doodlinlounge podcast

Trombonist Altin Sencalar was jump-started into the music world by his aunt and uncle who were both band leaders in Texas.  The city of Austin was the training ground for the young trombonist who quickly joined the music community and rose to the top with the help of relatives, educational opportunities and the all-important mentoring process from key individuals.  Being exposed to ethnic music se...

Drummer Jason Lewis shows up for the first time in my Doodlin' Lounge with a composition from one of the combos that he co-directed as an instructor within the San Jose State University Jazz Department. He comes from a musical family and even took drum lessons from his father-in-law, keeping the love for music within the family constellation.  Today, Jason boasts a long resume of playing and recor...

John Beasley wears numerous hats in the music world:  pianist, composer, arranger, band leader and so on and so forth... He has made quite a name for himself and gained the respect and admiration of his peers as well as the movers and shakers in the industry.  He has twelve Grammy nominations to his name and actually won two - one of which was for Best Instrumental Album.  He has worked with the F...

Saxophonist Diego Rivera is riding high these days as a prolific recording artist; an active member of the Austin, Texas live music scene and the Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Texas in Austin at the Butler School of Music.  After twenty years at Michigan State (where he matriculated and received his early teaching experience), Diego accepted his present position with great honor an...

The Hot Club of San Francisco (AKA 'Le Jazz Hot') has become an institution here in the Bay Area.  With guitarist Paul Mehling at the helm, this group has swung its way through small clubs and large theaters locally, regionally and nationally.  They even played various rooms in Hong Kong last year to enthusiastic audiences.  For decades now, they've spread the word (so to speak) of Gypsy Jazz and...

Pianist Cyrus Chestnut graces my Doodlin' Lounge this evening.  As a professor at Howard University who teaches piano as well as vocal students, Cyrus continues to be a prolific recording artist and also manages to perform in topnotch jazz venues around the world when away from the classroom.  Chestnut started his musical career at the age of three, playing piano at the Mount Calvary Star Baptist...

New York based pianist, Marius Van Den Brink, began his journey in a small village of the Netherlands where the population was roughly 300 people - quite a contrast to the enormity of the Big Apple where Marius would later find his musical comfort zone.  'Making the Scene' was the method by which Marius gained notoriety.  He currently plays at Smalls in the Village each week and has managed to per...

Henry Dickhoff is an internationally-recognized, award-winning pianist, organist, composer, and educator living in Chicago. He was born in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1995 and has lived in Florida, Colorado, and Texas. Since becoming a professional musician at age 16, Henry has played domestically all over the United States, In high school, Henry began to play the organ after receiving a scholarshi...