Media Room Podcast

Bill Evans Bill Evans (1929-1980) is a towering figure. His unique style derived from early modern, musical impressionism and helped define the jazz trio format. Evans’ collaborations with Tony Bennett remains the standard for voice and piano and — as Fred Hersch mentioned in our recent interview — his duo recordings with Jim Hall are iconic for that instrumentation. Evans’ music means a great dea...

Watch my fascinating conversation with Emilie-Claire Barlow, above. Her album La Plus Belle Saison was released in February and she will be performing at Birdland three nights next week, July 9-11. We talked about her musical childhood, the history of Quebecois music, and her new recording. Below is “Dans Les Rues De Quebec.” Media Room Live! With Randy Ingram Next week, July 9, I will speak with...

In the 1970s, Esther, an American woman mourning her mother, received a letter that sets her on a journey to uncover a hidden chapter of her family’s history. With the help of Zayde, a university professor with secrets of his own, she began searching for a woman who lived decades earlier in British Mandate Palestine. The woman is Yehudit, whose arrival in a settlers’ village in the 1930s entangled...

My interview with Matthew Detrick, Founder of the Apollo Chamber Players, didn’t go off live, and I hope those who were in queue will accept our sincere apologies. The recorded interview is above. We talked about the great city of Houston, the development of contemporary classical music, and the Houston Astros signal stealing controversy of ten years ago about which — if I’m being honest — it seem...

Today, I was joined at Media Room Live! by Stella Heath, leader of The Billie Holiday Project . We talked about her career as an actress before becoming a musician, The Billie Holiday Project, and its recently released For Billie . We also discussed Lady Day’s iconic “Strange Fruit” (below) and the current, retrograde movement of civil rights in America. I mentioned the Equal Justice Initiative’s...

Editor’s Note: Above is a clip from Tuesday’s interview with Simone Dinnerstein discussing Baroklyn’s album Hourglass , released today on Naïve Records in Paris. The clip has been translated into French for Media Room’s Francophone readers. The English language video interview may be seen in its entirety here . The English language transcript may be read here . Note de la Rédaction : Ci-dessus, un...

Matt Baker is a bassist by training. About ten years ago he picked up the baryton , a Baroque musical instrument now largely forgotten. We talked about how he came to play such an unusual instrument, the formation of the Valencia Baryton Project , and how Haydn’s 170 compositions for it had an outsized effect on the development of Western music. Volume 3 of Treasures From The Eszterháza Palace was...

Today, Simone Dinnerstein joined me to talk about her ensemble Baroklyn’s album Hourglass (below) , to be released Friday, June 5, on the French record label Naïve . Hourglass features two Philip Glass compositions, including the suite from the critically acclaimed The Hours (2002) about three women (portrayed by Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, and Meryl Streep) whose lives are connected by Virgini...

Yesterday (Friday, May 29, 2026) the Detroit Symphony Orchestra led by Music Director Jader Bignamini released its recording of Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana” on Pentatone Records. I caught up with Jader yesterday in Milwaukee and we talked about the remarkable history of the Cantata and how the DSO’s recording was made. The BPO Is Performing ‘Carmina Burana’ This Weekend In a bit of serendipity, Bu...

Watch my interview with jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer Aaron Irwin, who trio CD Spark has been on heavy rotation in my car. It’s one of my favorite recordings of the year. Thanks to Aaron and everyone who tuned in live. Media Room Live! In June Click here for a preview of Media Room Live! in June, including Simone Dinnerstein, Matt Baker from The Valencia Baryton Project, jazz singer...

I recorded this interview with Thomm Jutz on Tuesday (May 19, 2026). He was in The Hague (Netherlands) and I was in Buffalo, mourning a gut-wrenching, Game 7, overtime Sabres loss against the Montreal Canadiens. We talked about how a European television appearance by Bobby Bare (above) inspired a boy from the German Black Forest to become one of the most important American Roots songwriters of our...

Bassist David Ambrosio joined me today to talk about his album Civil Disobedience which will be released tomorrow on Blue Frog Records . A documentary will follow, and you can watch the trailer below. Thanks again to David and everybody who watched live. Media Room Live! With Thomm Jutz Join me next week, Thursday, May 21 at 5:00PM for my interview with singer-songwriter Thomm Jutz. I’ve been a fa...

Today I spoke with Yolanda Kondonnassis, one of the world's premier harpists. We talked about how she chose the instrument, the development of contemporary music for the harp, and the Terra Infirma Project . Terra Infirma is both a harp concerto and a multi-media performance. The digital recording was released April 17, it comes out on physical media May 15, and the live concert video is expected...

