Follow Your Dream - Music And Much More!

Andrew Litton is the Music Director of the New York City Ballet and the Conductor Laureate of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. He was previously Music Director of Norway’s Bergen Philharmonic. He has led opera performances at the Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden among many other venues. And he’s also an accomplished pianist, and he plays jazz too. He recorded a solo al...

Liz Callaway is a force of nature. Just listen to her accomplishments. She’s a Tony and Grammy nominee and an Emmy award winning actress, singer and recording artist. She made her Broadway debut in Stephen Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along”. She went on to star in “Baby” for which she earned a Tony nomination, “The Three Musketeers”, “Sunday In The Park With George”, “Evita”, “Miss Saigon” and “Ca...

This Episode introduces “THE BUZZ”, my new single.   I think you know by now that I pride myself on the variety of my music. I cross a lot of genres. But this one maybe takes the cake. I like to describe “The Buzz” as short, sweet and totally different. With me today are the two extraordinary musicians who are featured on the track - Darius de Haas and Dave Eggar. Darius is the vocalist. He is a B...

John Murillo is an acclaimed poet. He is the author of the collections “Up Jump the Boogie”, his debut work, “Kontemporary Amerikan Poetry”, a meditation on racism and institutional violence in America, and “Variation On A Theme By Gil Scott-Heron”. His honors include the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, the North American Book Award, and the Four Quartets Prize. His poetry has appeared in Prairie Sch...

Elsa Nilsson is a fantastic flutist, composer, and bandleader. She’s originally from Gothenburg, Sweden, but now lives in Brooklyn, NY - where all the hipsters live. Her music is inspired by human connection to locations of the natural world. She’s a winner of the National Flute Association’s Jazz Flute Competition, and the recipient of multiple Chamber Music America grants. She has performed at S...

Max Tan is a Taiwanese/American virtuoso violinist. Max Tan aka Dr. Max is a performer, educator, curator, and writer. He is the founder and artistic director of Soundbox Ventures, a fellowship program. He is also concertmaster of Opera Philadelphia. And Beginning this June he will be the interim concertmaster of the Auckland Philharmonia in New Zealand. His playing has been praised as “eloquent”...

Oliver Poole is a British virtuoso concert pianist and composer committed to using music for positive impact. He’s got it all - phenomenal artistry, electrifying drive and sensational interactive improvisations. He’s been called “Oliver le magnifique”. He debuted as a soloist with the British National Youth Orchestra at age eight, and he’s performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Czech Nat...

I’m always thinking about ways to make the podcast more interesting and engaging. So about a year ago, in May 2025, I came up with the idea of creating a guest testimonial page on the podcast website — a place where guests could share a few thoughts about their experience on the show. From the very beginning of the podcast, guests have been extraordinarily kind and complimentary about their interv...

Jamie McLean is a guitarist and bandleader. He blends New Orleans soul, Americana roots, Delta blues and New York City swagger into his music. He’s played alongside Derek Trucks, Gregg Allman, Aaron Neville and Dr. John at major venues like Madison Square Garden and Japan’s Fuji Rock. His Jamie McLean Band has shared the stage with the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Trombone Shorty, Los Lobos, Blues Travel...

Anthony J. Resta is a Canadian composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He’s worked on the film soundtracks for Twilight, Scream 2 and 3, and Varsity Blues. And he’s worked with artists like Duran Duran, Blondie, Elton John and Collective Soul. Now he’s going out front as a solo performer with his version of Bread’s classic, “The Guitar Man”. My featured song is my reimagined version of “The...

Cristobal MarYan is a Mexican composer of an eclectic variety of music. From contemporary classical to music for film, TV, and theatre. He has been composer-in-residence for the Orchestra of the Americas. His works have been performed in New York, Moscow, Finland, Canada, Abu Dhabi, Sri Lanka, and Panama. His music has been played by Yo-Yo Ma and by the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra, among ot...

Simon Phillips is a Grammy award nominated drummer, producer and songwriter He is one of the most acclaimed drummers of the modern era. He’s a rock and fusion guy who has performed with a Who’s Who in music including Toto for 22 years, Jeff Beck, Jack Bruce, Peter Gabriel, Gary Moore, Judas Priest, Pete Townshend and The Who. His new album is called Protocol 6.  My featured song is the live versio...

