Neon Jazz Interviews

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Kansas City-based Veteran Jazz Drummer Arnold Young .. He specializes in avante jazz and his new album with his Roughtet is the 2022 CD Fear is the Mind Killer .. He’s been around for the last 50 years in KC and plays drum set and miscellaneous instruments.  He studied music at UMKC Conservatory of Music and West African Percussion at...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with London-based Producer and Band Brainchild of US3 Geoff Wilkinson .. The band was formed in 1992 alongside production partner Mel Simpson .. Ultimately US3 rose from the ashes of 2 previous incarnations. Their name was inspired by the  Horace Parlan album Us Three produced by Alfred Lion who is the founder of Blue Note Records .. Two y...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with GRAMMY Award Winning South Carolina-based Jazz Musician and Producer Quentin Baxter .. He opened up about his new 2022 CD Art Moves Jazz .. He comes from a family of drummers with his mother leading the troupe. He is a much celebrated jazz cat with many roads behind him and many ahead of him .. He covers his history, COVID and the fut...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series Veteran NYC Studio Vibraphonist, Composer & Mallet Keyboardist Steve Shapiro .. He opened up about his new 2022 CD Plan to Be Spontaneous on Solidtone Records) .. It’s an album fueled by events of the pandemic and it’s great for this to be coming out .. Over the years, he has recorded or performed with artists like Steely Dan, Ornette Cole...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Atlanta-based Jazz Hammond Organist, Pianist & Educator Matthew Kaminski .. He is the main organist for the Atlanta Braves and just wrapped up quite a weekend with the LA Dodgers .. He opened up about his new 2022 CD Matthew Kaminski with Jeff Hamilton and Bruce Forman called L.A. Connection .. At his core, he is a musician who perfor...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Los Angeles-based Jazz Vocalist, Songwriter, Arranger & Producer Sidney Jacobs .. He talks about COVID life, his path in music and new 2022 CD If I Were Your Woman .. He is an exciting performer who likes to experiment and is not afraid to take chances .. He’s got great stories and wonderful insights .. Enjoy this interview .. Hosted...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series Montreal-based Jazz Pianist & Composer Kate Wyatt .. We caught up with her to talk about the new debut 2022 CD Artifact .. These days, she stands as one of Montreal’s  finest jazz musicians and this album is an excellent glimpse into the many layers of her musicianship. Originally from Victoria BC, she has a lot to say .. We cover her life...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with World Champion Chromatic Harmonica Player Mathias Heise .. He just released his third album with the band Quadrilion .. It’s an original blend of funk, rock and jazz delivered with guitar solos, synthesizers, and hard-hitting beats to create an immersive experience of grooves. His music can be heard on busy touring schedules on Denmar...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Italian Jazz Pianist, Composer and Arranger Enrico Pieranunzi .. We caught up with him about his life in music, COVID and being included in the new Chuck Sher songbook series .. He still calls his birthplace of Rome home and has been one of the best known names on the international jazz scene playing with the likes of Chet Baker, Lee...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Austin-based Jazz Musician & Artist Margaret Slovak .. We had a good talk about COVID life, music and her new 2022 CD Ballad For Brad for her husband Brad .. She is originally from Denver, Colorado and began playing the guitar at age 11, composing at age 14 and performing professionally at age 16. She spent some quality time a...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with NYC-based Tony Award-nominated Broadway star, Actor, Jazz Singer & Author Melissa Errico .. We had a good conversation about her new 2022 CD Out Of The Dark – The Film Noir Project, COVID life and much more .. Along with her performance life, she contributes regularly to The New York Times in an essay series called “Scenes From An Act...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Brooklyn-born, France-based Jazz & Blues Singer Natalia M. King .. She is of Dominican origin and was born in the musically-rich, revolutionary time of 1969 in Brooklyn’s Latino-American district.  When she was an adolescent she left the “barrio” to settle with her family in Rochester, New York State. She went on to study sociology an...