Neon Jazz Interviews

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Pianist Sean Mason ..   He opened up about his new 2023 CD The Southern Suite, surviving COVID, his life in music so far and the future ahead .. His debut album features an all-star quintet that he handpicked .. He was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina and took to the piano at the late age of 13. He taught himself by e...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Multi-Genre Guitarist John Korbel .. We talked about his new 2024 CD Falling Feels Like Flying, getting through COVID and his history in music. His latest effort is a blending of that appeal for Michael Bublé with the sophisticated songwriting of Sting, Donald Fagen, and Al Jarreau. It is a project that transcends genre bounda...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran LA-based Jazz Singer Julie Kelly .. We caught up with her about her new 2024 CD Freedom Jazz Dance, getting through COVID and her key to a long jazz career. The late, respected jazz critic Leonard Feather once said - "Julie Kelly radiates a sense of joy and spontaneity. Listening to her, you are reminded that jazz singing is s...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Polish-born, NYC-based Jazz Pianist, Improviser & Composer Kuba Cichocki .. He opened up about his 2023 CD Flowing Circles, surviving COVID and his life in music .. He specializes in merging that which is often kept at odds: the classic and the avant-garde, the technical and the emotional; the rigorously written and the spontaneously...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Philadelphia-based Jazz Saxophonist, Composer, Arranger & Educator Hiruy Tirfe .. He talked about his debut album .. the 2024 CD 10,000 Hours .. It is a soundscape deeply rooted in the music scene of Philadelphia that is the essence of the city's unique sound permeates every note. On this project, he not only embraces the concept of d...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with New York-based Jazz Vibraphonist on the 2023 CD Liberated Gesture Yuhan Su .. We caught up with her to see how she got through COVID, upcoming projects and her latest 2023 CD Liberated Gesture .. It is her second release for Sunnyside and fourth album overall that is a up to her CD City Animals from 2018, which is when we first caught...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with KC-born, Veteran NYC Jazz TrumpeterJames Zollar…We got into his new 2024 CD The Ways In .. This album was his brother Alfre’s idea and represents all the ways in .. and he explains .. He began his musical career at age 9 playing bugle in his hometown of Kansas City Missouri. At 12, he graduated to the and after high school he continue...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Composer, Saxophonist, Bandleader & Teacher Kirsten Edkins .. She talked about her new 2024 CD Shapes & Sound and her life in music .. This is her sophomore album featuring Gerald Clayton on piano and a bevy of great LA musicians. She has been a professional musician since 16 and is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music. She...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Jazz Guitarist Vincent Venezia..We caught up with him about his newest 2024 CD The Venetian and his life in music. He began playing guitar at age eight, studying with various instructors from his hometown of Cliffside Park, New Jersey. Accomplished in several styles of music, he is a veteran of Broadway and European tours and...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Italian London-based Singer & Storyteller Germana Stella La Sorsa on the 2024 CD Primary Colours .. It’s her second album and features Sam Leak on Hammond Organ, Tom Ollendorff on guitar, Jay Davis on drums and special guest Tara Minton on harp .. It’s a follow up to her debut album 'Vapour' and we get into all the happenings since ou...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Pianist Lisa Hilton on the 2023 Album Coincidental Moment .. We originally caught up with Lisa in the Spring of 2020 when the pandemic was in a very uncertain, yet dire place. We covered some great ground and this marks our third interview with this talented California-based artist. We cover getting through this pandemic in it's...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series Veteran Percussionist & Educator Brandon Draper on the 2024 CD Aim All Around & Other Projects .. The Draper Family band is comprised of Hammond B3 and keyboardist Paul Draper who is an inductee of the KS Music Hall of Fame .. In 2006, after moving from New Mexico to Kansas City, Brandon resumed jamming with his dad. Now, after nearly four...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Venezuelan-born Jazz Drummer, Percussionist & Composer Marlon Simon .. We caught up with him about his new 2024 CD on Different Paths .. He has traveled myriad different paths over the course of his nearly four-decade career. There is the personal journey that has led him from a small town in his native Venezuela to pursuing jazz in P...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with LA-based Jazz Songwriter & Recording Artist Cliff Beach .. He opened up about his new 2024 CD You Showed Me The Way, along with a host of projects that occurred during the pandemic. He was born into a family with strong musical roots and like most of the musicians that he idolized as a kid, he too grew up playing music in the church a...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Trumpet Legend Eddie Henderson on the 2024 Documentary Uncommon Genius .. This new PBS Documentary about the extraordinary life of Edward “Eddie” Henderson will receive its film world premiere at SMOKE Jazz Club in New York City on February 7, 2024 followed by a live set of music performed by Eddie and pianist George Cables. It w...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Celebrated & Veteran Jazz Pianist Darrell Grant .. We caught up with him about his new 2023 CD Our Mr. Jackson and covered his sense of purpose, agency, and connection to community. Through eight albums as a bandleader, numerous recordings as a sideman, a growing body of compositions, and two decades of service as an educator and lead...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Celebrated Los Angeles-based Songwriter & Guitarist Molly Miller .. She has a new album coming out on May 3, 2024 called The Ballad of Hotspur .. On this third album of hers, it is an instrumental Americana Jazz album tinged with surf rock and draws its name from a character in Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part 1, based on the 14th-century...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Jazz Pianist & Keyboardist Jeff Babko .. We caught up with him while on tour in Japan to talk about this new 2023 CD The Libretto Show, his life in music and much more .. He is a native of Southern California and has remained on the west coast throughout his career.  He constantly balances many musical and professional hats, a...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Jazz Artists in Bassist David Chevan & Pianist Warren Byrd .. They opened up about their new 2024 album Our Feet Began to Pray on Reckless DC Music. The concept for the title song, My Feet Began to Pray, came during a protest march after the death of George Floyd, as the New Haven police were moving the crowd across a bridge....

