythm Me...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Paris-based Bassist & Composer Apostolos Sideris .. He was born in Greece and after having spent considerable time in NYC and Istanbul, he recently moved to Paris. His latest album 'Past-Presented' on Parallel Records gave him the opportunity to expand on his fusing between modern jazz and the sounds of the Eastern Mediterranean. It f...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Singer on the 2023 CD Two Moons Michelle Lordi .. On this fourth album out on Imani Records, she is joined by pianist and Imani owner Orrin Evans, bassist Eric Revis, and drummer Nasheet Waits, partners on three albums as the collective trio Tar Baby, who contribute their customary attitude of what Lordi calls “reckless abandon”...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Saxophonist & Composer Kevin Sun on the 2023 CD The Depths of Memory .. Losing nearly two years of gigs was undoubtedly a challenge for every working musician, yet Kevin chose to take the opportunity provided by the lockdown to recontextualize his always ambitious music. He composed a set of material more appropriate to focused l...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Composer Matt Zimbel from the Canadian Band Manteca .. We had a good talk about their new 2023 CD The Offspring Project .. Founded in Toronto in 1979, Manteca has played to wildly enthusiastic crowds from the North Sea Jazz Festival to the Hollywood Bowl and released thirteen critically acclaimed, award-winning recordings. The jo...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Saxophonist Allison Au on the 2023 Album Migrations .. This album is a musical exploration of why people leave their homes to pursue life in a new land, and the reverberating impact it has on future generations. It is an acoustic tribute to the complex but universal human act of migration, weaving lush, mosaic-like dreamscapes wi...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Athens-born, London-based Jazz Pianist, Composer & Bandleader Maria Grapsa .. She enthusiastically reached out and spoke with the show about her new & debut 2023 CD Life coming out on November 3rd via Musical Dojo Records featuring an all-star cast of UK’s rising musicians  .. Her music is influenced by cinematic themes; pushing the l...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Musician & Producer Sean Mendelson .. He is the son of Peanuts® TV Producer Lee Mendelson and a huge part of overseeing the first time ever release  complete Vince Guaraldi Soundtrack to “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.” The album includes the original recordings that comprise the thirteen song cues of the Special, plus another nin...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Greek-native Jazz Drummer Alex Louloudis on the 2023 CD What We Are … This album is the flower that came out of the years-long collaboration between Zack Clarke and Alex. The two met in New York City, became friends, and started collaborating in a variety of musical situations. Countless sessions, exploring the freer side of the Jazz...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Father & Son Jazz Trumpet/Composer Duo John Sneider & David Sneider on the New 2023 CD Sneid Remarks … They explore the musical possibilities and potential of the two-trumpet format on their new album for Cellar Live. The Sneiders were joined here by pianist Jeb Patton, bassist Ugonna Okegwo and drummer Andy Watson to explore some dee...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Argentina-born, Berlin-based Jazz Drummer Axel Filip .. He reached out to the show about his new 2023 CD Habitat including an international ensemble of great talent .. We cover this project, surviving COVID, his life in jazz, traveling the world and so much more .. Enjoy the interview .. For More Interviews: Subscribe via Youtube - ht...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Pianist & Vocalist Rachel Eckroth on the 2023 CD Humanoid .. After appearing as a leader or co-leader on twenty albums, pianist and vocalist Rachel Eckroth still finds herself wanting to explore that innate sense of musical identity without boundaries. She felt her live album Humanoid would be the perfect opportunity for that. Sh...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Detroit-based Jazz Vocalist, Composer, Arranger, Producer & Educator Olivia Van Goor .. We got into her new 2023 CD Don’t Be Mad at Me, surviving COVID and her life in music .. Raised in Hudson, Ohio, she learned how to play piano, sing in choirs, and eventually how to perform as a soloist. The love for music grew as she explored diff...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with French Jazz Singer & Recording Artist Raquel Bitton .. We discussed her new 2023 CD C’Est Magnifique and an illustrious career that has brought her to sold out houses all over the US and Canada .. The real magic began in 1970 as a teenager when she moved to San Francisco with her parents and brothers. The love affair began and her car...