Today I spoke with Liz Freivogel, violist for the Jupiter String Quartet. Their album, Undreamed Shores was released April 17 and features the world premiere recordings of three new quartets written for the ensemble. Liz and I talked about the new album, the Jupiter’s new first violinist, and the life of a string quartet. Above is one of the pieces Liz discussed in our interview, “Chaconne/Labyrin...

Australian composer and pianist Alister Spence joined me from Sydney to discuss jazz, improvisation, and his album Always Ever . Our video feed dropped at 15:09 so please stop watching at that point. Thanks to Alister and everyone who tuned in live. Media Room Live! With Liz Freivogel Of The Jupiter String Quartet At 11:00AM EST on April 30, join me for an interview with Liz Freivogel, violist for...

Media Room Live! With Allison Loggins-Hull Composer Allison Loggins Hull recently completed a three year composer residency with The Cleveland Orchestra. Its recording of three of her compositions (above) will be released tomorrow. We discussed her musical background, her training as a flautist, and how she transitioned into composing. A second album, Patchwork, features members of The Cleveland O...

Watch my interview with classical guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas who will perform Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez” with the Buffalo Philharmonic this weekend. The BPO will be led by Guest Conductor Anna Sułkowska-Migoń in a program that includes Fauré, Borodin, and a rare performance of Grażyna Bacewicz‘s “Overture for Orchestra.” The BPO’s “Pablo’s Guitar” program will be performed Saturday nigh...

Dave Soldier is truly an iconoclast. An author , neuroscientist, and professor at the Columbia University Medical Center, he is also an accomplished musician. His first album of symphonic works, Vipers at the Onyx (above) will be released tomorrow, April 10, 2026. We took a deep dive into the life and music of Stuff Smith and Dave explained how Stuff’s music inspired the first composition on the a...

Please watch my interview with jazz drummer and composer Gregory Hutchinson. His all-star, Miles Davis tribute album, Kind Of Now: The Pulse of Miles Davi s (below), will be released tomorrow (April 3, 2026). Note that our interview contains casual profanity (mostly by me) and discussion of current events that ardent supporters of the current administration might find off-putting. I don’t wish to...

Please watch my interview with pianist and composer Julia Hülsmann, whose album Octet: While I Was Away was released by ECM January 30. It was a fascinating, wide-ranging discussion. Thanks to Julia and everyone who watched live. April 2: Media Room Live! With Gregory Hutchinson Join Media Room Live! next week, Thursday, April 2 , 2026, for my interview with drummer Gregory Hutchinson. His album K...

Please watch my interview with pianist and composer Vadim Neselovskyi, who album Perseveranita was released February 27. Click here for Media Room’ s written interview with Neselovskyi published February 17. Perseverantia is a 72 minute suite for piano and string trio and we were joiined by Ysyae String Trio violist Emlym Stam from The Hague. As you will see, we caught up with Emlyn in his car as...

Technical issues prevented Jay Beckenstein and me from talking live on Substack, but no matter. Above, please find our interview recorded today, March 12, 2026. Jay and Spyro Gyra will return to Buffalo for a 50 year anniversary concert March 28, 2026 at Buffalo State College. Tickets and more information can be found here . Next Week: Media Room Live! With Vadim Neselovskyi On March 19 I will int...

This morning at Media Room Live! I spoke with jazz trumpeter and composer Ingrid Jensen about her music and her new album, Landings . We had a fascinating discussion about improvisation, musical interplay, and how she makes music. On March 18 she will host an album release event at Dizzy’s Club in New York. Thanks to Ingrid and to everyone who tuned in live. Media Room Live! In March Editor’s Note...

This morning at Media Room Live! I spoke with classical pianist David Korevaar. He recently released his recordings of the complete cycle of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas on Prospero . We had a fascinating discussion about Beethoven, the piano, and some of music’s greatest compositions. Thanks to David and to everyone who tuned in live. Join Media Room Live! next week, Thursday March 5 at 11:00AM E...

This morning at Media Room Live! I spoke with singer-songwriter Courtney Hartman. Her album With You was released in November and has been in heavy rotation at Media Room . Courtney discussed her musical inspirations, training, and how With You was a celebration of community. Listen to “Companion” below. Thanks to Courtney and everyone who tuned in live. Join Media Room Live! next week when I spea...