Neon Jazz Interviews

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz Saxophonist & Composer  Paul Carlon .. We caught up with him about his new 2024 CD Blues for Vita and a quality life in jazz. He grew up in rural central New York and started started playing music in the 4th grade at school. Paul attempted to follow in the footsteps of his older string-playing siblings by taking cello lessons, b...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Swedish Jazz Singer, Songwriter and Arranger  Anna-Maria Nordström .. We caught up with her to talk about her new 2024 CD Mod and her life in music. On her debut album, she has invested her heart, it consists of a collection of musical short stories with a variety of musical expressions, some with lyrics and some without. She came ba...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Twin Cities-based Jazz Pianist and Composer  Kavyesh Kaviraj .. We caught up with this rising talent to discuss his new 2024 CD Fables out on Shifting Paradigm records. He puts his life and stories into his music, carefully weaving all of his influences into a boundary-breaking modern jazz outfit. This debut album unfolds after a lon...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Virtuoso Colombian Jazz Pianist, Vocalist & Tutor Jesus Molina .. We caught up with this world-class musician to discuss his new 2024 CD Selah.  This 27-year-old is a one-man force of nature. He is a Berklee College of Music grad and Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation award winner who has already carved out an impressive career. Thi...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Veteran Jazz Clarinetist & Composer  Harry Skoler  on the 2024 CD Red Brick Hill  .. The last time we caught up with him was in 2022 and now he has a transformative and cathartic new recording. Things of beauty can come from the release of one’s traumas. He experienced the loss of a friend as a teenager, a passing that deeply impacte...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz Artist, Composer, Educator & Cultural Seeder  Jonathan Suazo .. We caught up with this rising jazz star about his new 2024 CD Ricano Live in 2023, surviving COVID, growing up in Puerto Rico and beyond .. This award-winning artist opened up about this album that is a unique Afro Caribbean Jazz concept that blends the sounds of Pu...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  NYC-based Jazz  Bassist, Composer & Band Leader  Clovis Nicolas .. We caught up with this busy musician to talk about a host of projects, like his new 2024 CD Contrapunturist, getting through COVID, his life in jazz and so much more.  Born on the Ivory Coast and raised in France, he decided to be a professional musician after pursuin...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz Harmonica Player  Yvonnick Prene  on the 2024 album Jobim’s World  .. Originally from France and based in New York City area for over 15 years, he is again releasing another album of growth and reverence. On his 6th album with Sunnyside Records, his material is based around the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim and features Geoffrey...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview Series .. On this episode, we talk with  ansas City-based Jazz Guitarist/Singer Rick Mareske and Bassist John Miles  ..  We caught up with this veteran KC duo to talk about their latest 2024 release called A Stroll in the Park. We took time out to get into this new album, their history in Kansas City, what is going in in their live music lives an...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Grammy®-nominated Composer & Educator Tom Nazziola on the new 2024 album Reflections on Love .. For many years, Tom has been infatuated with the reharmonization of standards thanks to his beloved teacher, Ray Cassarino. As a tribute to him, as well as a chance to express himself in a different way compositionally, he reharmonized elev...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Veteran Jazz Saxophonist, Arranger & Educator  Leigh Pilzer .. We caught up with her to talk about the new 2024 CD Beating the Odds, getting through COVID, living jazz and beyond. This Washington, DC native and veteran artist has been around the best like the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, The DIVA Jazz Orchestra, the Bohemi...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz Interview series .. On this episode, we talk with  Veteran Los Angeles Jazz Pianist  Chad Edwards .. We caught up with him about his new 2024 CD Wyoming Roads and a divine world he has had in the jazz arts. He has been active in the LA area jazz scene for over four decades, performing in a wide range of musical settings. While studying at Princeton Univers...