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Bay Area Trumpeter Bill Ortiz .. We caught up with him about his new 2022 Release Points of View .. For over four decades, he has been one of the Bay Area’s most valuable multi-genre artists .. .Notably, he toured with Santana for 16 years since the Grammy-winning Smooth album. His blend of authentic jazz and Latin led to high...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Australian-born, Hong Kong-based Musician & Producer Don Kyote .. He opened up about his new new 2022 CD 'Scatterbrain'.  He takes equal inspiration from the Jazz greats of the past, and melds it with his love of hard rock from the 90’s and 2000’s. This melting pot of Jazz, Rock, Funk, Psychedelia, and Fusion is where his new album Sc...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series Internationally Active Jazz Vocalist, Composer & Educator Ester Wiesnerova .. Based in Slovakia, she just released a visually stunning debut CD that has a wonderful audio collective .. The new 2022 CD The Blue Journal .. It includes 11 original compositions written for a unique quintet including harp & percussion. The compositions unfold s...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Jazz Improviser and Steel Band Composer Andy Narell .. He is included in the new Chuck Sher book series by Sher Music Co. -  Jazz Songbook Series! Collection #2 .. Andy has been around for a while .. He recorded his first album as a leader in 1979 and has made 16 albums as leader during the past 39 years as he explores the pos...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series Legendary Jazz Musician & Journalist Ben Sidran on the 2022 CD Swing State .. This is his first all instrumental record as a piano trio project. His favorite records when he was a kid were the trios of Horace Silver, Bobby Timmons, Bud Powell, and later Sonny Clark. Circling back sixty-some years later, he wanted to feel like those musicia...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Acclaimed Veteran Jazz Vocalist Nancy Kelly .. We talked about her interesting life in music, COVID and her new 2022 CD Jazz Woman .. She has a solid fan base from around the globe for her classic swinging style taking listeners back to a time when jazz – including vocal jazz - was an authentic expression of real emotion .. She got he...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Kansas City-based Trombonist, Singer, Songwriter, Bandleader & Composer Trevor Turla .. I caught him live in late January 2022 at the RecordBar as a part of The Grand Marquis opening for Freedom Affair and he has a high energy approach to his music .. Over 2022, he’s been releasing singles as a part of a new EP that is streaming every...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Brazilian Singer, Songwriter and Violinist Tetel Di Babuya .. She was in her home São Paulo, Brazil and we talked about her brand new 2022 CD Meet Tetel, COVID life, her world of music and the future .. She performs and composes in both English and Portuguese creating a compelling sound that blends Jazz, Blues, Bossa Nova and Standard...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with San Francisco-based Jazz Saxophonist, Flutist, Composer & Bandleader Jean Fineberg .. We had a great talk about her latest 2022 CD -  With her contemporary octet Jazzphoria .. Their material ranges from swing and blues to funk, R&B, hip hop, bebop and New Orleans second line. This Bronx, New York native has recorded on more than 50 al...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Kansas City-based Jazz Keyboardist, Composer & Producer Angela Ward .. I caught her live at the Blue Room off 18 and Vine in Mid-March and had to talk to her about her life in music .. She performs regularly around the Kansas City Metro area with her band and free lances with other groups .. Especially now as the world wakes up .. She...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Sousaphone Player Xan Perkins & Trumpeter Justin Crossman of Kansas City-based Jazz Collective Back Alley Brass Band .. They opened up about their new 2022 CD that just hit the web and the streets .. This New Orleans style brass band based is becoming one of the most sought after groups to play in KC. These high energy players have a...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Detroit-born, Los Angeles-based Jazz Singer & Songwriter Jesse Palter .. She opened up about quite a bit .. Like her new 2022 Nothing Standard that draws inspiration from both masterful composers and vocalists who composed and interpreted "The Great American Songbook” as she pushes the music forward .. This ablum harkens back to her e...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Minneapolis-based Jazz Musician David Billingsley on the 2022 CD Hymns From Mama's House: Family Reunion .. This project is dedicated to Carol Bostick, David's Mother who recently passed in December 2021. On a warm Minneapolis Summer Day while Covid was raging, he gathered his closest music friends and created an Album in two days. Th...