Bob Malone is a singer, songwriter, pianist. He played keyboards with John Fogerty, the genius behind Creedence Clearwater Revival, for 13 years. He’s also done sessions and tour dates with Ringo Starr, Avril Lavigne, Rickie Lee Jones and Mindi Abair. His songs and piano playing have been heard on shows like NCIS New Orleans, Entertainment Tonight, Lucifer, and The Hallmark Channel. And he perform...

Blues Saraceno is a rock guitarist, composer, and producer. At 17 he played in a band with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, formerly of Cream. And later on he played with the band Poison. He’s also performed with Ziggy Marley and Melissa Ethridge. He’s one of the “go-to” guys for many of LA's top record producers and engineers. He’s also produced  artists like Lindsay Price who was in the hit NBC seri...

Declan Ryan is an Irish poet based in London. His first poetry collection, published in 2023, is called “Crisis Actor”. One reviewer said that the poems are preoccupied with, and driven by, the weight and difficulty of expectation — of ourselves and of others. His poems, reviews and essays have appeared in numerous journals including the New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, The Paris Review,...

Levi Taylor is a Kennedy Center Artist and an Emmy-nominated composer. He’s a graduate of Interlochen. He’s composed for opera, symphonies, film and TV. Recent highlights include an operetta, a fellowship at a Castle in Italy, commissions from the Sphinx Virtuosi and Sphinx Symphony Orchestra, music for “Shark Week”, Peacock’s “Vampire Academy,” the Discovery Channel’s “Sewer Divers”, and the docu...

This Special Collections episode is called Broadway - The Performers .  Each episode of Special Collections focuses on a particular common thread that ties together some of my guests. In this episode, that common thread is Broadway. Each of the guests featured here is an accomplished and acclaimed performer in one or more Broadway productions. Broadway is one of the great storytelling traditions i...

Peter Kramer is a German born, retired university professor who taught in England, in the area of film studies. His work includes a focus on Stanley Kubrick and also Hollywood’s biggest box office hits. His books include three volumes in the BFI Film Classics series on “Dr. Strangelove”, “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “The General”. His most recent book is “American Graffiti: George Lucas, the New Ho...

Shane Alexander is a Los Angeles based indie folk and acoustic rock solo artist. He’s toured the U.S., Europe and Canada. He’s opened for artists like Seal, Jewel, Suzanne Vega and others. He’s performed at venues like Red Rocks, The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and The Greek Theatre in LA. His music has appeared in dozens of television shows, commercials  and films. And he’s also a producer for...

Noa Wildschut is a spectacular 24 year old Dutch violinist. She is an amazing virtuoso. She made her concert debut when she was 7. Since then she’s played festivals, recitals and solo performances with dozens of orchestras all over the world including the Royal Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic to name just a few. My featured song is “Ma Petite Fleur S...

Marc Bruni is one of the world’s greatest musical stage directors - on Broadway, London’s West End, South Korea, Australia and everywhere else. Here’s all you need to know. He directed the Tony, Grammy, Drama League and Olivier Award-winning show Beautiful: The Carole King Musical , about the life and career of the extraordinary Carole King. He’s also the director of the current Broadway hit - The...

Katie Skene is a Roots, Jam Band and Americana singer, songwriter and guitarist. Her music is a combination of southern rock and California rock. They call it Cosmic Swamp Americana. She has shared the stage with artists like Bob Weir and Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead, Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes, Warren Haynes of The Allman Brothers and Vince Herman of Leftover Salmon. My featured song is...

Allen Hinds is a guitarist who started out playing blues and R&B and then segued into jazz and fusion. He’s released six solo recordings. His music has been featured on television programs like Sons of Guns, Pawn Stars, and various National Geographic specials. He has performed and/or recorded with Natalie Cole, Roberta Flack, Joan Baez and Boney James among others. His newest release is a terrifi...

Taylor Eigsti is a remarkable 2x Grammy Award winning and multiple Grammy nominated pianist and composer. He’s released 9 albums as a bandleader and he’s appeared on over 80 albums as a sideman. He won a Downbeat Magazine Critic’s Poll for “Pianist of the Year”. He’s played with a Who’s Who in music including Dave Brubeck, Sting, Chick Corea, Snarky Puppy, Esperanza Spalding, John Mayer, Christian...

Rich Pagano is a terrific drummer, singer, songwriter and producer. He’s a solo artist and a member of The Fab Faux, the world’s best tribute band. He’s worked with just about everyone including Robbie Robertson, Ray Davies, Elvis Costello, Peter Frampton, and he’s even done the soundtrack album for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. And he also does a lot of benefit work, including in honor of his late s...