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Italy-born, Seattle-based Jazz Pianist, Composer & Educator Francesco Crosara .. He opened up about this new 2024 CD Circular Motion and his life in music. His original music melds an impressive mix of jazz improvisation, a romantic vein from his classical Conservatory training in Rome, bouncy lyrical expression along with strong Lati...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Award Winning NYC Jazz Pianist & Composer Marius van den Brink .. He opened up about his new 2024 CD New York Knock featuring a supergroup of jazz musicians consisting of Sean Jones, Stacy Dillard, Matt Penman, Willie Jones III, and Keita Ogawa. In addition, several special guests like Maurice Brown and Ara Dinkjian make appearances t...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series Israeli-born Guitarist on the 2024 CD Dream Louder Rotem Sivan .. We caught up with him about his new 2024 CD Dream Louder that is a musical love letter to his wife and her immediate family .. He has been turning heads since arriving in New York City. Lauded for his energy, ideas and virtuosic chops, he has racked up an impressive list of...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Celebrated & Award Winning Composer & Arranger Gordon Goodwin .. The last time we caught up with him was in 2016 and now we talk about a host of Grammy nominations for the work on his 2023 albums Raymond Scott Reimagined & Patti Austin's For Ella 2 .. His nominations include Best Jazz Vocal Album, Best Instrumental Composition, Best A...

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series .. On this episode, we talk with Legendary Tuba Player Joseph Daley .. We caught up with him to talk about getting through the pandemic and the release of his 2024 CD The Tuba Trio Chronicles .. After over 50 years of recognition as one of the consummate sidemen on the adventurous music scene with legends like Sam Rivers, Car...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Georgian-born Pianist & Composer Giorgi Mikadze .. We caught up with him at the original school that taught him jazz in Georgia to discuss how far he has come and specifically his new 2024 CD Face to Face: Georgian Songbook Vol. 1 .. He started out following a well-trodden path on the way to becoming a successful jazz musician: leavin...