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Brooklyn-based Jazz Drummer, Musician & Producer  Layton Weedeman  of Yellow Couch Music  .. We caught up with him about his latest project Somewhere Along The Lines highlighting a groovy, chill and full of color product done with a handful of skilled musicians listening deeply and communicating openly. At its core, Yellow Couch Musi...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Chicago-based Smooth Jazz Guitarist & Vocalist Michael Ross. Looking at Michael’s work with Award-Winning Jazz Songwriter Scott Fivelson, we get into a few songs that he constructed and storied Chicago Musician Michael Ross has had success with. The songs are “Secret Entrance to Your Heart” and “No Hugs for You”. Scott has produced an...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Veteran Bay Area Jazz Drummer, Composer And Educator  Scott Amendola .. We caught up with this veteran drummer to talk about current projects like the 2024 CD Hive Mind done with Dave Devine and Greg Garrison, along with a great ride in the world of music. Originally from New Jersey, he has spent a career gracing stages with the like...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Los Angeles-based Jazz Singer  Natalie Jacob .. We talked about her new  and debut2024 CD Sooner or Later, surviving COVID and her career is jazz. This native Angelino spent her high school summers working as an usher at the Hollywood Bowl hearing many of the jazz greats and immediately fell in love with the music. This initial album...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz Pianist & Composer  Amina Figarova  on the 2024 CD Suite for Africa  .. Teamed up with her stellar sextet and a choir of orphaned and at-risk children from Liberia, she makes yet another wonderful album. She was inspired to write her new “Suite for Africa” by her experiences meeting students during her travels to South Africa. B...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Argentina-born, NYC-based Jazz  Saxophonist  Julieta Eugenio .. We caught up with her to discuss her new 2024 CD Stay and a life lived very well in the jazz world. She began studying music under sage instruction that began with piano and then moved to saxophone and clarinet. In 2008, she started her journey to the big city of Buenos...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz Trumpeter, Composer, Producer, Arranger & Educator  Julien Knowles .. We caught up with him about his new 2024 CD As Many, as One. He is of the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Class of 2023 and was mentored by numerous legendary jazz artists like Terri Lyne Carrington, Herbie Hancock, Walter Smith III, and Wayne Shorter. During...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Scottish-Canadian Jazz Singer  Alison Burns and  British Guitarist  Martin Taylor .. We get into their new 2024 album Songs For Nature, how they began working together and much more. This album serves as a heartfelt tribute to the beauty of the natural world and the creative souls it has influenced. The album emerges as a beacon of h...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Austria-baed Jazz Saxophonist, Composer & Arranger  Tobias Hoffmann  on the 2024 Album Innuendo  .. After releasing his first CD "Conspiracy" with his jazz Orchestra in 2022, he is back with Innuendo coming out on the German label MONS Records on September 20, 2024. We get into this new album that contains eight original compositions...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz Baritone Saxophonist   Brian Landrus  on the 2024 Album Plays Ellington & Strayhorn  .. This is another return for Brian to Neon Jazz to talk about an album that highlights the baritone saxophone and features Duke Ellington’s music was more than enough to pique my curiosity. It’s a warm, lush album that exceeds exceptions. The a...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with San Francisco-based  Hammond B-3 Jazz Organist  Brian Ho .. We caught up with him to talk about his new 2024 CD Bridges, a good life in jazz and the future ahead. He began playing piano at 5 and by the age of sixteen he was playing in bands professionally and started teaching piano. After his college years, he decided to pursue his lo...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Jazz Singer, Composer & Educator  Olivia Foschi .. We got into her new 2024 CD A Window Within, getting through COVID and a good life in the jazz arts. She always weaves together the rich tapestries of her San Francisco roots and Italian upbringing with her profound passion for jazz, which ignited under the tutelage of Roy Zimmerman...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with  Sousaphone Player  Matt Laird in  Canada’s Premiere Jazz Party Brass Band  Brasstactics .. We talked about their new 2024 CD Tribute to the Groove, history as a band and much more.  He holds down the low end on Sousaphone with his signature style and infectious energy. He’s also been known to spit a few lyrics when the time is right....