Close Enough for Jazz

We unearth a 41-year-old time capsule from the first edition of OPtion Magazine that accurately predicted the rise of AI in music. We review a 1985 article by computer scientist Eric Mueller, who envisioned "interactive works" where AI reacts to live human improvisation and "distributed works" that use dial-up phone lines to connect musicians and computers in a massive feedback loop. The conversat...

To celebrate America's 250th birthday, we explore the wild stories of three legendary jazz musicians whose time in the US military permanently altered their musical paths. We start the conversation with Albert Ayler, who spent his Cold War deployment in France testing out his early free-jazz concepts on GI’s and civilians alike, eventually carrying those twisted military marches into his own quint...

We open the vault to launch "The Blind Pig," a new ongoing series featuring rare, unreleased bootleg recordings of legendary live performances. To kick things off, we go back exactly 22 years to June 25, 2004, at the Village Vanguard for the JVC Jazz Festival. The featured recording captures Uri Caine’s "Blue Wail" project, featuring Greg Osby, Drew Gress, and Ben Perowsky. We explore the context...

This week we take a step back to reintroduce the mission of Birch Grove Media and provide a behind the scenes tour of the studio driving the podcast. They detail their decade of experience in the industry, explaining the technical workflow of their sister company, Podfuel. The conversation transitions into a critique of AI editing tools, detailing why algorithmic cuts destroy conversational nuance...

Keyboardist and producer Carlos Homs sits down with Lindsay to trace his journey from the highly intellectual avant-garde jazz scene back to his roots in hip-hop production. Carlos shares stories from his time in the NJPAC Jazz for Teens program, watching a young Tyshawn Sorey play out-of-this-world piano, and cutting his teeth with heavyweights like Peter Evans and Steve Lehman. The conversation...

Drummer and composer Danny Sher sits down to discuss the tug-of-war between highly intellectualized composition and raw emotion. Danny breaks down his desire to dodge "accounting jazz" and write music that forces the audience to feel the rhythm before they can analyze it. Tracing his wild musical evolution, Danny shares hilarious early memories of acting as a "Dog Star Commander" mascot for Manchi...

In this Special Edition episode, Lindsay and Alan tackle the massive disruption of Artificial Intelligence in music. They break down the controversy surrounding the first AI-generated Billboard charting artist, the fierce pushback from working musicians, and the surreal "uncanny valley" of algorithmic audio. Shifting to the jazz ecosystem, they analyze new tech like Neural Audio Synthesis and Stef...

Guitarist and composer Josh Lopes opens up about the intersection of classical chamber music discipline and underground experimentation. He walks through the collaborative history of Dither, the psychology of working directly under John Zorn, translating Laurie Spiegel’s planetary orbit tracking data to fretted instruments, and how an iPad mechanical failure turned a performance at the Stone into...

Drummer Sam Ospovat discusses his technical evolution and the historical weight of performing with masters like Cecil Taylor. He breaks down the differences between the New York and Nordic music communities, the creation of his project Blight Music in a Brooklyn warehouse, and the discipline required to maintain a creative voice across different continents. Timestamps : 00:00 - Intro: The difficul...

Alan and Lindsay Bjorklund explore the decade-long journey of the album Not Your Grandfather’s Jazz featuring Tyshawn Sorey, Matt Mitchell, Jeremy Viner, Travis Reuter, and Kim Cass. They break down the band history of Smirk, the process of recording world-class improvisers at GSI Studios, and why they chose to build an independent platform for creative music. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro: Reflecting...

Bassist Kevin Scott shares lessons from the road and the technical secrets of playing "out" while keeping the pocket. From touring with Gov't Mule to the manifestation stories that led to playing with his idols, Kevin discusses the necessity of artistic sacrifice and the "Dancing Poodle" analogy that defines the industry landscape. Timestamps: 00:00 - The reality of the professional music environm...

Alan and Lindsay Bjorklund join Matt Scollante to explore the intensive process of recording the new Bear Skinner album, Unobtainium. They discuss the technical challenge of live tracking during a snowstorm, the discipline of creating original audio patches, and the infrastructure required to document high-level creative music. BIRCH GROVE MEDIA Web: birchgrove.io Follow us: @birch.grove.media on...

Keyboardist Trevor Lagrange joins the show to discuss the evolution of his creative voice and the necessity of visual entertainment in live music. He breaks down the history of the Brooklyn loft scene, the influence of his classical training, and the mental tools he uses to master the advanced rhythms of the Bear Skinner project. BIRCH GROVE MEDIA Web : birchgrove.io Follow us : @birch.grove.media...

Matt Scollante interviews Alan Bjorklund on the technical and philosophical evolution of the producer's role in creative music. Alan breaks down the high-level vision for Birch Grove Media, his specific audio choices for the band Smirk , and the expansive influences that shape the label's identity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alan & Lindsay Bjorklund and Ryan Clackner gather in Knoxville to review a weekend of live performance. They discuss the importance of "play" in improvised sets, the local venues that support the scene, and the long-awaited reunion duo of Ryan Clackner and Tyshawn Sorey . BIRCH GROVE MEDIA Web: birchgrove.io Follow us: @birch.grove.media on Instagram. Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/@BirchGroveM...

Bassist Nick Jost joins Lindsay to discuss his "prepped-for-anything" mindset and the reality of the creative music scene. He breaks down his roots in St. Louis, his technical tools for learning odd meters, and why the best music comes from leaving your ego at the door. BIRCH GROVE MEDIA Web: birchgrove.io Follow us: @birch.grove.media on Instagram. Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/@BirchGroveMedia G...

Alan and Lindsay break down the move from New York City to their new headquarters in Blairstown, NJ. They discuss the "obsessive" process of building a professional-grade home studio, the difficulty of booking bands in the city post-2022, and the local history of the Delaware Water Gap. BIRCH GROVE MEDIA Web: birchgrove.io Follow us: @birch.grove.media on Instagram. Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/@...

Guitarist Ryan Clackner joins the show to discuss why jazz guitar often fails to harness the true power of the electric instrument. From the "incestuous" habits of guitar players to the soul-crushing influence of academia, Ryan breaks down what’s wrong with the scene today—and why he had to move to the "Bermuda Triangle of Appalachia" to find his own voice. Timestamps : 01:30 - The "Sound Riddle":...

In the debut episode, founders Alan and Lindsay discuss why they decided to "choose themselves" and launch Birch Grove Media. They break down the importance of physical media, the roles of a creative director versus a label manager, and why their podcast won't sound like your typical "soothing" NPR jazz show. Timestamps: 01:15 - Looking back at the first release: Smirk 02:37 - What makes a Birch G...