The Afternoon Cruise

Davina from Davina and The Vagabonds swung through the Afternoon Cruise to talk about the upcoming show for the Vagabonds. Davina also mentioned how the pandemic has changed their goals and life outlook.

Gary Hines, the leader of Sounds of Blackness connected with Sean from the Afternoon Cruise to discuss the group's new single, "Woke" as well as their upcoming Juneteenth show at Allianz Field.

Manny Hill, the executive producer of MPS Voices, was nice enough to swing through the Afternoon Cruise and talk about the new service designed to let more listeners discover the talents of the Minneapolis Public Schools community.

Cody Steinmann visited the Afternoon Cruise to discuss his upcoming concerts, his monthly jam session and his love of the Twin Cities. He was raised in Milwaukee but relocated to the Twin Cities about five years ago. Sean McPherson also quizzed him about Milwaukee's not so famous food, hoppel poppel.

Jevetta Steele caught up with Sean from the Afternoon Cruise as she was preparing for her appearance with the Minnesota Orchestra for their Juneteenth Celebration on June 23.

Ernest Bisong, an accomplished violinist based out of the Twin Cities swung through the Jazz88 studios to talk about the role of violin in jazz music and to discuss his upcoming summer camp for string players.

Legendary guitarist, vocalist and radio host John Pizzarelli hopped on the phone with Jazz88 to discuss his new album and his recent travels with his trio.

Dave King of the Bad Plus hopped on the phone to talk with Sean from Jazz88 about the Bad Plus's new quartet lineup and their upcoming show at First Ave on June 10. Plus, they discussed Dave King's work with Julian Lage and King's connection to the Twin Cities.

Brandon Commodore, the leader of the NRG project, stopped by the Afternoon Cruise to chat about his concert on May 26 at The Commons in downtown Minneapolis.

Celebrated producer and saxophonist Terrace Martin hopped onto a ZOOM with Sean from the Afternoon Cruise to discuss his upcoming run of shows at the Dakota. During the conversation Martin shared his deep knowledge of the Twin Cities music scene, including gracing the stage of Arnellia's in St. Paul and taking in a performance at JT's Jazz Implosion at the Turf Club.

The celebrated mc and activist Lewiee Blaze visited the studios of Jazz88 to discuss his upcoming performance at Purple Day. This annual celebration of "The Purple One" aka Prince, brings together some of the best and brightest of the Twin Cities music scene for a great community event.

The celebrated harp player Brandee Younger is preparing for a visit to the Dakota for a headlining show on 5/23. She hopped on the phone with Sean from the Afternoon Cruise to discuss the show, her recent album and the influence of the harpist Dorothy Ashby on Younger's work.

Byron Stripling, a nationally acclaimed trumpet player and conductor, swung by The Afternoon Cruise to discuss his upcoming season-opening show with the JazzMN Orchestra on May 23.

Sloane Martin, a broadcaster with the Minnesota Lynx, swung by the Jazz88 studio to talk about the upcoming season which gets started on May 19 with a home game against the Chicago Sky.

In-demand drummer and bandleader LA Buckner swung by the Jazz88 studios to discuss his upcoming show at Indeed Brewing for the Art-A-Whirl festival, Whirlygig.

Chadwick 'Niles' Phillips stopped by the studio to discuss his involvement with ComMUSICation, a program founded in 2013 to provide high-quality afterschool music programs accessible to youth. The group is celebrating their 10th anniversary on Sunday May 21 at the Ordway in St. Paul.

Ambrose Akinmusire is getting ready for a two night stand at the Walker Art Center on May 19 and 20. He's been working on new music and figuring out how to balance his music work with his well-being. Listen for a conversation between Ambrose Akinmusire and Sean McPherson before attending the shows.

A promising group of middle school girls came through the Jazz88 studios to premiere their new single "Be Positive" and discuss their upcoming performance at Viva City at South High. Thanks to Mr. B and Adrian Davis for bringing the students and thanks to Angel Williams, Shakira McMorris, Trinity Boyd, Kaleidra Stone, Arianna Harris, Kylie Lee and Vee Born Burnham for visiting us.

Pete Whitman, the celebrated Minnesota-based saxophonist and composer swung by the Afternoon Cruise to discuss his upcoming show leading and conducting the South High Jazz Band on May 24. This podcast was edited by Autumn Haeg.

The in-demand, Twin Cities based keyboard player Kavyesh Kaviraj came through the studios of Jazz88 to talk about the importance of working as a side person, his approach to leading bands and his upcoming show at the Dakota.

Steve Heckler and Dayna Martinez swung by the Afternoon Cruise to chat about The Twin Cities Jazz Festival. They covered details on the MPS Voices Youth Stage as well as provided highlights from all Jazz Fest has to offer.

Pete Whitman, the celebrated Minnesota-based saxophonist and composer swung by the Afternoon Cruise to discuss his upcoming show with Byron Stripling and the JazzMN Orchestra on May 23, as well as an upcoming set on the books at the Dakota.

Ronnie Foster is making his way to the Dakota on May 11. He was nice enough to hop on a ZOOM with Sean McPherson and talk about his new album, the upcoming show, his tutelage under other organ masters and his experience of being sampled by A Tribe Called Quest.

Bobby Lyle is back in town for a Friday show at Crooners and he was nice enough to stop by the Afternoon Cruise. He talked about growing up in Minneapolis and hearing about young musicians in North Minneapolis who were working out of a garage. Those musicians turned out to be Prince and Morris Day! That's the tip of the iceberg with the stories Bobby Lyle can tell about his four plus decades in th...

Pianist Billy Childs connected with Sean McPherson via ZOOM to discuss his new album, his collaborators and his upcoming show at the Dakota in Minneapolis. - This podcast was produced and edited by Autumn Haeg.